HOUSING WORKERS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 7 August 1945, Page 2

HOUSING WORKERS

DAIRY FACTORIES’ PROBLEM

Wellington, This Day.

A total of 486 new houses is estimated to be required to ri*ovide ade quate accommodation for dairy company employees.

"The difficulties of obtaining material and labour are so great that in all probability the industry can at best hope to' secure a share of the available resources sufficient to meet part of the need.” said a special committee on housing in a report to the Dominion Dairy Conference in Wellington. "However, it is reasonable ,to suggest that the State, which to-day is largely accepting responsibility for providing houses for the people, should allocate a certain number for dairy industry. It cannot be admitted that' dairy companies should accept the responsibility for housing their employees while the State is building under costs which cannot possibly be covered by rentals secured.” Some houses were being erected by dairy companies, but difficulties were the high costs, low rents of existing houses, finance, taxation and shortage of labour and materials. The following recommendations were* adopted:— That the Government be asked to build houses and lease them to dairy companies. That loans at low rates of interest be granted by the Government to dairy companies for building houses, with special arrangements as to security so as to avoid surveys and complications with gerferal financial arrangements Preferably this should be, where desired, against produce payments. That the Government be asked to bring clown legislation to provide that lip to, say, 2 per cent, intei'est on capital invested in houses would be tax free. That the Government be asked to remove the sales tax on building material. or refund an amount for each room equal to the sales tax on materials. That a special tribunal be set up with authority to raise existing low rentals so as to reduce anomalies between em ’ ployees who occupy the existing houses and those who occupy the ones built at the higher costs. That the company should bf enabled to obtain vacant possession of any newhouse if the employment of the worker occupying it is terminated.