HOUSING SITUATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26442, 22 April 1947, Page 8

HOUSING SITUATION

STATE OF EMERGENCY RETURNED MEN’S VIEWS Because the housing situation was so serious in New Zealand, a state of emergency should be declared by the Government. This was the contention of members who attended a special meeting of the Duneclin branch of the Second N.Z.E.F. Association last night. The purpose of the meeting was to prepare remits for the Dominion conference, which will be held in Wellington from July 28 to August The chairman of the branch, Mr E. F. Tibbitts, explained that the association advocated a state of emergency being declared to meet the housing situation and, on the motion of Mr L. Percy, seconded by Mr K. Campbell, it was unanimously decided to submit to the conference a remit endorsing the association’s attitude. Opinion was divided on the question whether territorial training should be made compulsory in the Dominion, and, after a full discussion, it was decided, by 25 votes to 12, to send forward a remit advocating that territorial training be established on a compulsory basis. The remit was proposed by Mr W. Zaffer and seconded by Mr O. Wahrlick. “A large number of young men we see lounging about the streets at night would benefit from a few days military training,” remarked one member who drew attention to the fact that sport was not receiving the support it should from the nation s young Another member argued‘that there was no compulsory military training immediately before the outbreak of the recent war, but the young men had answered the call without hesitation when war broke out. Production was needed in New Zealand today, and it would not be assisted if men were taken into camp. Deserting Seamen

Proposed by Mr Percy and seconded by Mr D. McAnnally, a remit stated that the association viewed with alarm tne incidence of desertion by seamen and felt the time was opportune for amending the law to provide effective deterrent punishment for entering the country in such an unlawful manner, courts to be empowered to impose imprisonment until such time as it v/as possible to place the deserters in ships returning to. the country from which they came. , . . When immigration was administered haphazardly, trouble was bound to result, said Mr Percy, who gaye instances of what had happened in the economic depression to immigrants who arrived between 1925 and 1930. The basis of immigration should be oet numbers of the required farmers, tradesmen, and labourers. Proposing a remit,, that the present war pensions legislation should be entirely abolished, and a new Act framed embodying the principles of the Workers’ Compensation Act, Mr G. Johnston said war pensioners were entitled to be told of the nature and extent of their disabilities and given the reasons for reductions in their pensions. " . War amputees had been fighting the present legislation for some time, said Mr 'G. Bingham, who seconded the motion. ' . ~ “If a working man cannot be paid less than £5 5s a week, a man who comes back disabled from the war should receive at least that amount, he said. ; The remit was adopted. There were no mental hospitals for returned men except the asylums, said Mr R. Lynch, who proposed that the association . should investigate the possibilities of obtaining a suitable home in which returned men would have the opportunity of recovering. —The remit was seconded by Mr G. Henwood and adopted. Set of Rules Adopted

A comprehensive set of rules, which had been framed by a special committee, was read to the meeting by the s secretary, Mr J. P- Innes. and approved. On the motion of Mr R. Gilbert, seconded by Mr Percy, it was proposed that the appointment of, honorary members should be at the discretion of branches, ;and that no honorary member should! be eligible for election to office.—Members supported the remit. Now that the Dunedin branch was firmly established, attention was being paid to the formation of other branches in the district, said the chairman. A club with 32 members had been formed at Waitahuna, and new branches were likely to be formed in other country centres. That the association did not favour the ratification of the Bretton Woods agreement was mentioned by.Mr Percy, who explained that it was the opinion of the association that such a decision would commit the Dominion too far. Discussing the proposed world league of war veterans, Mr Percy said that the association had been in communication with Australia and America on the subject. It was considered that returned servicemen who had seen what actual warfare had done to men and countries, ml fbt be able to deter any Government that had ideas of starting a war or otherwise upsetting the peace of the world.