PLACE OF SECONDARY INDUSTRIES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 15 October 1941, Page 2

PLACE OF SECONDARY INDUSTRIES

IN RE-ESTABLISHING soldiers TOO MUCH STRESS ON LAND SETTLEMENT (From Our Parliamentary Reporter; Wellington, This Daj\ After the last war great stress had been placed on rehabilitation through land settlement, the Minister of Finance (Mr Nash) said when speaking in the second reading debate of the Rehabilitation Bill in the House of Representatives last night, but he believed that proper rehabilitation could not be carried out after the present war without the development of secondary industries. In Ids opinion too much stress had been placed on land settlement after the last war with the that about U 9.000,000 had been lost, and land had been given a value that its productive capacity could not meet. The second part of the Bill was, to him, more important than the first. The first part provided for the rehabilitation of the soldiers but the second part provided for the reconstruction of industries and would thus make a place where the men could be rehabili- \ tated. Tiie country had got to find an economic order in which the soldier j could use what was provided for him. Plans were already being considered but whatever was done it should not j be done just for the sake of giving the j men work. ‘‘Let us find out what | ought to be done and then give them : a chance to do something in that." Necessary public works would help in the early stages and there would be j a certain amount of land settlement. j j fairly large areas having already been | j; bought for that purpose. On those j areas the soldiers could train themselves as farmers and those who proved | . capable would be found land. There j were also railways improvement and ! irrigation, but there were two points in particular—housing and electrifi- j Unless the country took the problem j of housing in hand and provided j double the quantity of houses at pre- I sent being built there would be a real j | difficulty when the soldiers returned. : They would want houses and consequently it was imperative that more j should be built. That would be diffi- i cult because of the shortages in mater- > ial and tradesmen but the supply had j been increased and it would have to , be doubled. That would mean training ' men and the release of more material ' but it must be done, i If the resources of the country were j to be exploited to the full so that the 1 j returned men could be given the best j j opportunity in the future, Mr Nash I continued, more electric energy would . be needed. That would mean that f more equipment would have to be brought from overseas after the war and funds must be built up to pay for ! what was required. Once sufficient j electricity was available half a dozen • new major industries could be started, and they must be established because i there was not enough room for all on j : the land. The best way to rehabilitate the men would be by expanding indus- j tries.