BUILDING TRADES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 130, 18 May 1911, Page 1

BUILDING TRADES

SHORTAGE OF LABOUR. [ BUILDING WORK RESTRICTED [ PRESS ASSOCIATION. —COPYRIGHT]. (Received 18. 9.10 a.m.) Sydney, May 18. At the Master Builders’ Association dinner, speakers deplored the shortage of labour, and stated that architects were unable to get tenders for many works because contractors were unable to get men. A vigorous immigration policy is asked for. REVERSE CONDITIONS IN WELLINGTON. MASONS URGE THE PROVISION OF WORK. [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, May 17. To-day the Hon. R. McKenzie, Minister of Public Works, was? waited upon by a deputation from ! the Wellington Stonemasons 5 ' Union, consisting of Messrs. A. ! Duncan. R. Lithgow, and J. T. i Gray, who laid before him the ne-| cessity of providing work for’ stonemasons in Wellington ’by) pushing on with the stone build-; ings which the Government has ini course of erection. ' Mr. D. McLaren, ALP., urged' that the railway station and Par-! liament buildings should be put in) hand. If these works were delay-; ed it was possible that there would '■ be an insufficient number of stonemasons in the country when the time came to employ them. Trade was brisk in Australia, and was likely to remain so. The men I could not afford to hang about do-, ing nothing for weeks and months ’ after the work at the new post office was completed. ; In reply to a question by a mem-1 ber of the deputation as to whetherthe new Parliament buildings' would be built of stone, the Alinis-! ter said he could give no assurance! in that direction at present. The Minister said he was sorry ; he could not give his audience as much encouragement as they ex-j pected, or as he would wish to| give. Competitive designs for the' new Parliament buildings had been! called for, and he had no know-! ledge of what conditions regarding! the use of stone would be stipu-' luted in the accepted design. As! soon as a design was accepted hej would push on with the erection of! the building as rapidly as possible, j He pointed out that the erection of | the new railway station did noti come under his department. Work 1 on a new building for the Native' Land Department and Stamps' Department would shortly be com-; menced in Sydney street. He! agreed with the remarks of a ■ member of the deputation respect-1 ing the use of imported stone, j Stone quite as good could be ob-' tained in New and its use I should be encouraged. !