Government Policy On Accommodation

James Wallace

The frequent pleas for more adequate student accommodation have been recognised to some extent by the Government in this country. The cause has at least been established. Prior to 1962 there was no firm policy for student accommodation apart from a general Health Department subsidy for Youth Hostels. In December of that year the Government offered a subsidy to interested organisations to provide Halls of Residence. The Government would accept responsibility for the housing of students by providing a maximum subsidy of $2400 per student bed. The Government is at present prepared to meet up to 80% of the cost of acceptable residential projects with a maximum subsidy of $2880 for each student accommodated, the subsidy having been raised in 1965.

What are the effects of such a policy on the availability of student accommodation, particularly in Wellington?

A major point about the subsidy scheme is that it does not require the Government to become the initiating force behind schemes for Halls of Residence. Various charitable organisations bear this responsibility. Private enterprise has shown little interest, and would apparently not qualify for a subsidy. To get an accommodation scheme off the ground sufficient money must be raised by the organisation to supplement the Government subsidy. Any plans must be laid on the very uncertain basis of the public's willingness to donate money. Such financial uncertainty coupled with the difficulties manifest in organising successful appeal campaigns on the necessary scale constitute a major initial barrier to private schemes. An unpredictable public response would not appear to be a satisfactory basis upon which to plan the provision of accommodation in our universities. Accelerating growth in the universities will place greater demands on public benehcience. While the public might respond sufficiently to the first of such schemes, enabling it to reach fruition, it cannot reasonably be expected to maintain or increase this as the universities expand. Thus current Government policy is lacking in that it provides neither the vital impetus for student accommodation schemes to be launched nor the financial certainty to enable a satisfactory programme for construction of Halls of Residence to be prepared and adhered to.

A further effect of present Government policy on student accommodation results from an anomaly in the subsidy scheme itself. As stated previously, the present Government is prepared to meet up to 80% of the cost of acceptable projects with a maximum subsidy of $2880 for each student accommodated. In practice this "ceiling" provision has a discriminatory effect against the provision of accommodation in centres with high building costs. Here Wellington is the hardest hit. If the hostel is to be constructed in an area with low building costs, and can be kept within the ceiling imposed by the subsidy scheme, then 80% of the cost will be borne by Government. High land and labour costs, the necessity for extensive foundations, and other factors cause the cost of a Hall of Residence in Wellington to soar above the arbitrary figure of $2880 per bed to around $6000-$7000 or more. Thus in Wellington or in other centres with high building costs the subsidy may not even represent 50% of the total cost of the hostel. Huge sums of money must be raised before application can even be made for a subsidy. The extremely heavy burden that this imposes is reflected in the fact that Wellington is among the least well provided for in terms of hostel accommodation and was among the last to get an appeal under way. The imposition of the arbitrary ceiling on the subsidy scheme would therefore seem to largely defeat the purposes of encouragement and assistance which the scheme could and should provide.

It is noteworthy that Government policy makes no reference to the provision of student flats. It has often been suggested that high density blocks of flats have great potential as a relatively inexpensive and highly acceptable type of accommodation, especially in city areas. This trend may emerge in policy in the near future however. The Hon. A. E. Kinsella, Minister of Education speaking of university residential problems of the (mure to an NZUSA Accommodation Conference in May 1967 said, "Whether the Hall of Residence is the proper solution to this question, however, is debatable and student preferences must be taken into account."

In conclusion it is evident that although our case for student accommodation has been recognised, fundamental changes are necessary in Government policy before we can hope to see the end of our current problems of quantity and quality of accommodation, in Wellington.