Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1949 ACCOMMODATION WANTED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 58, 28 February 1949, Page 4

Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1949

ACCOMMODATION WANTED

Housing is in the news again. So is board and accommodation for young people. This time, the Chamber of Commerce is determined to see that something is done about the problem that shadows Whakatane’s natural development from all angles. That, at least, was the tone of last Thursday night’s meeting of the Chamber, when it was decided to take the first steps to have the wh jle question placed before the Government with the strongest possible representations for immediate action. There have been times during the past twelve months or so when the Beacon has been criticised for its outspoken attitude to the housing problem. It has been suggested that the interest shown in it in these columns has not been entirely free of selfinterest. That suggestion is to a degree true. At least one senior member of our staff and his family have had to endure conditions that were, to put it mildly, hardly conducive to the best frame of mind for constructive work. But, we want it clearly understood that our object in taking an • almost fanatical interest in this problem is not to push his barrow, or any other individual’s. We believe sincerely and wholeheartedly that this town has wide scope for progress. We believe it can become a thriving provincial centre, and that within relatively few years. We also know it cannot achieve its full stature if it is stunted at the roots by being unable to provide the accommodation necessary for a young, virile and expanding community. If everybody else’s problem happens also to be ours, is the charge of self-interest justified? If we want to see homes available for those who need them, regardless of who they are, is our voice raised on behalf of all the homeless to be stilled because it has the added weight of bitter experience? There is in this town a dangerous apathy to tfiis thing that chains us to the ground. There is a smug complacency, an “Am I my brother’s keeper?” kind of callousness that must be broken down before we can demand action with united voice that will get what we demand. Will those who accuse us and others like us of selfishness because we have tried to help examine their own hearts, search their consciences, and tell themselves honestly whether they have tried to do anything for the homeless in our midst? This is Whakatane’s fight. This is the all-important barrier to her advancement. 1 If fighting for the right of homeless families to live normal

lives is selfishness, then we accept the label and wear it proudly* If fighting for the growth and development of our district in the face of criticism and calumny is self-interest, then we shall be glad to call ourselves self-interested. If we can instil something of that type of self-interest into the parts of this community as yet not imbued with it, we shall feel happy in our achievement. And, when the Chamber of Commerce rrtoves to place the case' for a bigger, better, happier Whakatane before the Government, it will move with our wholehearted blessing and our full and fearless support.