CHEAPER HOUSES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23592, 31 August 1938, Page 10

CHEAPER HOUSES

INVERCARGILL SOCIETY COMPARISON WITH STATE SCHEME ALLEGATION IN HOUSE (Fhom Ouh Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, Aug. 30. An allegation that similar houses to those erected by the State Housing Department were being built in Invercarjgill more cheaply and were being let at lower rentals was made by Mr J. Hargest (Opposition, Awarua) in the House of Representatives this evening during the debate on the Imprest Supply Bill. The taxpayers were building Government houses, he said, but they had not yet been told what the cost was.

The Parliamentary Under-Secre-tary for Housing (Mr J. A. Lee) had apparently been sadly astray in his estimates of the cost of State houses, Mr Hargest said. He had said that they would be built for £6OO each, but none had been built at anywhere near that sum.

"In Invercargill Government houses have not been sufficiently at tractive to encourage applicants," Mr Hargest said. " I said before thai the Government was still advertising them in February and the Minister said that that was untrue I have here advertisements from an Invercargill newspaper in January, March and April and there was actually an advertisement in May asking for applications. The Government is asking for higher rents than for similar houses built under the auspices of the Building Society in Invercargill. The 24 Government houses built in East road cost £ 1000 each with an additional £6O for paths and £l2O for the section. They are advertised to let at from 25s 6d to 31s, an average of 28s 3d. The Southand Building Society put up five-roomed brick houses of a high standard at an average of £BSB 16s 2d, for which the rent is £65 a year, or 24s 2d a week. The rates amount to 2s a week, the total cost being 26s 2d against 28s 2d a week." SHORTAGE IN INVERCARGILL REPLY BY UNDER-SECRETARY TENANTS AVAILABLE FOR HOUSES (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, Aug. 30. Speaking later in the debate the Parliamentary Under-secretary for Housing (Mr Lee) said that the inference from a statement he was reported to have made that there were no tenants for houses which had been built in Invercargill was not correct.

"At no time have we been able to overtake the shortage of houses in Invercargill," Mr Lee said. He had also been taken to task for suggesting that if the Labour Government were defeated the timber mills would close down and building would be suspended. He had an extract from an address by Mr K. J. Holyoake (Opposition, Motueka), who had said that if he had his way he would abolish State houses. "If he has his way, overboard go 10,000 jobs," "Mr Lee said.

During the last three months, Mr Lee said, building in New Zealand had reached a new peak. For the 12 months just past the figures were the second highest on record and that in spite of the fact that the Labour Government started off with a building army that had been sadly depleted. . Mr Holyoake said he had never made the statement which had been attributed to him. "What I have said is that, had private enterprise been given a fair opportunity to function as it should, there would never have been a necessity to set up such a top-heavy department as the Housing Department," Mr Holyoake said. LAND FOR HOUSING FURTHER PURCHASES BY STATE (Peb United Prkss Association) WELLINGTON, Aug. 30. The Cabinet has approved of the following purchases of land for State houses:— Martinborough: Land in Broadway, Strasbourge and Kitchener streets, sufficient for eight houses. Wellington: Land in White's lane. St. James . and Wyndrum avenues, Lower Hutt, sufficient for 66 houses; land in Jubilee road, Khandallah, sufficient for four houses. Auckland: Single section in Seymour street, Ellerslie, land in Oakley avenue, Waterview, sufficient for seven houses; an area between Long Drive and Challinor road, St. Heliers, sufficient for five houses; land in Dominion road, Duke street. Louvain and Cambrai avenues, Mount Roskill, sufficient for nine houses; an area in Great North road, Grey Lynn, sufficient for 18 houses; land in Meola and Walker roads. -Formby and Shakesneare roads and, Carrington road, Port Chevalier, sufficient for 12 houses.