RURAL HOUSING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26544, 20 August 1947, Page 6

RURAL HOUSING

FARMERS* DEPUTATION EARLY ANNOUNCEMENT OF PLANS Industrial Correspondent WELLINGTON, Aug. 19. An announcement is expected soon of the Government’s plans to speed up the building of houses in rural areas. A deputation from Federated Farmers waited on the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, and the Minister of Works, Mr Semple, to-day to discuss the proposals of the recent conference of the federation. These included a request for priority for 1000 houses for rural areas in the next 12 months and for the reinstatement of the 1944-45 rural housing scheme with absolute priority. Under this scheme, cheap rental houses could be built on farms for the use of workers. It was also proposed that State rental houses should be built in farming townships, the rental to be euaranteed by the Federated Farmers and full employment for the workeroccuoant to be guaranteed by a group of farmers in the neighbourhood. The farmers’ delegation pointed out to the Prime Minister that of the 9643 houses built in the Dominion in the last 12 months, only 120 were built on farms. They declared that only adequate housing could ensure a return to the farming industry of the labour it had lost to the cities over the last 10 years.