N.Z. PARLIAMENT

Grey River Argus, 30 November 1944, Page 3

N.Z. PARLIAMENT

REHABILITATION The Housing Question P.A. WELLINGTON, November 29. Members of Parliament were in an inquiring frame of mind to-day, several giving notice of questions addressed to Ministers, during the period for formal business. The second reading debate on the Rehabilitation Amendment Bill was continued, but as the' question was well covered earlier, speakers had difficulty in finding new arguments. Mr M. H. Oram (Nat., Manawatu) gave notice to ask the Minister in charge of Civil Aviation: If, in view of the close liaison established between the Australian and New Zealand Governments 1 , the Minister would state whether New Zealand could prepare herself for State ownership of internal air services, as was proposed in the Commonwealth? Mr F. B. Corbett (Nat., Egmont) asked the Minister of Supply: If, in order to provide the fullest safeguard for the health of mother and child,, the Minister would immediately restore to expectant and nursing mothers a special allowance of eight ounces of butter jper week, simliar to that allowed to bushworkers and miners, etc? Mr Corbett said that it was l reported that additional butter had been refused since the beginning of October, even when a medical certificate stated that the present ration was insufficient.

Mr W. H. Gillespie (Nat., Hurunui) when the debate on rehabilitation resumed, said a bottleneck was being created by a policy of deferring applications for loans by men whose overseas service established their right to a loan, but who were being told that their applications could not be granted until the other men returned. Mr Gillespie said more should be done to settle men on the land. Farmers should have a right to offer their land for valuation for settlement of returning men, without committing themselves. Moreover, returned men should be settled on land they could improve, and later enjov the benefits of improvements. Most ex-servicemen going in for farming did not want to take up firstclass land.

Mr P. Meachen (Govt., Marlborough) s-aid that Uie housing situation could be helped by; a greater use of substitute materials during the timber shortage. The Housing . Department should, use fewer designs, confining itself to about a dozen of the plans which had been proved to be the beet. Co-operative building by returned men should also be pushed more than was being done at present, to enable the men themselves to share in the profits, which now went to those who seemed to be pa'rticular\ly hungr v in the prices they were ’charging for housing. Mr F‘. Findlay . (Nat., Hamilton) said that the most urgent part of the rehabilitation problem was the housing of men as they’, returned. The Government in a pamphlet before the last general election, had promised to build ten thousand homes this year. Official figures showed they had built 49. The excuse made for the disparity was that they could not get the materials nor the men to do the work. There were thousands of men in Government Departments, he said, filling in useless forms. Tnese men should be diverted to work on housing. There was plenty of timber in’ the country, that could be made suitable for building by treatment, and there were alternative building materials. Mr L. G. Lowry (Govt., Otaki) said that if pinus insignus could be made i durable for housing purposes, it should be used. As far as manpower, however, was concerned, that was a 1 different problem. To supply the houses needed, some thousands of tradesmen would have to be trained. But the time would come when builders and allied tradesmen now ovei'seao would return, and then the housing needs would be met. Rehabilitation was not helped by Members saying that the Government had fallen down on this or that. The Government had a serious problem to face, and Members should realise that and assist, because what had been promised to returned men must be accomplished. It had been claimed by some Members that the Government took little notice of the R.S.A. That was not so. As a member of both the Government and the R.S.A., he could saj 7 that R.S.A. proposals received every consideration, and about 35 per cent, had been adopted. The R.S.A. was a great institution which had demonstrated that it could do good work, but it would be wrong to suggest that the R.S.A. should govern the country. The Government must do that. The debate was interrupted by the tea adjournment.

Two new Bills were introduced in the House of Representatives after the tea adjournment by the GovernorGeneral’s message. Both Bills were read for the first time before the House returned to the second reading debate on the Rehabilitation Amendment Bill. The Land and Income Tax Amendment Bill, the first measure introduced, provides for a refund of excess tax payments within four years of the year of assessment. The Minister of Finance, Hon. W. Nash, explained that this placed taxpayers on the same footing as the Department. The Bill also provides for the appointment of a second Deputy Commissioner of Taxes and superintendents. Mr Nash said that this was in connection with decentralisation of Department administration. The second Bill introduced in the House was the Agricultural Emergency Regulations Confirmation Bill, which validates regulations made under the authority of the Agriculture (Emergency Powers) Act, 1934. Mr A. S. Sutherland (Nat., Hauraki), resuming the debate on rehabilitation, proposed a survey of tradesmen throughout the country. This would include carpenters in military camps, many of whom were doing only minor repairs and could be made available for constructing homes.

Mr D. W. Coleman (Govt., Gisborne) said that a survey of tradesmen had been made, and, to meet housing requirements, thousands of men still have to be trained, if they attempted to do the job before tradesmen overseas returned.

Hon. F. Langstone said that no person who had enjoj'ed security at home had a right to be upset, even if rehabilitation meant taking his land or his home for the benefit of the men who had faced battle. Mr Langstone ■raid New Zealand should have a big, broad, all-embracing plan, which would include rehabilitation and would make for balanced national development. Discussing land settlement, Mr Langstone sa’d that there were no great tracts of Crown land available. It might be necessary to buy as much as two million acres of privately-owned land for rehabilitation need?, although New Zealand probably could not readily absorb more than about six thousand additional farmers. The debate was continued by Government speakers until 10.30.