AIR MONOPOLY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 180, 31 July 1940, Page 10

AIR MONOPOLY.

PROTEST VOICED.

MINISTER CRITICISED.

CENSORSHIP OF SPEECHES.

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.)

WELLINGTON, this day.

A protest against monopoly by Ministers of the Crown and by the Director of Commercial Broadcasting of certain sessions on the commercial broadcasting services' schedule was raised by Mr. Doidge (National, Tauranga) and other Opposition speakers in the House of Representatives last evening, when the broadcasting report and estimates were being discussed.

Mr. Doidge congratulated the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, on the change in the 2ZB talks on Sunday. No longer, he said, did they get all the class hatred, and they were grateful. "But why is that monopoly given to the gentleman who comes to us on Sunday nights'/" asked Mr. Doidge. "We used to hear other speakers, including Mr. Lee, and we much prefer him to the gentleman we get regularly on Sunday night after Sunday night."

Mr. Clyde Carr (Labour, Timaru) You are prejudiced.

Mr. Doidge: I am definitely prejudiced. and I think a lot of other good people are prejudiced, too.

He suggested that other speakers should be given a chance. He referred also to the fact that while there was censorship exercised in the House, Ministers could go out every night on the air. He criticised the Minister of Supply, Mr. Sullivan, for remarks he made over the air when he returned from Australia, and referred to the speech made some time ago by Mr. McLagan, president of the Federation of Labour, who, on a national hook-up, had vilified Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Chamberlain's Government. Mr. Doidge said he would not have dared to do sucli a thing in the House. When he criticised the Socialist Premier of France members on the other side of the House had apoplectc fits.

The Minister of Supply strongly denied that he had said anything hurtful to the Australian Government. When he was in Australia he had broadcast over the entire Australian network of 226 stations on five occasions, and he said then practically the same as he had said in New Zealand in an interview. The Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Menzies, had told him that his broadcasts had been most helpful to Australia.

Referring to the suggestion that Ministers had a monopoly of the air. Mr. Sullivan said he hoped the Government would not surrender its right in this way to tell the people of the country what they should know.

The Minister of Defence, Mr. Jones, said that as far as the war effort was concerned, the Government would give every encouragement to all classes in the community to broadcast. The Prime Minister had a committee dealing with these broadcasts, and employers and employees were both taking part.

Mr. Goosman (National, Waikato): Will they have to submit their speeches?

Mr. Jones said that all speeches had to he submitted, as even Cabinet Ministers could make mistakes.