HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE.

Northern Advocate, 4 September 1919, Page 4

HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE.

NEW ZEALAND'S NEEDS

HOUSING COMMISSION SUG-

GESTED,

A conference convened by the Wellington Repatriation Board discussed the housing problem, and passed a number of resolutions on the subject. The conference was presided over by Mr T. Shailer Weston (chairman of the Repatriation Board) and dele gates from the Wellington City Council, the Harbour Board, the Returned Soldiers' Association,, the Town-Plan-ning Association, and the Labour Dc partment were present.

Mr Weston said that the Repatriation Board had interested itself in the housing question on account of the' scarcity of houses "for returned soldiers. In endeavouring to discover a satisfactory solution, the board had found many difficulties in its way and had come to the conclusion that it would be best to call a conference of the various local authorities in Wellington to discuss a line of coordinated action. It was suggested that the conference should consider the' following ;matteys: the prevention; of any traffic ■or riser in .prices of land resulting from an extensive building campaign; co operation in the placing of contracts and in building, carting, and the buying of land; standardisation of design; tenures, .and terms.of.purchase, and the prevention of overlapping between the schemes of different" local authorities. A question' that he wished to see prominently before the meeting was that of finance; BUSINESS LINES. It should be clear that it would be impossible for New Zealand to bor row in London at less than 5_ ocr cent. Thus in any building schemes adopted the interest to be paid by purchasers on balances of purchase money must be 6 per cent. It was only right that if the State and local authorities were to go in for extensive schemes the schemes should be run on business lines. Otherwise tne fortunate few who benefited by the schemes would be subsidised at the expense of the many. Such a thing would not be a democratic solution of the housing problem. A lengthy motion by Mr C. H. Chapman urged: that a large number of houses, probably more than five hundred, was required to meet the needs of the Wellington district; that the Government should give every assistance to local bodies to enable them to erect houses for their employees and for citizens generally; and that the Government, in order to secure local bodies against possible loss through embarking in housing schemes, should bear one third of the expense of each scheme, while tho local body bore two-thirds. Mr Weston suggested that the discussion be confined to two points, viz.: whether the local bodies should be left to go in for schemes of their own, or whether the Government should raise one big loan for the purpose of housing, and allocate the money amongst the focal bodies. 20,000 HOUSES WANTED. Mr W. Ferguson considered that upon sanitary grounds not five hund red, but fifteen hundred houses were required in Greater Wellington. For the whole Dominion, no fewer than one hundred thousand rooms, or twenty thousand five-roomed houses, were needed to make up the present shortage. He considered that people with families should have six roomed houses, as it was in the interests of the public health that there should be a sitting room in each house. The needs of the Dominion as set out in the above figures had been computed on the assumption that overcrowding existed where there was less than one room to one and a half persons. The number of houses that ought to be destroyed as unfit for habitation had not been taken into account in ' reckoning the present requirements.

Mr M. J. Reardon moved (while Mr Chapman's motion remained unseconded) that the money required by local bodies for housing purposes should :be provided by the Govern ment at the lowest rate of interest at which it could be obtained, plus a small overhead charge to cover insurance against loss.

Mr Ferguson thought that no special mention of Wellington should be made in any resolution carried by tho

conference,

The conference adopted a part rf Mr Chapman's resolution that urg-d upon the Government the imperati.e necessity of building a large number of houses to meet present needs. DUTIES OF LOCAL BODIES. Mr -Reardon's motion was then discussed. •Mr Ferguson considered that only a portion, say 80 per cent., of the money needed for housing should be found by the Government. If the local bodies had to find 20 per cent, of the money it. would be some guarantee, of economy in expenditure. There would be a great deal of squandering unless the local bodies were themselves financially interested. Mr J. G. Harkness explained the position of the Harbour Board. All its members, he said, favoured the idea of building houses for the employees. The board had no power, however, to purchase land for the building of the houses, but it was doing its best to secure the power it needed. Touching upon the resolution, he asked what security the local bodies would be offering the Government for the handing over of some i £14,000,000 or £16,000,00 to be spent on housing. The Government was not likely to hand over such a sum of money without receiving some security for repayment.