HOUSING POLICY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 226, 24 September 1938, Page 10

HOUSING POLICY

NATIONAL PARTY’S PLANS PRIV ATE BUILDING AIDED BY GOVERNMENT (Special to “Chronicle.”) CHRISTCHURCH. Sept. 23. | "When I deal with housing, 1 deal with it from an angle that the pur-' chase of a home would be one of the. best day’s work a man does lor him-self-and his dependents. The naluradesire of man in all ages and in ail countries has been to become the owner of the place he has made his home. That spirit is not dead in Ne v Zealand,” said the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. A. Hamilton, at Christchurch to-night. "There is no better security fci ones old age, than owning one’s own home," he said. "Own-* ig a home should be the very essence r any real social security, because rent is perhaps the largest fixea charge whicii depletes the resources provided for that time. "As in other matters, the Socialist Labour Government, after failing to establish a State scheme to meet more than a small section of to-day’s pressing needs, is endeavouring to discredit the National Party’s announced determination to put housing on its former sound footing. It is, unfortunately, necessary when dealing with

5000 Houses A Year. “Realising thi responsibility of the State to see that adequate housing is available for the people, we aim at a programme of 5000 houses a year. An indication of how the Labour Government has retarded house building and killed private enterprise is shown by these figures taken from the Official Year Book. “Under orthodox Government, through private enterprise, in 1926. there were 6850 houses built and in 1927 there were 7179. “Under the Labour Government, with so-called greater prosperity in 1936, there were 4140 houses bqilt and, in J 937, 4555. "Reduced to simple terms, that means that the Labour Government’s scheme under State domination produced more than 5000 houses less than the scheme of the orthodox Government of 1926-27. And people today in the city, town and country still endure the hardship of house-bunting which is an almost hopeless task. Every man and woman knows that to be true. “We were told recently by a Cab- , inet Minister that money for the Government houses was being provided from the Reserve Bank at 11 per cent. Even then, rents were exceptionally high. How ca.n private enterprise stand up against such unfair State competition? "The building trade must have an entire revival under private enterprise. encouraged and supported by i the Government. The National Party ’ undertakes to inspire and organise that revival. Ln so doing, it is not going to smash the work already being done. Talk like that is entirely irresponsible. Socialist Promises. “Nor will the National Government grapple with this problem i.n a onesided fashion. Every man and woman knows to-day that the difference between the Socialist Labour performance and its promises in housebuilding has been very great. The ■ Socialist Government promised houses (at £6OO when the actual cost has been up to £I2OO. The Socialists promised ' rents for workers of 12s 6d to 16s 6d

this subject to publicly denounce misleading statements made against the National Party by the Under-Secre-tary for Housing, Mr. J. A. Lee. He has made two very remarkable allegations—so fantastic, but at the same time, mischievous in their effect if they were allowed to go unchallenged. At Christchurch on August 8 of this year, he said that were labour beaten at the poll at this election then the next day the timber mills on the West Coast would close down. “This attempt was not isolated. During the previous week, Mr. Lee was reported in a newspaper in Lex in as having stated that to-day there are 5000 people employed on State houses but tnat if the National Parly were returned at this election these workmen would all receive notices to quit. “Emphatically 1 state to-night thai there is not an ounce of truth in these statements. When the National Parly is returned as Government at this election, it will not scrap the whole housing scheme and t/.row thousands of men out of wotk. “Let me put the National Party’s housing plan plainly. We will approach the housing problem from me standpoint tnat a nvme owned is lai belter than a home rented. liKSocialist Labour Party believes thal the Stale should own the ho«es and that the people should be Slate tenants. "The National Party stands for private ownership of the nouses as lac basis oi our national life. “The right of purchase will be given to tenants of State rental houses, and in odier cases, hoeral advances Oi up to VU per cent, will be maae avaiiaoie io home bunders, wnae every encouragement will oe given to building societies to provide tne ncc-ssary capital. •The pi\.s..iL Government’s housing policy iUaS crippled private house bUtiu.iig. i’h- unwan an .ed restrictions Upon private house ouud.ng, tau reju.twu hi large numbers oi i.uuse. c.vwi.ubie cor 1-tung pui-po-us o-.tig taken on tne market tnua ai o iuUtia o , raimr than relieving tiic e.%. LA.ig snutvag . These resa-kaom win oe ijmov.a and we will restore to oxviurs me r*gnt of access to tnen ov-'.i p.upjities, at the same t.me piuviu.a o . safeguards for tena.iv_. Particular attention will be to the provision oi homes fur iu.rk.i and omer country workers. As Ci., .jyees oi Sta«.e departments art Cw.. t aUy subj-ri to transfer from one place to a., oilier we will see that h-Ju-.-j are pmx/ided for lotting to th: ticpai ir.:?. ita I staffs on reasonabiteinv.

a week. The rents are from £1 to £1 17s a week. The Socialists promised completed buildings i.n the budget of two years ago, totalling 5000. Mr, Savage gave the actual figure as 1000 when speaking in August of this year. "The building industry is second only to farming in importance in our country, and it must be recognised that any legislation or administration that seriously disturbs the equilibrium of such a large industry must inevitably have a serious effect on our whole economy. Tenants’ Experiences. "Social security begins in the home. The home provides the environment for the family, and the shelter and the buffer against the buffetings of everyday life. There may be some triteness in the phrase that an Englishman's home is his castle, but there is a wealth of truth in it too. Without question. New Zealanders, like most people, fail to appreciate living under home conditions which bristle with restrictions—the fate of harassed State rent-payers as op-po.-ed to happy free home-owners. The long list of *The tenant shall not do this and the tenant shall not do that . . .’ in the State renting scheme must be swept away by people who mu. t demand that the State shall use every effort in its own power to see that the people build their own homes on their own piece of land and to their own requirements, and live in them in the knowledge that they are reasonably safeguarded. In the light of past experience it is possible i to carry that wish into practical expression and the National Party has promised to do so. It will not avoid that promise in any way. It will not pul off men, will not close mills, will employ more men and keep the mills busy, and it will provide an opportunity for every qualified citizen to build and own his own home. Is not that I the most notable contribution that be ' made to establishing our fami’y life and our social security generally?”