I think this Bill ought to be passed. It would be a great pity not to have a continuance of the existing law, although its existence has been rather precarious for several years, but we should not allow it to lapse so that de-control would come into operation at once. Judging from his speech and the amendments which he had down, I think Senator Sir John Keane takes a view that is untenable at the present time. There is a current of opinion in the country against allowing landlords, the owners of ground rents, and houses in towns, getting the full competitive value of these houses. If there is a flowing tide, and if there is any attempt to hold back that tide, the result, I think, will be destructive to the interests which Senator Sir John Keane purports to represent here. Houses in towns deteriorate in value as ordinary buildings, but the prices go up year by year in the case of such houses. That enhanced price can only be due to an increase in the site value. An attempt was made, even before the great war, to put a stop to the exploitation of these increases in site values. It is idle, at the present day, to attempt to stem the running tide, but what we do want is this: permanent legislation on the subject of houses in towns. Now the reason that you cannot get houses to let is this: that the law is unsettled, and that these Acts are being extended from year to year as temporary measures. Although you do not get houses to let you can get many houses to purchase. There are many houses for sale, and the real reason for that is that the landlord cannot perhaps afford to incur the risk of legislation which may be passed from year to year, the terms of which he does not know in advance. That is the reason, I submit, why there are no houses to let. That there are many houses to sell is an argument only for this, that we ought to have permanent legislation on a reasonable basis. There is a lot to be said for the point of view that Senator Sir John Keane put forward. There are some very poor people whose sole resource is the ground rent or the middleman's interest in housing. It is by no means an easy problem to deal with, but we had the assurance of the Minister yesterday that he will bring in a measure to deal fully and fairly with this question of houses in the towns, and that at a very early date.
