SLUM CLEARANCE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 201, 23 May 1944, Page 6

SLUM CLEARANCE

Council’s Powers Cited By Mr. Roberts AMPLE AUTHORITY SEEN UNDER THREE ACTS The Tory Citizens’ candidates. were adepts at “passing the buck." said Mr. James Roberts, Labour candidate lor the Wellington mayoralty, when referring in addresses nt Molesworth Street and Ngaio last night to "their latest excuse for failure to clear slums that they had no authority under the law.” The Plain facts were, he said, that the council did have the authority. If his opponents continued to assert that there was no such authority then various Acts were meaningless in their view. Mr Roberts quoted sections 328, 3-’l>. 330 and 305 of the Municipal Corporations Act. 1933, which, he said, gave the council full powers not only to take over land but to build homes, to convert any buildings into workers’ dwellings, to alter, enlarge, repair and improve, fit up and furnish and supply the same or any of them respectively with all requisite furniture, fittings and conveniences Section 305 gave power to the Wellington City Council in respect to the improvement of insanitary portions of the borough, and for the purpose of improving any part of the borough that had,become in an overcrowded, degraded or insanitary condition the council may exercise the following powers: (a) Take such area under the of the Public Works Act, 1928, or purchase any such area; (b) pull down or alter buildings and erections, and abolish streets or other access ways in the area so taken or purchased; (c) lay down new streets and open spaces; and a further subsection provided that they may raise for all or any of the purposes of this section a special loan under the provisions of the Local Bodies Loans Act, 1926. Further, Mr. Roberts said, under "the Public Works Aet. 1928, land required for any public work could be taken by a local authority in accordance with the procedure of the Act. A public work was defined as being every work which a local authority was authorized to undertake under any of its statutory powers, and accordingly would include housing. Under the Public Health Act, the council had authority to declare houses unfit for human habitation, and under the Wellington Housing Act, 1938, the council had abundant powers to build houses, to repair houses, to enlarge houses or buildings and prescribe the minimum standards of fitness in relation to the construction, condition, equipment, alteration, repair and use of houses. Under those measures, said Mr. Roberts, the council had ample powers, and if they required more powers, they eould have applied to the present Government or past Governments and they would be granted, “How did the council,” concluded Mr. Roberts, “clear the slums out of the district originally known as Fraser’s Lane, now Aitken Street, Grainger Street block and the district where the city milk depot now stands if it did not have authority for slum clearance?” Mr. Roberts derided a recent statement by Mr. Appleton that the only thing the Waterfront Control Commission had done was to increase costs to the harbour board. The increase in handling costs was less than 2 id. a ton for overseas cargo, and in this were included costs which did not exist prior to the. setting up of the commission. He claimed that the board was not representative of the people but was a shipowners’ board. Despite iuS huge reserves it had some of the most antiquated gear in the world. ■ When the rush of shipping nnd the need for a quick turn round had come early in the war, the board had shown extraordinary incompetence in the mat.er of clearing the cargo sheds, said Mr. Roberts. The board, which included Mr. Appleton, had shrugged its shoulders at the difficulties. As a result the commission had asked the Government for a eargo clearance committee. Within a week of its creation the sheds had been cleared, thus paving- the way for the quick turn round of ships. In Auckland sheds had been rushed up to meet the position. That was the work of the commission. The Wellington Harbour Board had fallen down on the job. It was apparently more concerned in publishing the earnings of watersiders than in essential problems such as clearing cargo sheds. There was no more maligned body of workers than the watersiders, yet 90 per cent, of them were honest, decent citizens who had pulled their weight splendidly in the war ef fort, working upward of 70 hours a week despite the fact that the majority were elderly men.

Candidates supporting Mr. Roberts were Mrs. C. Stewart, Messrs. J. Arthur), G. Matthew and J, Fleming at Mol&* worth Street, and Mrs. M. J. Bentley, Messrs. A. W. Croskery, P. A. Hansen and A. Parlanc at Ngaio.