Housing Activity

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19884, 10 March 1939, Page 14

Housing Activity

Sir,—When I read that the Government was trying to secure building tradesmen from Australia I assumed that there must be a shortage of work in' that State. An Australian acquaintance, however, assured me that although the Government was not competing with private enterprise there was more building activity in New South Wales than in New Zealand. When I doubted his statement he produced a report showing ' that permits issued last year ■ were for buildings valued at £20,372,00C compared with just over £9,000.00(1 in New Zealand, of which nearly half must have been represented by State’ buildings. We worked the figures out and found that New South Wales had a (»0 per cent larger population than New Zealand but was spending 125 per cent more on buildings. My friend said the- cost of building wms not nearly so high in New South Wales, but the only figure he could produce was Mr. Stevens’ statement that the price of bricks there was <JBs a 1000 against 113 s in New Zealand. Allowing lor the lower costs, it seems that New South Wales, without- State activity, must be putting up new buildings nearly twice as fast as-New. Zealand. 1 thought this, fact might interest your readers as'much as it did me. BUILDER.