STATE HOUSING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 66, 19 March 1938, Page 10

STATE HOUSING

NEW ZEALAND SCHEME REVIEW BY MR. J. A. LEE [ Per Press Association. ] WELLINGTON, March 18. The progress made with the State housing scheme since its inauguration just over a year ago was reviewed by the Parliamentary Under-Secre-tary in Charge of Housing, Mr J. A. Lee, this evening he said that after 12 months’ building activity the numbers engaged in State housing were greater than the numbers engaged in the coal-mining industry in New Zealand. After recalling that the first contract for State housing was let on March 3, 1937, Mr Lee said that by March 17, 1938, contracts had been let for the erection of 2427 houses. By the end of this month tenders would have been called for 3000 houses. This meant that in the 12 months succeeding the letting of the first contract the Department of Housing Construction had advanced to a point at which it was able to let contracts for about 50 per cent, of the housing erected in New Zealand in good years. The capacity of the Department was still accelerating this week.

About 4000 men are actually engaged in the work of house construction for the department, said Mr Lee, and no doubt another 4000 are engaged in preparing material. Schemes of housing have been commenced or are about to commence in about 46 towns, and the 4000 now employed will be added to considerably as time goes on. Mr Lee said there was an inevitable lag between the date of acceptance of tender and the date of delivery of houses. Large numbers of houses were now starting to come to hand, and it could be readily understood that with 4000 men on the job the output would start to assume considerable proportions at an early date. The only boundary at presert set to the department’s activity is the capacity of the builders to complete the housing, concluded Mr Lee.