PARLIAMENT— Housing Needs: Claims Of Rural Areas Urged

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 October 1948, Page 3

PARLIAMENT— Housing Needs: Claims Of Rural Areas Urged

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, October 12. The State housing scheme was discussed at length by the House of Representatives this, evening on the Estimates. Opposition members claimed that, as country people contributed through taxation to the cost of State houses, a greater proportion of them should be built in rural townships. Mr W. A. Sheat (Opposition, Patea) said it cost more to build in the country, but the land there cost less. There was hardly a country centre in Taranaki that could not do. with two or three more of these houses, and some of them with half a dozen.

Building houses in the country would have beneficial results in restoring the balance of the population by bringing people back to the country districts. “We have to get some of the people out of the Hutt Valley,” he said. The Acting-Prime Minister (Mr Nash) said quite justifiable representations could be made for the erec- I tion of more houses in rural areas, but it was just as well to take stock of

what had already been done. Rural Housing Figures Mr Nash said the Government had provided funds at 3 per cent, to enable county councils to build houses, and 400 had been built under this arrangement. Thirty-nine houses had also been built under the Counties Act and 12 had been built on the

application of dairy companies. In 1944 there were built under an emergency arrangement 101 two-bedroom-ed houses, and 43 three-bedroomed houses. The two-bedroomed houses cost £1250 each, and were sold to farmers for £750, so that each purchaser received a subsidy of £5OO.

The three-bedroomed houses cost £l4BO eac hand were sold for £9BO. The reason was that an undertaking had been given by the Government to provide the huses at the prices at which they were sold, but when, tenders for them came in they were much higher. In all 1076 houses for sale and 1738 State rental houses had been built in smaller rural areas. Mr S. W. Smith (Opposition, Hobson): How many houses have been built in the Hutt? Needs of Large Families

Mr E. P. Aderman (Opposition, New Plymouth) said more houses were needed for large families. It was astonishing how few State houses were built for large families. Mr D. W. Coleman, Under-Secre-tary for Housing, said the reason why more houses were not built in rural areas was because of the difficulty, of getting builders to take these contracts. Mr R. G. Gerard (Opposition, Ashburton) said the Government might get more builders for houses in rural districts if it called tenders for larger numbers of houses at a time. Mr A. S. Sutherland (Opposition, Hauraki) said he wondered what had happened to the promise of the Minister of Works (Mr R. Semple) a few years ago of a refrigerator and a washing machine in each house, “so that women could do the washing wearing fur coats.” Mr Semple: ■ That’s better than (gumboots. “Example of Discrimination” Mr K. J. Holyoake (Opposition,

Pahiatua) said the rural people contributed through taxation to the State housing scheme and should share proportionately in its benefits. The Government had built only 160 houses on farms and 1700 in rural centres. Some houses for which application was made in 1944 under the emergency scheme, had not been built yet. The State housing scheme was an outstanding example of discrimination by the Government against a section of the community. The Minister of Rehabilitation (Mr C. F. Skinner) said the cost of building a house was less than Opposition members implied. Last week 12 houses were advertised for sale in one day in a Christchurch newspaper. All were available for immediate possession and none of them was priced above £2300. Mr G. F. Sim (Opposition, Piako) said the Government was building

State houses in the cities and towns for political purposes.

Mr F. Langstone (Government, Roskill) said he had never heard so much rant, cant, and humbug. Mr W. H. Gillespie (Opposition, Hurunui): We will hear some now. Mr Langstone said the houses were being built where necessary. There were no carpenters who were unemployed and not a piece of material available that was not being used. Mr Semple said he would like to know of a country where the people were fully and comfortably housed. Mr Gerard: Sweden.

Mr Semple: Sweden has done a good job, but has not completely housed her people.

The Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr W. E. Parry): And she was neutral.

Hydro Works Villages “We did what we could during the war period, but we have had seven years of stagnation as far as building is concerned,” said Mr Semple. “We can’t do anything more in any undertaking without adequate material and manpower.” Mr Semple said the Government had built a township at Maraetai at a cost of £BOO,OOO, comprising 600 married men’s homes and 850 single men’s quarters, as well as other amenities which would serve 4000 people. “We have passed the day when we could throw a tent at a workman and say ‘Rig it yourself,’ ” he said. Homes were to be built at Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo to house 3000 people, and a township would have to be built large enough for 5000 people for the Roxburgh power scheme. “Otherwise, there won’t be any scheme,” he added. The Minister said these housing schemes relieved the pressure on the

demand for homes in the cities and towns. H was not suggesting that the Government had built enough houses in rural areas where more were

wanted, but progress in that direction was governed by two factors—manpower and materials.