WANTED—HOUSES.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 July 1920, Page 5

WANTED—HOUSES.

PEOPLE MARCH TO PARLIAMENT. TRENTHAM HUTS ASKED FOR. PREMIER OUTLINES HIS POLICY. By Telegraph.—Press Association. ; Wellington, Last Night. [ A deputation from the Rent Payers' Association, consisting of about 2000 ■ people, marched to Parliament to-night . for the purposo of interviewing Mr. ; Massey on the subject of the housing ■ shortage. i The deputation asked that the hutI nients at Trentham Camp be made ■ avnilatte to the people, and fast trains i put on to enable city workers to utilise them. They also asked that the ex- ■ port of timber should be stopped until ; the shortage of houses was caught up, [ Meanwhile the rent restrictions proI visions in the present law should be i continued. , Mr. Massey, in reply, said that all i thoy nsked for In the matter of rent , restriction was contained in the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill, notice of i which he had given. This provided ; for the extension of the existing law for another* year from 31st August . next. At present the Government had 1/55 houses in course of erection in various parts of the Dominion. Thirteen had been completed, and he. expected another 124 would be finished in mx months. In addition to this 700 had been authorised »y Cabinet recently and it was expedited the Government would be expending between £600,000 and £700,060 on this work in the course of the year. It was impossible for the Government' to build all the homos required, but Ifthey succeeded, as tiiey hoped they Would, by Government and private enterprise, in erecting 5000 houses iu the next twelve months, It would not bo long beforo the pressure was relieved. He had hoped local bodies would have done more, but they evidently did not like the financial responsibility, and the result had been disappointing. Tl\e Government did not want to drive the builder out of business. He would prefer to encourage the builder to put up good houses. The legislation proposed as to rent restriction would not apply to new nqvjses, so that it could not be said it interfered with builders' operations.