STATE HOUSING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 January 1939, Page 5

STATE HOUSING

SHORTAGE OF SKILLED LABOUR BRINGING IN TRADESMEN FROM OVERSEAS. MINISTER TAKING IMMEDIATE ACTION. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. “I was very favourably, impressed with the work in hand in the South Island, but, like the North Island building programmes, housing construction is being held back by the lack of skilled labour,” said the Minister of Housing, Mr Armstrong, in a statement yesterday on his return to Wellington after making a survey of State housing activities in Dunedin and Christchurch.

Though the demand for houses was not as great in the South Island as in the North Island, there was a clamour for homes there, said the Minister. The need for more skilled labour was acute and there was also a great need for more plant for the kiln-drying of timber. As Minister of Immigration he was investigating the possibility of bringing more tradesmen from overseas, and action had already been taken to go into the whole question of the resumption of an immigration scheme. “Though the number of men engaged has been substantially increased during the last year, we are building more houses and consequently it takes longer to build a cottage,” Mr Armstrong said. “There are actually less men per house available. 1

“It is absolutely essential for us to face up to the idea that we must secure an additional number of skilled workers if we are to make up the leeway. “Another problem that will have to be solved is the securing of a sufficient quantity of season timber for housing needs. The sawmillers can sell their timber right off the saw, so they say, ‘Why should we worry?’ That isn’t much good to the builders. There aie not enough kilns in New Zealand to season the timber required.” The Minister said that with up-to-date appliances and proper supervision, kiln-dried timber was the best that could be secured for housing, but if the drying was not done properly it was better left alone. The joinery factory at Kaiwarra had proved how successful kiln-drying could be, but that was only operating in a small way. What was needed was an extension of the kiln-drying system till the demand for seasoned timber could be met. “The need for houses in the south is not nearly as pressing as in Wellington or Auckland,” the Minister said, “but there is a clamour for houses in all South Island centres. There is also a demand for flats, but the Berhampore block is the only large flat-building scheme in hand. In Christchurch we are building small flats for old-age pensioners. They are all on the ground floor, and ’have all the conveniences of a full-sized house. Though the block is only half-finished, we have had a number of applications from prospective tenants. We expect to let the flats for about 14s a week.”

At the present time there were about 14,000 applicants for houses in New Zealand, the Minister added, and about 11,000 of those were from Wellington and Auckland. In the South Island the demand was not nearly so great. ' Mr Armstrong said that the Prime Minister’s remarks on immigration summed up the position in New Zealand today. The need for more trainr men was urgent, and he was already at work on the question. Immigration would be given full consideration immediately.