BROADCASTING BILL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 131, 15 March 1935, Page 7

BROADCASTING BILL

IN THE COMMITTEE STAGE. REPLY TO CRITICISM (Per Press Association.) . WELLINGTON, March 14. The committee stage of the Broadcasting Amendment Bill was taken in the House to-day. Amendments circulated by the Minister provided that two members of the Broadcasting Board shall be appointed from persons nominated by organisations recognised by the Minister as beiug representative of the holders of receiving licenses in New Zealand. Other amendments dealt with the control of programmes. The Postmaster-General (the Hon A. Hamilton), replying to criticisms, said he would take suggestions into consideration. Any reasonable requests would be heard. Several deputations had been heard and only one suggested that listeners’ representatives should be elected. That would be difficult,, but it could be done. The clause governing programmes had been loosened in response to representations. The main purpose of the amendments was to loosen up on controversial matters, and the right was given the board, as rP " sponsible men, to say what should 01 should not go oyer the an. The present regulation dealing with controversial matter wohld he withdrawn. A new board was not being set up. The board was established three 01 four years ago. The Minister and the Department could run the policy but they would have to have a board to advise them. That was all tne Bill was doing, setting up a board under Government control. All that the boaid would have to do with B stations would be to supervise their programmes. The Bill did not say it was setting out to kill the B stations, and it was wonderful how so much assumption ana suspicion had arisen. He believed that the consensus of opinion m the House was that a good national service under Government monopoly was the best. They had to guard against commercialising broadcasting, and they did not want to encourage the spending ot money by B stations when they did not have a source of revenue, but there was no intention to suppress them. Great difficulty had been experienced in allowing sponsored programmes, and if they were not very careful the Australian or American would creep in. Me had every respect for the B stations, who had given good service and had no doubt been responsible for the sale of many licenses, but the new board had subsidiary stations m the four chief cities and several subsidised B stations. Mr Hamilton added that there was nothing to stop a listeners’ club running a B station, and if the hoaid deemed it advisable to subsidise a B station it could do so. There were 34 stations in New Zealand at present, 26 being B stations, and he thought that that number was enough. There was nothing in the Bill to stop the transfer of station licenses. His idea was that anything that was educative and entertaining but not propaganda should he allowed. The 'Leader of the Opposition had said that the board would know nothing about broadcasting. Mr Savage: I was judging the Government on its past recoid. Mr Hamilton said it might be possible to secure inen who knew more about broadcasting than Parliament. Progress was reported and the House rose at midnight till 11.30 a.m. tomorrow.