NO COMPETITION BY STATE

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21812, 18 June 1936, Page 12

NO COMPETITION BY STATE

THE MANUFACTURE OF RADIO SETS POSTMASTER-GENERAL’S ASSURANCE government investigating COST OF PRODUCTION [THE PRESS Special Service.] DUNEDIN, June 17. “The Government has no intents o' entering the radio business,” d ;Uar. d the Postmaster-General (the Hon. F. Jones) to-night, when his attention'was called to a report from Wellington suggesting that the production of standard radio sets' was to be undertaken by the Post and Telegraph Department, in conjunction with the Railway Department. “Nor has any decision been made bv the Government,” the Minister” added, “that the systematic manufacture of radio sets will be carried out by these (wo departments.”

All that had been done so far, the Postmaster-General explained, was to arrange for the building of a few sets as an experiment, to ascertain the actual cost of production. At his request an arrangement for that purpose had been made by the Post and Telegraph Department with the co-operation of the Minister for Railways (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan). There was no intention to go in for the manufacture of sets, but merely to construct a few so that the Government would have an idea of the finished cost of the product. When the sets wete completed a check would be made for that purpose and the efficiency of the sets in reception power and so on would also be tested.

“We are also looking closely into the question of royalties,” the Post-master-General said. “The present royalties amount to a very heavy charge on the sets sold in New Zealand. That charge may be justifiable; at present we do not know, but we are making an investigation to find out whether these charges can be reduced, so that the purchase of a radio set may be brought within the reach of everyone in the community.”

Mr Jones explained that under the royalty system at present in operation, every radio set sold in New Zealand was covered by a uniform charge of 3s 6d for each valve socket, which for a six-valve set meant a total charge of 21s. In England the corresponding charge was Is a valve socket, but it was stated that when an English set was sold in New Zealand the royalty of 3s 6d was still levied in addition to the charge of Is. ’ Ac agreement to sell sets under these conditions has been signed by all _radio traders in the Dominion,” added the Postmaster-General, “and the object of our enquiries is to ascertain whether the charge is a fair one.”