2.
misfortune. No considerations of income apply in the resettlement sector; the categories of hard- ship cases are reviewed, and priorities adjusted, from time to time; and, of course, the offer of resettlement housing can be refused if the family prefers to obtain some other type of housing. Squatters are cleared under the force of law their rehousing is voluntary.
One or two further general preliminary points need to be made. First, it is apparent from the above that the only type of squatters not, up until now, envisaged for clearance and the offer of eventual resettlement are those squatting on unleased Crown Land (all land is Crown Land) not needed for development.
Some
Next, it must be emphasized that land that is never likely to be needed for development is not always easy to identify in our circumstances of acute land shortage. land of this type can fairly safely be identified, but there are many areas which could well be needed in the future although for what precise purpose cannot at present be foreseen.
Finally, experience has taught us only too sharply that land cleared of squatters must be re-occupied, and development must start immediately (literally within hours), or it will at once be re-occupied by fresh squatters: and not infrequently by non-squatter speculators who build huts to sell them, without the formality of obtaining any valid title themselves.
To turn now to a different point: our forward housing planning is based on running 6-year