BUILDING TRADE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24633, 14 June 1941, Page 8

BUILDING TRADE

SLACKENING NOT GENERAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME FEWER MEN EMPLOYED The effect on building in New Zealand of the loss of labour due to requirements of the armed services, together with the shortage of some materials, was discussed by _Mr G. W. Albertson, Director of Housing and Building Controller, in an interview with a Daily Times reporter .yesterday. There were complaints from time to time by contractors and manufacturers that trade was slackening off, he remarked; but a general application of such complaints was not justified; The shortage of labour was most noticeable in Wellington and Auckland, and naturally it was causing a certain amount of inconvenience to contractors throughout the country;'but the shortage of materials was not sufficiently serious to have any pronounced effect on the building programme. The main difficulty in this respect, of course, was that of obtaining certain lines of materials, mostly those for “ finishing ” homes and other buildings, he added, but these constituted only about 10 per cent, of the total materials used. The other 90 per cent, was produced in New Zealand. so_ that apart from delay in the completion of contracts, there was no great hardship being suffered. That building was going on steadily was indicated by the fact that the various placement offices had very few tradesmen on their books. There was work for everyone who could work. 440 Houses Completed Turning to the Government housing programme, Mr Albertson pointed out that whereas there were 6000 men employed on it 12 months ago, there were 4300 at present. The loss of men had necessarily affected the programme, and there were now 2300 houses under contract compared with 3200 a year ago. The total number of houses so- far completed in the Otago district, from Oamaru to Invercargill, was 781, and there were 151 still under construction. In Dunedin and Green Island 440 homes had been completed by May 31, and there were 86 under construction at present. . . ' “There are something over 200 applications still to be considered in this area,” Mr Albertson said; “ but a contrast between the needs of Dunedin and those of the north-, ern cities is provided in the fact that there are 9000 applications still' , awaiting consideration in Auckland, 8500 in Wellington, and about 1000 in Christchurch. Some of these applicants have already been waiting for two and a-half to three years. Very few of the Dunedin applications have been in longer than a few months.” Apart from cool stores. there was very little big building going on anywhere, he added. In the last six months almost every freezing works in the country had extended its storage space, and approval had just been given to the erection of a big store at Burnside and another in Wellington.’ ; Co-ordination of Activity The new department of Mr Albertson’s work, that of Building Controller —these regulations have been in operation only since January—-involves the co-ordination of Government and private activity through a general supervision of the materials and labour available throughout the Dominion, it is necessary to obtain the controller’s authority for the erection of any building costing £2OOO or using more than half a ton of steel. The object of the regulations is to ensure that essential building—for defence, primary production, factories producing materials to manufacture articles that cannot be imported,, hospitals and housing—js placed in order of urgency and ttiat an undue proportion of materials is not absorbed, in buildingsthat are not The plan was working out satisfactorily* Mr Albertson commented. It made it possible for this, department to make suggestions of economies through .the use. of alternative materials and in other ways. The labour factor, too,, could be surveyed froni a national standpoint. The effect of it was not that building was restricted indiscriminately, he emphasised. In some cities and towns there was little essential building to warrant any interference with other work, so that relatively;; less important building was ible to proceed normally. Mr Albertson will leave to-morrow on his return to Christchurch and Wellington.