HOUSING LOANS

Grey River Argus, 2 August 1934, Page 3

HOUSING LOANS

FOR WORKERS Mr O’Brien’s Proposal (Our Parliamentary Reporter). PARLIAMENT BLDGS.. August 1. Replies to questions were circulated in the House to-day. Mr J. O’Brien (Westland) usked the J\l‘mister of Employment: Whether, taking into consideration the shortage of dwelling houses in the he would bring before Ilie I ’ nenipl'oy inent Board the nocess’iy of making advances without interest payment to those workers wishing to build their own homes; such advances to be equal to 75 pc" cent, of tho c,ost of the houses erec: ed, and to be repaid to the Unemployment Board at a weekly rental. Mr O’Brien added that this form of sv.bsidv would be an improvement ou that previously given, which e»uld not l.e taken advantage of by the workers, because of their lack of funds. The building of these much--1 needed workers’ houses would also. Ihe .s;ii»l, cause a considerable amount of employment in the sawmilling and building industries. Mr Hamilton replied that the I. nemployment Board was at present in consultation with building societies in an endeavour to arrive at some arrangement which wou'd better enable hmm* building to be financed. RETURNED SOLDIER’S SAD FATE Mr O'Brien also asked the Mini-tor in Charge of the Pensions Departmenl; Whether he had seen the repo* t in the newspapers to the effect that a returned soldier, meagerly clad and suffering from severe exposure. was found dying on tin* .'oadside between Waharoa and Matamata. Mr O'Brien said that this returned soldier had died shortly after medical aid had been summoned, and he appeared to have been destitute and to have had msu ilieieu t means ol support. He asked whether, if the Minister had seen tho report, he would take -steps Io havp work found for returned so - diers.. or give them a. pension sufficient to keep them from destitution and from dying of exposure by tho roadside. Hon. C-obbe replied that tho returned soldier referred >to was granted a war pension for the partial |os> of ||is linger joints 1 rotii the date ot his distdiarge from the Now Zealand Expedit iomi ry Force on 20th May. 191 S. His pension was made permanent at the rate of 111 weekly from flip Ist November, 1919. and it ’remained in force up to the time of liU death. There was no evidence that his death by exposure was caused by his pensionablp disability.