EARTHQUAKE RISKS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 52, 23 October 1931, Page 3

EARTHQUAKE RISKS

("Post" Special Commissioner)

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION TO BE MORE STRICTLY SUPERVISED IMPROVING STANDARD

WELLINGTON, Thursday. " The Buildings Construetion Bill came before the House of Representatives to-day. Moving the committal of the Bill, the Prime Minister, the Right Hon. G. W. Forbes, said the Bill was the outcome of the investigation carried out by the special committee set up by the Government immediately after the Hawke's Bay earthqualce for the purpose of going into the question of future building construetion, so as to obviate in future such loss of life as occurred as a result of the earthquake. He felt it was the duty of the Government to' prevent as f ar as possible a repetition of the Hawke's Bay disaster. The committee had spent a great deal of time on its investigations and had given very careful thought to the problem. The Bill had been welcomed by local bodies generally as it would not have been possible for local bodies to go into the question as thoroughly as it had bpen possible for the expert committee to do. Mr. Forbes said he felt that the Bill would improve the standard of building construetion and would bring about a unif orm set of buildings by-laws for the whole of New Zealand. In the Dominion they had the incentive that they were subject to earthquakes and it was the duty of Parliament to do everything possible to lessen the consequent risk to life and property.