![The front page of The Canberra Times on September 24, 1954. The front page of The Canberra Times on September 24, 1954.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/5W4iRw6LNH53uM23K5syYZ/f95b6e9d-6847-421c-86fd-6b9d64c90253.jpg/r123_45_1918_2417_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Politicians were lamenting the increased cost of building Canberra homes on this day in 1954, as it rounded out to about £1659.
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This was compared with the cost for a "similar home" in NSW at £799.
The figures came to be on the front page of The Canberra Times as then-member for St George Nelson Lemmon defended his earlier comments that costs for building for ex-servicemen had increased under government control.
"The increase started from the period when the government removed the competition of day labour," he said.
"Let the minister, Mr Kent Hughes, give the figures and we will find that construction in Canberra under day labour, when he was first appointed minister, was cheaper than contract."
Mr Hughes denied the claims, while the then-member for Bennelong, John Cramer, said "day labour has never been a success".
"Earlier, Mr Cramer had said the question of housing was one that must be fitted into the general economy, for nobody could disbelieve that the real increase in costs was brought about by the introduction of the 40-hour week," the story went on to say.