THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1947. EMPTY HOUSES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26625, 22 November 1947, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1947. EMPTY HOUSES

It may be doubted if the proposed amendments to the Fair Rents Act providing for the compulsory letting of empty houses will in actual practice serve to ameliorate the housing shortage to any great extent, and the principle involved —that of interference with the rights of private property—is one which has been dangerously extended. The Prime Minister has announced that the new system is to be put into operation at the express request of the returned servicemen’s organisations, but it is to be suspected that the Government may be endeavouring to serve its own ends at the same time. If there is a genuine need for such legislation, it exists only because of the present abnormal circumstances and the law should refer only to the period of this emergency. There is no justification for placing it permanently on the Statute Book, where it could be used to establish a precedent for more drastic curtailments of private rights. Although the census of 1945 revealed that there were at that time 7136 untenanted houses, apart from seaside residences, in New Zealand, this figure has little relevance to the number of houses which would be available for letting by compulsion. Many of the houses which were shown in the census to be unoccupied are rural dwellings which have been left empty, some of them for years past, as the result of the drift of population to the towns. In only a very few cases are such houses in localities where there is a demand for accommodation and, since houses classed as permanent residences are not included in the Bill, it is unlikely that, in Dunedin, for example, there are many which could come under its provisions.

It is well over a year since Ministerial statements gave an intimation that legislation of this nature would be introduced, and in the meantime the Government has had the advantage of being able to study similar legislation which is operative in Tasmania and Victoria; but even so, and admitting that .the position to be covered is an involved one, the published summary of the amendments is not satisfactory. It is perhaps impossible to draw up a rigid set of regulations to cover compulsory letting of houses, but the looseness with which t the clauses have been framed is * excessive. For example, the onus for initial action is passed to local authorities, which apparently have not been consulted in the matter. It is laid down that the local authority “ may, if it deems necessary, having regard to the need for housing accommodation and other relevant considerations,” serve notice on an owner to let a house. This authority is so vague as to be almost meaningless. Right of appeal, as is essential, is allowed, but after this the onus for action, is passed to the State Advances Corporation. The introduction of the local authorities seems an unnecessary complication. The provision for recovery of possession by a serviceman who vacated a dwelling to become a serviceman should serve to overcome the difficulty in proving greater hardship which has been experienced under the present Act, but insufficient attention appears to have been given to ensure that an owner whose house is compulsorily let can obtain possession again when he requires it. This difficulty of obtaining possession of a let house has been the reason that some houses have in the past remained unoccupied for lengthy periods, and it would have been more appropriate if the Government had attacked the problem from this angle instead of insisting on further restrictions and compulsions.

"THE WRITING ON THE WALL" Custom has ordained that political spokesmen, in the aftermath of an election, - should publicly exult in, or alternatively attempt to explain, the triumph or defeat of their respective parties. The Leader a of the Opposition, in his comment on the result of the local body elections, accepted the poll as a decisive rejection by the electorate of Socialism, and an indication that the Labour Government was “ on its way out.” As an interpretation of current political trends, Mr Holland’s analysis appeared much more acute than that offered by the secretary of the Otago Labour Representation Committee, Mr F. Percy. Mr Percy, besides blaming the weather, expressed the view that the result of the local body elections could not be regarded as a guide to opinion on national issues and ascribed as one reason for the defeat of Labour candidates the indifference of many Labour supporters to their responsibilities as voters. But the point that Mr Percy overlooked was that Labour went to the polls as a nationwide organisation, its* candidates offered themselves to the voters under the slogan, “ Labour has only one name,” thereby identifying themselves inseparably with the party which at present holds the reins of "government; and neck and crop they were thrown out of office. The'verdict of the people was unequivocal, and it was cast against Socialism and the adherents of Socialism. The opinidn of the electorate could be read in the voting returns, which reflected block voting against Labour to a degree that is probably without precedent in recent times. Labour candidates who for years had occupied positions high on the list of returns received totals less than those which, at previous elections, were indicative of the basic Labour vote. Of particular significance was the fact that three local members of Parliament, a member of the Legislative Council and a former Minister of Health were all defeated, in some cases by anti-Labour candidates who were making their first appearance in the political area and were, as individuals, completely unknown to those who supported them. From these facts it would be difficult to deduce any conclusion other than that the majority of electors accepted Labour’s invitation, to vote on a political basis, and expressed in no uncertain manner their resentment of the terms which Labour sought to impose.