BUILDING SUBSIDY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21515, 12 June 1933, Page 5

BUILDING SUBSIDY

REPLY TO CRITICISM "NO TRADE WORSE OFF" INDUCEMENT TO SPEND [BY TELEGRAPH PRESS ASSOCIATION] BLENHEIM, Saturday The deputy-chairman of the Unemployment Board, Mr. J. S. Jessep, today replied to criticism of the new building subsidy scheme. Ho said it; was designed to assist an industry which had been adversely affected by the depression probably more than any other single branch of business in the Dominion. He contended that the action taken by the board was more than justified by the circumstances "There is no trade worse off at present that the building industry," Mr. Jessep said. "It is nearly dead. It is estimated that not 10 per cent —3 liberal estimate would be 20 per cent, but reliable men say 10 per cent —of the men formerly engaged in the building trade arc in work in that trade to-day. Taking it at 20 per cent, we hare 80 per cent of the tradesmen idle. Object of the Scheme "The board, after a lot of thought, decided that from our point of view there was no trade that we could attempt to stimulate, no trade that would relieve the pressure on the unemployment funds more than the building trade. I want to stress that the object is to induce men who have money to spend to commence spending it now. "Some criticism has been levelled at the scheme from this point of view, that we are going to put money into the pockets of men who can well afford to put up a building, perhaps a big building. Well, that is not our point of view. We really are asking the assistance of any man who has money to spend it now. After all, the labour on a building, a big building particularly, is a small part of the total expenditure." Aiding Development Work Mr. Jessep said that the building scheme was not the only one which the board was subsidising heavily in order to get men on to useful work. "Under scheme 4b," he continued, "we are asking the assistance of any man of means—and I say that quite distinctly. I do not care if he is tha wealthiest man or institution in New Zealand, if he will do development work of any description which under ordinary economic conditions would not be done, we pay 50 per cent of the cost. "That applies to the drainage of. lands, bush and felling, scrub-clearing and so on. We welcome the man who will pay his 50 per cent. We can stand up to all criticism that comes along. We may be indirectly assisting the man with money, but otherwise he is nob going to do the work. We are, in fact, very willing to find our 50 per cent, and we consider it some of the best type of work we are doing in New Zealand to-day."