MAORI HOUSING

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 257, 28 September 1945, Page 5

MAORI HOUSING

WELFARE OF NATIVES. IMPEOYEMiNT URGED. (Press Assn) WELLINGTON, Sept 28 When the House of Representatives went into Committee on the Estimates today, Mr W. Sullivan (Nat., Bay of Plenty), speaking to the vote of £1.366,500 for the Native Land Settlement Account, expressed gratification that the department's allocation of £150,000 for native housing was bigger than last year's.

Mr Sullivan said he would like to see the Minister make a big forward move in the matter of native housing, which at the present time was able in some districts. He inquired" what would be the Government's policy in cases where the breadwinner of a Maori family had died and the fam- r ily was virtually dependent on benefits. Mr Sullivan said to leave the situation as it was was merely to encourage the spread of disease, with--' the result that more of the Maori people would enter hospital, imposing a still heavier financial burden on the community. He advocated trade training for Maori boys. It was commonly supposed that ali the Maoris had to do, _ was to go on the land, but in his experience only 25 per cent, of the . : Maoris made good farmers, whereas ' many Maori boys had an aptitude for;;; craftsmanship if given adequate training. Mr F. Langstone (Lab., Waimarino). _ said that under the native land settle- zI ment scheme 1,669,000 acres were under development, 518,000-rrcres had been # developed and 210,000 actually settled in 1892 units. These units were milk- ,- ing 40,450 dairy cows and stocked'.; 20,219 other dairy cows, and ran 37,511 ~ cattle, 65,695 breeding ewes, and 22,422 other sheep. The depa'rtmentreceived about 40 per cent, of the farming returns. There were 2000 Maoris working for wages on other schemes and the development scheme supported; 20.000 Maori people. The Ministerswas the biggest farmer in the country, Mr Langstone declared. The work _ going on was remarkable and no other . State department could show the rtv s ults this department was showing. The sum of £4,044,000 had been returned from £6,759,000 of capital ex- ' penditure; nearly £IOO,OOO had been paid in interest to the Consolidated . Fund, and after meeting all expen- '- diture there was no capital money spent at all. The whole scheme had been one continual advance year after year and was the greatest work ever done for the Maori people. Mr A. S. Sutherland (Nat., Hauraki) said he was concerned about the rehabilitation of the returned Maori soldier. He said there was plenty of land available for their settlement. If there was proper supervision and better farm facilities were provided this would check the drift to the cities.