REHABILITATION

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 53, Issue 32518, 18 December 1944, Page 5

REHABILITATION

OPEN UP CROWN LAND SPEECH IN THE HOUSE MR SUTHERLAND’S OPINION The need for the opening-up for settlement of more Crown land for the purpose of rehabilitation was the subject of a speech by Mr A. S. Sutherland M.P. for Hauraki, when speaking' in the debate on the Rehabilitation Amendment Bill, in the House of Representatives recently. >Mr Sutherland' said: —

Sir, the hon. member for Eden was rather critical in his remarks about members on this side in regard to the matter of rehabilitation. I want to tell the hon gentleman that the leader of the Opposition and all his colleagues are most anxious to assist.in rehabilitation. The hon. gentleman talked about the blind, maimed, the widows and the orphans. I can assure the House and the country that members on this side are out to do their part in assisting these unfortunate people.

Those Without Homes

There is another section of the community which we on this side are out to assist —although the member for Eden did not mention it —and' that is the homeless. The hon. gentleman twitted the hon. member for Rotorua for bringing sentiment into the question of handling ex-servicemen. I maintain that sentiment does come into rehabilitation, and, indeed, that sentiment works far better than a lot of officialdom and red tape. The- minister has tried sentiment, and he knws that it has its place in rehabilitation.

I represented' the returned soldiers on the Land' 'Board for many years, and we found that sentiment came into the handling of many cases. The hon. member for Eden alleged that 'the returned men from the 1914-18 war were put into jerry-built houses. I know of many hundreds of returned soldiers- from the last war who were housed successfully, and after a period of 25 years there are quite a few who own their own homes.

They bought them under table mortgages, and they are paid off. Those servicemen who attended to the maintenance of their homes are now living in good houses free from interest rates.

The hon. membei’ for Marlborough talked of fanatical allegiance to a political party, his suggestion being that we, the Opposition, are a fanatical group. I ask you, Sir, whether you can conceive of anything more fanatical than the returned soldiers on the Government benches trooping into the Ayes lobby to support the giving of a bursary to a military defaulter? If that was not an instance of fanatical allegiance, what was it?

Mr Cullen: Is that in the Bill? Mr (Sutherland: 'We are discussing the rehabilitation of ex-servicemen, and the fact that returned soldiers on the Government benches' supported the giving of a bursary to a military defaulter is very pertinent. The matter certainly comes within the scope of the Bill. The hon. member for Marlborough spoke of priorities. That ill-becomes him after having gone into the lobby in support of the granting of a bursary to a military defaulter when we have so many young exservicemen anxious to obtain bursaries. The hon. gentleman, should be the last to talk of fanatical allegiance Task for All I am interested in rehabilitation. 'On every occasion on which I have spoken in the House I have devoted some time to the subject. It is not a political question. There is. a task for everyone in the rehabilitating of our returned men, and the Minister will require all the help he can get. If my remarks are a little critical I hope they are also helpful. In the Waikato, one of the first rehabilitation committees -was set up in Morrinsville.. It consists of seven members representing a good cross section of the community, and the work is proceeding well. The members are of different shades of political opinion but that does- not influence the work, which proceeds amicably. Recently the Minister was good enough to set up a sub-farming committtee to deal with farming matters in that centre, and that too, is functioning well. Applications On The Plains We have had more applications to go on the land in the Hauraki electorate than in many large centres, and that fact influenced the Minister in the setting up of the special committee. There is also a committee at

bered 116 and deaths in the districts named in this year 294. The problem was serious and must be faced by providing more institutions for treatment.

At present, seven patients were being treated at Thames and’ seven in sanatoria. However, there was the possibility that these sanatoria might be closed to Thames patients, with the possibility of a long wait.

The estimated gross capital, administrative and maintenance charge for the Thames board for the new institution would be £2149 a year, continued Mr Danby. There would be a refund of £ll5O from Social Security for patients treated, leaving the balance to be paid, less Government subsidy of 50 per cent, about £5OO. At present the board was paying £465/10/a year for treatment of its tuberculosis patients in institutions. Half of this was subsidised by the , Government, leaving the present charge £220 a year. The extra cost of the new sanatorium to rhe board would be about £3OO a year. The sanatorium wouici definitely be to the advantage of the. board, as it would be assured of having seven beds always available and the extra cost was not in any way excessive. After discussion on the financial aspects of the situation the motion to support the move for the new sanatorium was carried. The mover was Mr J. W. Neale, who said this was an excellent opportunity for the people to start a fund for a new sanatorium as a peace memorial instead of wasting money on such things as fireworks and bunting. Replying to a question by Mr S. H. Brown. Mr Danby said that when the institution was established the board would probably be in a position to secure more than seven beds.

the Ngatea centre in the Hauraki Plains, and it is about to begin to function now. I anticipate splendid achievements there. The Minister has always given me consideration when I have interviewed him in the inter-

ests of ex-servicemen, for he knows that I make sure of the facts of the cases.

Mr Denham: He is a reasonable Minister.

Mr Sutherland: Yes, and my requests are reasonable. I now suggest that the loan for furniture should be increased from £lOO to £2OO. Very little furniture can be purchased for £lo'o. It is desirable to get servicemen settled into their homes as quickly as possible, and £2OO for furniture would assist in that direction. Sales Tax On Furniture Mr Holland: There should be no sales tax included in the price of the furniture. Mr Sutherland: That is so, and the sales tax should be removedTrom the cost of soldiers’ homes. I would like to see increased from £5OO to £lOOO the amount of loans available for the .purchase of businesses. It is difficult ■to (purchase a business for less than £lOOO. I trust that the Minister will consider that suggestion. ■One of the most vital questions affecting rehabilitation is that o.f housing. The position here is very acute —there are thousands of servicemen and servicemen’s wives waiting for homes. In this connection it occurs to me that many of the carpenters now stationed at various military camps could be taken and put on house-building. A general survey should be made of all 1 tradesmen at present in the camps with a view to putting them on to this vital activity. Recently, the Minister of Housing told us that his department was turning out one house every 48 minutes. The Hon. Mr Semple: Of a working day.

Loss Through Holidays

Mr Sutherland: That is not whar was reported in the newspapers, and if that is what the Minister meant he should have said so. I was talking to a builder the other day who told me that he had in his employ a number of carpenters who, at the Christmas period, would go off on a holiday lasting anything from 14 to 17 days. On the Minister’s own figures thai would mean that there would be z loss of 150 to 200 houses as a result of the compulsory holidays. It is not necessary to (point out that our men fighting overseas will not be allowed to knock off for holidays at Christmas. An Hon. Member: The lawyers do. Mr Sutherland: I have nothing to do with lawyers. As I have said, the

shortage of houses is very serious, and the Minister will have to get busy. He decrys private enterprise, but private enterprise is often more dependable than State enterprise. Home Built in 10 Days

For instance, a man whom I met in my own home-town recently told me that he had had an offer for his home and he informed me that he would be prepared to sell if he could get another house for himself. He could not get a house in his own town, so he went to Hamilton, and interviewed a building firm which promised to build-a house for him in ten days. He accepted the offer and within three weeks he was living in his new house. This house was thoroughly modern and up-to-date with electrical installations. There was an instance of what private enterprise could do. Alongside that house which was built in three weeks are seven state houses, the construction of which was commenced, last January, and they are still untenanted. The Minister also said there was a shortage of timber. Well, we have any amount of cement and plenty of shingle and sand Why not build a few concrete houses? We have plenty of bricks also. Why not build brick houses even if it mean? speeding up the manufacture of more bricks. Value of Decentralisation I am pleased to see that a scheme of decentralisation has been started. It has been one of my pet schemes, and on many occasions I have talked it over with the Minister. He started it off in Auckland', and I wish it well; it has my blessing. When the scheme is working, the Minister should set up an 'office in Hamilton to serve iSouth Auckland province where there is a great deal of rehabilitation work to be done. In a report I have here, the Rehabilitation Officer at Hamilton gave these figures the other day. He says;

(Of the Dominion total, 34i per cent, of the farms were in the district controlled by the Hamilton office, I'B per cent, of the new residences, 23' per cent, of, the businesses established, and 14 2/3 per cent, of the furniture loans made.,

That should influence the minister in deciding to set up an office there at a suitable time, As for land settlement, I feel that we are not getting very far with it. I would like to support the remarks made yesterday by the hon. member for the Bay of Is-

lands. We have large blocks of Crown land, on which very little has been done. New hiomes have to be built, as well as farm buildings, and a certain amount of roading, in some cases has to be done. That should be pushed on with. The national debt has

increased and we want more production. ' Put More Land Into Production We cannot get that while the Government just goes round: buying one settler out. to put a soldier on. We must have more land put into production as our national debt has nearly trebled, more production is essential and I hope that the minister will get on with the cutting up of these blocks. In the north especially, there is much Crown land awaiting development. When the hon. member for Timaru was speaking yesterday, he maintained that if servicemen .were put on to Crown lands they would, not have to pay the cost of the buildings and' improvements. He said that the nation carried that cost.. That is nonsense. The costs are loaded on to the land. Why is the Government putting all these men on to these improved farms with houses? The men have to buy tljem. I have been on a Land Board for many years and I know what I am talking about. Land Available The Rev. Mr Carr;—l was talking about land under development. Mr Sutherland: The hon. gentleman was talking about improvements and 1 I know what he said, because this is what I wrote down: “The value of the buildings and improvements won’t be loaded on to the land, but carried! by the nation.”

The Rev Mr Carr —Read the context.

Mr Sutherland—The hon. ffiember does not know very much about land settlement, and certainly not very much about the Crown Land: settlement. What would be the sense of a man going on to an improved property when he could get an unimproved one and let the Crown put the improvements on it and pay for them ? The hon. gentleman’s statement needs correction. '

There is first class land' in my elec-

torate ready for soldier settlement. When I took the Minister up to Hauraki he was very impressed. The land is close to roads, schools, and- electric power, and a new railway will go right through the middle of it. Land on the Hauraki Plains needs very little fertiliser. The State is farming it, and the crown does not like to give up State farms. I see the minister of Agriculture smiling; he knows that I am correct. I hope the minister will take that into consideration, and' that he will cut up those blocks to make them available for returned 1 soldiers. The hon. member for Wanganui, in a well-considered speech mentioned' interest rates. I am in favour of a reduction though I do not say that soldiers should have interest-free money They migh have remissions occasionally to help them over difficult periods, but they should not have to pay more than two per cent, for the first five years and three per cent, for the second period, when the situation could be reviewed. It is time members of the Government gave up talking about the failures of the last war. They should remember the successes. Manyi men who were helped 'by the Government of the day after the last war are successfully settled on the land' or in business. They are beginning to resent the remarks of hon. gentlemen on the other side who are continually talking about the failures of the last war.

There will certainly be failures after this Avar. There will always be failures. One cannot get away from that. We want to eliminate them, as much as possible, take notice of the successes and forget about the failures. I, like the hon. member for Otaki, take great pride in the work of the Returned Services Association. I have 'been a member of it for 25 years, and I have been' in the executive in my district for many years, and- I think that the association has the welfare of the returned men sincerely at heart. Working With R.S.A.

I think that the Minister of Rehabilitation does collaborate quite closely, but there are one or two points on which I think he could* get a little closer, by accepting some of the resolutions of the R.S.A. They might not mean very much to the Rehabilitation Department, but they do mean a lot to the Returned Services Association.

There is a question I should like to bring up which concerns soldiers in this ’ war and also returned sftldiers from previous wars, because I think it is an injustice. If a soldier takes up Crown land at present he is not on an even keel with a soldier who takes up a freehold' section. The latter if he finds himself “burnt out” through war injuries, and wishes to sell out,

can if the Land Sales Committee considers he wants to sell at too high a price and, therefore, refuses the sale, the man on the freehold can apply to a higher body—the Land Sales Court. That is all right. Now there are' numerous Crown settlers in the Northern province, and in fact all over New Zealand, and returned soldiers from the last Avar, who break down in health, and if a Crown settler wishes to sell he has to apply to the Land: Board' for consent to the transfer. If the board considers the price too high it tells him so, and he has no right of redress. He lias to accept the board’s price or withdraw from sale. Crown Tenants Major the Hon. C. F. Skinner: He can 'bring the case to the notice of the Minister of Lands, as many of them do.

Mr Sutherland: The hon. gentleman is Minister of Rehabilitation as well as Minister of 'Lands. I think the Crown tenants should have the right of appeal to a higher authority. I think the Minister will agree with me.

I recall the case of a friend of mine —an ex-soldier who died from war injuries after a lingering death. The Public Trustee decided to sell, and the estate was sold at auction just re- a cently. The price was £23' an acre, and I thought it was quite reasonable. The application for- transfer went before the Land 'Board, 'but the' Land Board said “No, it is too dear.” They wrote that 120-acre property down by £6OO. The widow, who could not ,.,0n,-’had to accept that price. She had no right of appeal.

In 1937, when butterfat was a shilling a pound, th% Grown valued the property at £l9 an acre, and' to-d'ay with" butterfat at Is' 4J a lb. —the 1942 .basis —they will not allow the property to be transferred' at the higher price. .Mr Langstone: What was the instruction under which the Land Boardoperated? Price of Crown Property Mr Sutherland: The instruction that the hon. member gave years ago when he was Minister of Lands, that was, to be pretty tight with Crown tenants. I remember what the hon. member did when he was Minister of Lands. If the price of the property held by the Crown, tenant was reduced by the Land Board' he should! have the option to appeal to a higher authority. That is reasonable and I hope the Minister will give that consideration. Now, when the Minister of Internal Affairs was speaking yesterday afternoon on rehabilitation he was very caustic in his remarks about private enterprise and the Chambers of Commerce, but I support what the hon. member for Bay of 'Plenty had to say regarding the great job the Chambers of 'Commerce and private enterprise generally are doing for rehabilitation. I should like to read this short extract which gives a report of a meeting' dealing with rehabilitation, as .it shows how the Chamber of Commerce and private citizens andl the Rehabilitation Board' work in my area. The extract reads:— Aid' to Servicemen. Activities to Date. A review of what had. already- been done and the general policy followed in the rehabilitation of ex-servicemen was given by the rehabilitation officer (Hamilton), Mr -D. Barrett, at a meeting convened 'by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and' held in Toorak Chambers last night. Mr T. G. Reynolds, chairman of the Hamiltoii Rehabilitation Committee, presided'. Open Up More Land That shows how things are done in the South Auckland district. I notice that there is on the waiting list up my way 650 ex-servicemen, who are eligible to take up land. I am quoting from the Hamilton officer’s figures. This is what he has to say: There is a scarcity of the right type of farm available at present, he admitted, and there were' 650 servicemen, whose loans had been approved, waiting to find suitable properties. Major the 'Hon. C. F. Skinner: There must 'be only SO: in the rest of New Zealand; then.

Mr Sutherland: .The Hamilton officer might be referring to the total figure for the Dominion. I should like to impress on the Minister the necessity for going into the question of opening up more Crown lands. I think there is a possibility of fertilisers being a little imore plentiful, and I think that the Minister should' go into the matter of opening up Crown lands. You cannot beat group-settle-ment for returned soldiers. There are plenty of blocks available. There is plenty of land' at Galatea and I have mentioned areas in the

Hauraki district. Then there are blocks at Rotorua and right through to Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty that would make fine settlement areas. When the returned 1 soldiers are grouped on a block of land they work better; one settler assists the other, the weak assists the strong. I hope the Minister will give that mat-' ter early, consideration and put a bit more life into Crowm-settlement operations.

In conclusion I ask the Minister to give favourable considerations to' the requests I have made, and. I again offer 'by services' to : the Minister in the interests of rehabilitation.