The Bill That
p. 24 · Read in the full issue
Means What It Says Housing Loan Scheme for P-NG
EVEN the name meant what i said, said Mr. H. H. Reeve Treasurer of Papua-New Gui nea, when introducing the Housin Loans Bill at the recent session o the Legislative Council of th Territory. Its simplicity should als please the member for Papua (M] E. A. James, who had complainei about the amount of legislatio] being churned out by the Counci and the verbosity of ordinances am regulations generally).
Mr. Reeve described the bill as ; new type for the Territory. It wa essentially an enabling one in tha it created the machinery whereby j Commissioner of Housing could b appointed. Through him the Ad ministration could assist resident of the Territory to own their owi homes.
The Bill did not set out a de tailed scheme for home loans—tha would come later—but under th plans envisaged it would be possibl to borrow 90 per cent, of the valu of a home or £2,750, whichever wa greater. It was likely that, to b eligible, a person could not own ! house in the Territory and wouli live in the house acquired unde the scheme. Time for repayment o the loan would probably be be tween 25 and 35 years, to be repaii in the form of rent which coverei both principal arid interest.
The Administration itself woul< borrow the money to be loaned anc as the circumstances of borrowini and rates of interest might var; from time to time, provision wa made in the bill to publish detail of the scheme in the Papua am New Guinea Government Gazett from time to time rather than in corporate them in legislation.
The bill had the general suppor of members, private and. official Mrs. D. Booth hoped that it wa just a preliminary to advancing money to men who wished to go o: the land. (The ordinance is a new one fa P-NG in that it seeks to give some; thing to the people, rather than tak; something from them. It will bene; fit private individuals more tha.
Public Servants. Housing (som good, some bad) is provided fo; Public Servants and as these peopE never stay in the same district fc more than a few years before beim moved on elsewhere, it is unlikeE that they will be encouraged tl build a home for themselves.)