H.—lB

(iv) Assisted Purchase of Existing Dwellings 205. Similar loan accommodation to that granted to ex-servicemen erecting new dwellings is made available in cases of purchase of existing dwellings, the sale and purchase in each case being approved by the appropriate Lands Sales Committee. Since supplementary loans, where they are necessary, are made free of interest and do not require to be repaid while the ex-serviceman or his dependants occupy the dwelling as a home he is in effect able to purchase a house and avoid being involved in any greater weekly or monthly payment than would have required to be made in 1939 for the purchase of a similar dwelling. 206. To date 746 dwellings have been purchased by ex-servicemen assisted by the Board, and 573 of this total were purchased during the twelve months ended 31st March, 1944. 207. Table XVIII of Appendix II shows the number of assisted purchasers of dwellings in various districts to date and during the twelve months just ended. (v) Furniture 208. The difficulty faced by ex-servicemen in securing suitable reasonably priced furniture is second only to that of obtaining housing accommodation. 209. To date 2,023 men have been granted furniture loans by the Board (the corresponding figure for the twelve months ended 31st March, 1944, was 1,446). 210. It is apparent that if the growing needs of ex-servicemen are to be satisfactorily met the manufacture of furniture must be accelerated and at the same time reasonable standards in construction and materials will require to be observed. In this regard certain prescriptions have been drawn up by the Standards Institute and the Board proposes that these should be applied in all cases of assisted purchase of furniture by ex-servicemen. 211. The close relationship of the output of furniture with the supply of skilled labour in the furniture-manufacturing industry has prompted the Board to stimulate the training of ex-servicemen in the furniture trades wherever this has been possible. SECTION XIV.—SPECIAL PROVISION FOR MAORI EX-SERVICEMEN (i) Administration 212. Last year it was reported that the same rehabilitation facilities as were available to pakeha ex-servicemen were also open to Maori ex-servicemen, but that, in addition, special measures to provide for their social needs were planned. 213. During the last twelve months a detailed administrative procedure has been introduced by the Board in co-operation with the Native Department, other interested State Departments, and Maori Tribal Executive Committees. This procedure is a dual one in the sense that an alternative method is open to Maori ex-servicemen to seek any form of assistance afforded by the Board. The first alternative is that the ex-serviceman proceed through the general channels as do pakehas. The second is that he apply through the special channels devised to meet the particular needs of Maori ex-servicemen, and it is probable that the bulk of Maoris will prefer the specially created channels. Choice of one or other method of application does not affect the extent of assistance likely to be forthcoming. 214. The special organizational facilities'created for the use of Maori ex-servicemen present both a local and a national aspect. In the local field the Tribal Executive Committee assists the ex-service-men to lodge his application for the desired facility with the District Registrar of the Native Department. The latter, on the basis of his Farm Supervisor's report, if it is a matter affecting land settlement, as it very often is, reports on the application to the Maori Rehabilitation Finance Committee. The Maori Rehabilitation Finance Committee is a Joint Committee of the Rehabilitation Board and the Board of Native Affairs. It is the national organization which decides applications for various forms of assistance received through the special, as distinct from the general channels. The Head Office of the Native Department puts into operation the decisions of the Maori Rehabilitation Finance Committee. Emphasis is laid by the Rehabilitation Board on the necessity for uniformity in the consideration given applications for assistance, whether received through the general channels or those created for the specific use of Maori ex-servicemen. 215. It has been found desirable to appoint a number of Maori Rehabilitation Officers. These officers, to date six in number, are attached to various Rehabilitation Offices which are centres of Maori population. They visit the villages in their district and contact every ex-serviceman. Thus they are able to assume the role of " Guide, Counsellor, and Friend " to Maori ex-servicemen just as do the European Rehabilitation Officers in the cases of Pakeha ex-servicemen. In addition, a Maori section has been established in the Head Office of the Department to co-ordinate the work of Maori Rehabilitation Officers. The policy of appointing returned ex-servicemen as Rehabilitation Officers has been adhered to in the cases of all appointments of Maori Rehabilitation Officers ; indeed, all Maori officers appointed to date have served in the Middle East in the 28th Maori Battalion. 216. Under each of the headings already dealt with in the previous sections of this report subjectmatter of particular relevance to Maori rehabilitation has been discussed. In the absence of specific comment under others of the headings already dealt with it can be assumed that the provision made for Maori ex-servicemen has been the same as that for ex-servicemen generally. (ii) Employment 217. The special training of Maoris in the " A " class Maori Carpentry Trade Training Centre at Ohinemutu has continued since the Board's last report. At present there are under training at the centre, thirty-one ex-servicemen. 218. In addition to the Carpentry Centre at Ohinemutu (Rotorua) it is the Board's intention to open a similar school at Gisborne to provide for the carpentry training of East Coast Maoris, and at Kaikohe to meet the needs of North Auckland Maori ex-servicemen. The shortage of tool-supplies has compelled the Board to postpone the establishment of these and other similar (pakeha) schools in the meantime.

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