The Grey River Argus SATURDAY, July 26, 1941. INCREASED STATE HOUSING.

Grey River Argus, 26 July 1941, Page 4

The Grey River Argus SATURDAY, July 26, 1941. INCREASED STATE HOUSING.

Before they skied the towel, the Opposition speakers in the Budget debate, complained of the expansion in'State housing. They said that it would have been better had the 11.584 homes of. which the Government, has now completed construction, been private instead of public property. What they had, and have, in mind when they talk like this is by no means what they expect the public to think. It undoubtedly would- have been a good thing had the period since this Government began to provide rental houses seen the same number of houses erected, each of which belonged to a separate individual householder. The Nationalists, in their criticism, obviously wish people to draw a contrast between 11,584 new homes belonging each to its holder, and the same number that now are occupied by tenants of the State. But in objecting to this phase of public enterprise, the thing which they have mainly in mind is not what they call State landlordism, but private landlordism. The very fact alone that to-day there are no fewer than over twenty-one thousand two hundred applicants for State houses on the waiting list proves even more impressively than the .11,584 applicants who have secured State houses that, private enterprise in housing fails as utterly to-day to meet the people’s needs as it did before this Government came to the rescue. It is because of that notorious fact that the Government already has in 131 towns bought enough land for twenty-three thousand houses, and is now buying still more land. Everybody knows, and none so well as the tenants, that Stale houses are the best obtainable value for the rentals paid. The houses are built to last for generations so as to constitute for the State a good asset, seeing that about sixteen millions ) has been laid out in land, construction and other incidental costs. The Opposition, on the one hand, has questioned the wisdom of making these houses so good, and on the other hand suggested they should be alienated by the Government under some scheme of time purchase. It can be inferred that did the Nationalists provide houses at all, the quality would be inferior and the durability very doubtful. That is a reasonable conclusion from the contention that the standard ought to be decidedly cheaper all round. The private individual could not build the State homes as cheaply as the Government, and yet to purchase them the holders would not find it economical even on a table mortgage of thirty five years’ duration. The foundations are all concrete, and everything integrated in the State houses is calculated to give them three times the life of a great many houses which private landlords shove up for rental revenue. Even if the State houses were to be sold on a sixty year mortgage table, it would be necessary, on account of their value, to charge an additional 10s or 12s weekly on top of the rental in order to give the holders the privilege of ownership which could only be had by somebody else after their deaths. Hence, present rentals are most reasonable, and explain why so many are disposed to prefer lhe State houses to ones of their own financing. Naturally, many jerry-built properties of private landlords do not command so much rent now as they would in lhe absence of the State provision. The Government did not make this as a profit-earning project, but as a means of raising the general standard of living as well as stopping lhe unemployment rot. The Government has indeed acknowledged that in meet ing the most urgent demand, as expressed in applications, it may not have improved the living standard for larger as much as for smaller families. Fam- • ilies do gain entry to better i

houses which are vacated by those becoming State tenants, as competition for privately owned places is thereby lessened. At the same time, the State is now giving preference to applications where hardship can be shown. Moreover, Hon. ; H. T. Armstrong is setting up a committee representing women’s societies, social workers and GovernmentDepartments. to go into the question of accommodating large families, and it may be expected that in the near future any grievance on their account will have been remedied. The fact is that the whole enterprise has proved itself most essential and successful.