CURIOSITY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 291, 8 December 1937, Page 10

CURIOSITY.

FILM COSTING £400.

SURPRISED QUESTIONS.

PROPAGANDA SUGGESTED.

(Br Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Tuesday.

Great curiosity was shown by Opposition members over finding among the Public Works votes in the Supplementary Estimates an item "cinematograph film, £400." Their surprised questions caused the Minister of Public Works, Mr. Semple, to explain that it would be used to show the Department's works and the modern machinery it used.

Mr. W. A. Poison (National, Stratford) protested against taxpayers' money being used in a way which would mislead many people. They woukl see a lot of wonderful, costly and extravagant machinery working, and the Minister probably hoped they would thus be induced to support the expenditure. No doubt this Department was doing good work, but to use public money to provide a form of entertainment for those who .could not'ttnalyse the position— "Well," added Mr. Pok*on, "I don't think it good cricket. I am not suggesting it, but if there is a pietnrd of a machine hard at work it might create the impression with persons not up to these tilings that the Department is doing wonderful work."' Labour Members: So it is. The Minister in charge of Publicity (Mr. Langstone) remarked that a lot of these films would be shown outside New Zealand, and none of these people could vote even for the member for Stratford. Mr. Poison retorted that similar machinery was working in other parts of tho world, and the film would be simply an instrument for political propaganda. "He has discovered a mare's nest," declared Mr. Semple, who assured the House that he had no idea of propaganda, but just to produce a simple film showing modern methods of construction. There was not one extravagant machine. Eight or nine months' experience showed that in that time these machines paid for themselves, and they had seven years left of useful life. "The Labour Government did not invent the machine," concluded Mr. Semple. "It simply had brains enough to use it."