TE AWAMUTU COURIER Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays FRIDAY, 2nd SEPTEMBER, 1949 HOUSING NEEDS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 79, Issue 7102, 2 September 1949, Page 4

TE AWAMUTU COURIER Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays FRIDAY, 2nd SEPTEMBER, 1949 HOUSING NEEDS

THE Minister of Finance has assured the Borough Council of his assistance in having the surplus buildings at the Te Awamutu Air Station made available to the Council for housing. Thus is revealed the initial stages of negotiations for an extension of the policy for relief of the acute housing shortage in Te Awamutu, and the Borough Council is commended for thus striving to overtake a really difficult and perplexing shortage. A few years ago when earlier negotiations were in progress, Mr Nash gave very practical help, and as a result of his and the Government’s sympathetic understanding of the plight in which so many homeless- families were placed sixty-three homes were established from surplus army materials, the majority of the buildings being of reasonable or normal standard. But, despite everything that has been done in furtherance of State housing policy, and by private builders, much—too much—of real necessity remains. The disorganisation and interruption of family life much more than concerns the people who are directly suffering hardship and privation; it creates a bad social condition and becomes the affair of the whole community. Not for long can sub-standard accommodation be tolerated, and effort must unquestionably be made to ease the condition that has developed and continues to expand. The Borough Council is unquestionably right when, on behalf of rhe citizenship, it accepts its share of responsibility and action. Iff its housing programme finance can be no more than a consideration. The real cost can and must be measured in terms of family life and social loss. If, from the war-time service establishment many new homes can be quickly and. comparatively, cheaply made available, the advantage can never be assessed in money values. The very fact that there is so much of family separation and the breakdown of family life. the attendant hardship and suffering as weil as the economic effect in so many directions —is the condition which must be rectified as quickly as possible. The Council acts worthily when it faces the work and responsibility of converting th- 3 war-time establishment sb as to make it available for civilian iiSe, and it will doubtless have, as in the past, the ready co-operation of The Builders’ Association and the citizens. Meanwhile the Minister nf Finance is fulfilling the Government’s pledge to assist in any steps which can and will help alleviate the housing shortage and the problems it creates.