HOUSE SHORTAGE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21759, 7 July 1945, Page 6

HOUSE SHORTAGE

AUSTRALIA'S PLIGHT Siibs ofTlrvicemen

IMoUR & TIMBER SHORT V (Special Australian Correspondent). (fey Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) SYDNEY, July C. ..Tfe Telease of thousands of meii froiri the services is aggravating the acute housing shortage in Australia. MK: B.vJ,' McDonald, Federal president .'Australian Legion, of ExSeryicemen and Women, states that unless the'housing programme is kept m j step, with the army releases, the Situation for civilians and soldiers' will become chaotic by the end of the year. , Servicemen facing discharge were in, a desperate position,' he said, ahd riiahy were unlit to search for Ironies. .. ■■ • • Mr. McDonald suggested that the services should help immediately with tfie: housing , programme. “Let us Securfea forestry unit and a few other Bousing units under army control to help ‘to' ease this shortage,’’ he. said. The Ted era 1 Government is paying feariiest, httentioh to the problem and investigating means. Oi increasing hbri'so production, said the Minister of _ tilibdun. Mb. E. Holloway. Orthodox methods- were unlikely to achieve the high .targets in housing construction 5 se,t., : by the Commonwealth Governfnieht. - The : prefabrication ! of dwells ‘fags arid bthen mearts of improving prOdtiction wefe being investigated, U-Empowering Local Bodies •"• Mr,-Holloway, said the Government is asking, the .State Premiers to introt duce.. legislation empowering, local government bodies fo permit the subdivision of homes. Mr. Holloway also announced; that special efforts will be rnade by the man-power directorate v fo-/obtain releases from the services tjpfliechnicai men, skilled artisans arid bother building operatives to help irt j.tftp:housing programme. Director of War Housing, Mr> -AV’W. Welch,; said that heavy hrechahical equipment. for trench l digging,, equivalent to sortie 400 to 500 men, would be. made available by the Commonwealth Government. ..Building authorities are quoted by the, Sydney Sun as saying that hundreds of thousands of pounds worth bf, , btiilaihg materials that are in cijrionjc. short supply are being held by the. services. They urge an imme l diate survey of the position by the Federal Government and the release of thefie Vast stocks which, they say, ar;e equally, important as making-man l PQWOr available to deal immediately with the housing shortage. Timber Position Desperate .The' New South Wales deputy Director of War Organisation and Industry, Mr. Reichenbach, said that flooring timber. represented a major curb to the full realisation of the ftSlibri’s housing requirements. “Art eventual recovery will occur in the held of all other building materials, but our timber position is desperate.” The Forestry Commission of New South Wales, in a recent statement, issued a warhing that Australia is facing -a -50-ye'ar timber shortage, . which could not be relieved by irh l portations because the problem waS World-wide. Mr. Reichenbach said that fTom a world survey it seemed that Russia was the country to which we -would have to look for some easement of Australia’s timber position. “Nobody seems to know quite how to go about this aspect of the problem,” he added. ,