REDUCED RENTS

Hokitika Guardian, 20 March 1931, Page 2

REDUCED RENTS

W MR COATES’S ATTITUDE. I Si; -WELLINGTON, March 18. Ml A point-blank l statement from the ||i) Government that landlords are exj|£.'pected to reduce rents during the preM;. sent depression was advocated by Mr &Z?: Coates, leader of the Opposition, in ff: the House during his speech on the finance Bill. “At the curliest °Pportunity,” said Mr Coates, “the Gov&v ernmewt should say straight out, ‘We L, expect you to reduce rents.’ ’’ Jk\T Mr Fraser (Labour, Wellington CenP', tral): Blessed is he who expeotetli nothing. “Wnat about reducing interest rates ’> asked Mr M’Combs (Labour Lyttelton). Mr Contes: I have dealt previously v . with that question. 1 repeat you cannot reduce interest rates while the Government is' on the market at 5-J per cent. When the Government lowers itg rates you will find tnat others will come down. Dealing with increased rents of raili nymen, Mr Coates inquired whether the 10 per cent wages cut would apply to those workers, ,‘for the life of me,” lie said, “I cannot understand why the recommendations of the Commission dealing with rents of railway bouses should have been given effect to.”

“Js not the remedy to take the ‘cut’ oil?” asked Mr Fraser, when Mr Coates had quoted an individual ca.se. Mr Coates doclared ho had knowledge of others where the increase of rent had been as great as 300 per cent. “We should be bringing costs down, not, increasing them. What has been done is an injustice and should be righted. The matter should be revised without delay.” The Hon. W. A. Veitch, Minister of Public notice was given recently that rents were being revised. Mr Coates; I think they should be.