No. 10 BUILDING SUBSIDY

Waipa Post, Volume 48, Issue 3483, 23 June 1934, Page 12

No. 10 BUILDING SUBSIDY

NEW SCHEME SUGGESTED.

TO APPLY ONLY TO DWELLING HOUSES.

Arguments for the revival of the Unemployment Board's No. 10 building subsidy scheme were put forward last Tuesday by members of Wellington Chamber of Commerce. They supported a resolution passed on Monday by a meeting of architects and members of the building and allied industries urging the reinstatement of the scheme (to be applied to dwelling houses only) on the ground that since its cessation there ihad been a serious lessening of building activity, and containing suggestions for the method.of application of the subsidy.

The subject was opened by Mr Andrew Fletcher, Who reported on a visit he and Mr W. F. Cuthbertson had made to the Unemployment Board. " W'e were given quite a lot of information regarding the No. 10 scheme which I am not in a position to pass on here to-night, but we were told that there was still a considerable amount of work to be done th(at had not yet been started," he said. "It was stated that the Board was not of the opinion that the time was yet ripe for the reinstatement of the scheme, but there was a free admission that one of the effects of tihe scheme had been putting into employment a great number of persons who had previously been working in the building and allied industries. " The Board was carefully watching the position of the trade and the unemployment for which it was responsible, and we were told that in the event of finding that conditions are going to mean a serious curtailment of work they would at least consider giving enough employment under the scheme to meet requirements."

Mr A. Seed mentioned that the revival of the scheme had been discussed on Monday by a meeting of the Comlmittee of the Allied Building Industries, in association with the New Zealand Institute of Architects. Evidence was before the meeting that in recent weeks there had set in a steep decline in building activity. The matter was becoming urgent as affecting the employment situation, particularly in the main centres. The meeting had adopted a resolution to cover the position, and he thought the Chamber would be substantially assisting the position if it were to support the resolution. SHORTAGE OF DWELLINGS.

The resolution mentioned was prefaced by a statement .that it had been established that the building industry held premier place as a medium of providing the widest-spread avenues of employment, and it was recognised that there was a growing shortage of dwellings in most cities and towns. It asked for the revival of the scheme at the earliest possible date, and suggested that its application should be restivcted to the building of new dwellings and the repair

or remodelling of existing houses. The resolution concluded as follows: " To eliminate as far as possible delays and difficulties in respect of the administration of the scheme, the basis of the subsidy should be the payment of an agreed sum per square foot of all covered-in floor space or new buildings and a straight-out percentage of the contract price in respect of all other types of work to wlhich the subsidy may bo made to apply." There had been very much criticism of the scheme on account of the fact that it was often difficult for builders and house-owners to comply with all the conditions of the subsidy, and also on the ground that the subsidy had been going to wealthy corporations for the construction of big buildings, Mr Seed continued. Objections on this account had come from the man who paid the Is in the pound unemployment tax, and who said that this money was going to wealthy corporations, and also from the owners of established city buildings, particularlv in Wellington, who contended that it was cheapening the costs of buildings and therefore reducing rentals.

i BOARD MEMBER'S STATE- ] MENT. I "It has been stated definitely by i a member of the Board that if rej vival of the scheme is contemplated it will not be made applicable to city 1 buildings," Mr Seed said. The ?T fore the Board is rather favourable to the idea' of adopting the meeting s suggestion concerning houses. Last 'year too, there were attempts to abuse the scheme, but if it is brought back along the lines of footage and percentage suggested in the resolution these will be eliminated : Following a statement by Mr Seed I that the Board wanted some indicaI tion that.it was the general wish ot - u.,i;„o +v.vmurhout New Zealand most uuuici Hiiuu 6 ««». • -■■ that the Scheme should be re-mtio-dueed, the Chamber decided to an-