HOMES OF PEOPLE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19883, 9 March 1939, Page 16

HOMES OF PEOPLE

OVERCROWDED HOUSES

3 PER CENT CONDEMNED STATE BUILDING WORK REVIEW BY MINISTER (Per Press Association.) DUNEDIN, this day. Information was given to the conference of the Municipal Association of New Zealand yesterday by the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. E. Parry, that housing surveys had been completed in 115 boroughs, comprising a total population ol 901,353 persons, who were housed in 225,363 dwellings. Of those dwellings 31,663, or approximately 14 per cent of the* total, were considered to be in an unsatisfactory state, but were capable of repairs, while 6827, or approximately 3 per cent of the total, were, judged to be irreparable and fit only for demolition.

A total of 9835 houses, or approximately 4.5 per cent, Mr. Parry said, were found to be overcrowded according to the accepted, standards, surplus occupiers numbering 14,761.

Those statistics, which covered onlv 60 per cent of the total population, served to give some indication of the housing problem which faced the Dominion.

“The standard of housing of our people must always be a question of vital importance to municipal authorities,” Mr. Parry said. “Although it is not two years since actual construction work in connection with the Government's housing scheme was begun, it is interesting to realise that, although we have been hampered by the extreme shortage of skilled labour, the Department of Housing Construction has to date actually commenced over 5000 houses, of which 2700 are completed and in occupation. Contracts have been let for a further 1000 houses, “The Government is extremely anxious to accelerate the pace of housing development, but the actual output of houses is, to a large extent, determined by the capacity of the building industry and this, in turn, is directly influenced by the number of skilled tradesmen available. "If there is lo be a quickening of pice of housing construction.” Mr. Parry added, "it is vitally necessary to increase the number of artisans available, and the Government, reuPne: this position, is arranging for the introduction of artisans from overseas. It is confidently expected 0.1:1!. so far as the labour uroblem is concerned, the position will, in a very short time, be considerably improved.”