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The Dominion TUESDAY, MAY 11, 1920. CONDITIONS OF PROGRESS

Leaving! aside the questions raised in regard to wages and some other matters, a.number of the demands submitted yesterday by a deputation of _ public works employees to the Minister in chargo of that Department are-of interest as they bear on national development policy. In particular it ought to be conceded readily that a considerable improvement in the average living conditions now ruling in construction camps is essential if public works are to be undertaken on a big scale .carried out with vigour and enterprise. It is plain that large numbers of men in addition to thoso employed at present must be attracted to public works if urgent needs in the way of improved transport facilities, the supply of cheap power, and in other directions are to be reasonably met, and the most obvious method of making this _ class of employment more attractive is to provide reasonably comfortable housing and living conditions for public works employees and their families. Mar- ■ ried as well as single men must be attracted if a sufficient labour force is to bo obtained, and this, of course, implies not only, generally higher standards of accommodation than would otherwise suffice, but that special attention must be given to such questions as that of providing educational facilities for children. One of the most important problems raised concerns the selection of satisfactory types of portable buildings which could be moved from place to place, intact or in sections, as occasion might require. The Public Works Department already provides hutments and other buildings in some of its camps, and in this connection invaluable experience was gained during tho war] years in the organisation of military pamps here and in other countries. _ Drawing upon the body of useful information thus made available, it ought not to be difficult to convert, at all events, the more _ important constructional camps in this country into villages of small but comfortable dwellings, each boasting its recreation hall, and a school if there is no permanent school within easy roach. While the workers concerned have every right to _ insist upon due regard being paid in camp organisation to comfort, health, and convenience, it is manifestly to their own advantage that they should approach the whole question with open minds, instead of laying down hard-and-fast conditions in detail. So long as their general requirements are fairly met they ought to be well content to leave it to engineers and '■ other experts to do the detail planning of improvements in camp organisation. ~© It is not by, any means a matter for regret that such improvements in carrtn conditions as are now dc- . manded will'provide a strong argument for concentrating the energies of the Public Works Department on the systematic prosecution of large undertakings, as against the. policy ' thus far in( vogue of spreading a ; stated amount of expenditure "over the greatest possible number of electorates in a given 'time. No one can doubb that comfortable camps . would be much more easily organised if the main resources of the'Dcpartment were concentrated upon a • limited numbcvl of large undertak- '• ings._ Saddled as they ar,e with tho inherited results of'a mistaken past in development policy, the ad- , minrstrators of the present day are admittedly faced by a somewhat - difficult and thankless task in instituting sound methods. So much 1 the more anything that impels "them - in the right direction is to be wel- ■ corned on that account as well as . for its immediate) merits. If tho B position of the Government and the |j present Minister op Public Works . is in some respects difficult, it is true also that they are faced by im I exceptional opportunity of talcing t' a bold stop forward in development > policy. The additional labour required to . forward development - works at the rate that is desirable ,' must be obtained, if at all, by immigration. Concentrating on big

undertakings and providing com- 1 fortablo camps, the Government c would establish conditions in which 1 it would be possible to offer attrac- 1 tive inducements to immigrants of i tho right type. Immigration on t these lilies would not even tcrapor- ( aril}!\ accentuate the present hous- i ing shortage, and the newcomers f would;be given assured employment 1 to their own great benefit and that c of tho Dominion. In orderi that l such benefits may be attained, how- 1 ever, it is essential that the Public ] Works Department should abandon t tho halting policy to which it has 1 hitherto been restricted out of re- - gard for political considerations, i This step once taken, there is little doubt that the reorganisation of cam!p conditions it would .permit « and facilitate would in itself do a , great deal to make employment on < , development work much m'ore at- ] tractive alike to married and single ( men than it is at present. {

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19200511.2.19

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 193, 11 May 1920, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
809

The Dominion TUESDAY, MAY 11, 1920. CONDITIONS OF PROGRESS Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 193, 11 May 1920, Page 6

The Dominion TUESDAY, MAY 11, 1920. CONDITIONS OF PROGRESS Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 193, 11 May 1920, Page 6

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