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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol. 37 No. 3. March 20, 1974

Housing Service Fails

Housing Service Fails

The Welfare Service Accommodation Officer, Mrs Brown, receives an unknown salary (she wouldn't disclose it to Salient) to help students find accommodation. A vital part of this service consists of listing vacancies for boarders and of unfilled places in flats.

Last Thursday 23 openings for boarders and 20 places in various flats were listed as available. Checking on the accuracy of this information produced results that would not surprise some students who have had contact with the Accommodation Service. Ten places listed as vacant in flats had been taken. Most of these vacancies had been filled for about two weeks. Similarly, of the 23 places listed as available for boarders eight had already been filled.

Confronted by this information Mrs Brown claimed that there was little that could be done to improve the situation. This is an amazing assertion since it took only three hours by car and phone for Salient to verify the facts above. The Accommodation Service inability to maintain a reasonable level of accuracy is causing unnecessary havoc in an area already plagued with problems.

A reorganisation of the Welfare Services supervision and directing via the establishment of the proposed Welfare Services Committee (with a student majority) would undoubtedly help overcome such inflexibility

A petition of 'no confidence' referring to the Accommodation Service, and supporting such reorganisation will be circulated this week. Meanwhile, any students having problems with the Welfare Services, including the Accommodation Service, are invited to get in touch with Salient or with the VUWSA President, Peter Wilson.