POLITICS ON THE AIR

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23969, 9 June 1943, Page 2

POLITICS ON THE AIR

“Misuse of Service By

Government”

MR HOLLAND’S CHARGE

From Our Parliamentary Reporter WELLINGTON. June 8.

A complaint that when the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) read the Budget last Thursday stations were linked up; but that when he opened the debate his speech was being put over only one station, was made by the Leader of the Oppos 1 - tion (Mr S. G. Holland) in the House of Representatives this evening. He alleged that Government speakers were given preference in the telegraphing of reports of statements. “While I have a voice I will raise it in protest against the gross injustice of the Government’s misuse of the people’s broadcasting service for its own political ends,” said Mr Holland. It was a disgrace that such a state c. things could be permitted in a democrat!; country. “This radio service belongs to the people, and not to the Labour Party,” continued Mr Holland; "but this sort of action is in, line with Government policy.” Mr Holland said that because the National Party could not get the use of the air it made application to the Government for paper with which to publish a pamphlet setting out the policy of the party. A permit had been applied for 12 or 13 weeks ago; but no reply had been received from that day to this. “They even asked us what we intended to put in the pamphlet,” Mr Holland said. The Government was taking an unfair advantage of telegraphic facilities to get Ministerial statements from any part of the country into the daily papers, he said. Ministers could get 1000 words of their statements telegraphed at any time of the night, whereas after 10 p.m. the Press Association could send out a total of only 600 words from Wellington, 300 from Auckland, or 150 from Christchurch. This meant that a speech by himself or any other National Party member had to be cut down heavily after 10 o’clock, and even then had to take its chance if it competed with a serious fire, accident, or other important news item. Mr Fraser’s Reply “I feel a little bit worried as to the honourable gentleman’s complaint about the wireless,” said the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) when replying to Mr Holland’s statement. “I was not aware that the Minister of Finance was being broadcast from seven stations,’’ the Prime Minister said, “but I am sure that the Budget was worthy of being broadcast from 70 stations. I naturally sympathise with the honourable gentleman, because to-night I am in the same plight as he is. I also am only on one station, and I feel inclined to join in his protest.” The Prime Minister added that if the Leader of the Opposition had telephoned him half an hour before the House met. and suggested that he should have seven stations, or all stations. he would have been delighted to arrange for him to have them. As he listened to the honourable gentleman he felt that the Leader of the Opposition should be grateful that he was being broadcast by only one station. If he had known that the honourable gentleman wanted more stations, and he had known beforehand the contents of the speech of the Leader of the Opposition, he would have urged him to get all the stations he could.

Regarding Mr Holland’s complaint that no paper was made available for his party to issue a pamphlet, Mr Fraser said he was informed that the National Party wanted a supply of paper additional to that to be issued for election purposes. He could publlsh a pamphlet at any time he liked as part of the election papers. Mr Fraser said he intended to investigate the matter. MR FRASER’S SPEECH REPLY TO LEADER OP OPPOSITION SUBSIDIES DEFENDED From Our Parliamentary Reporter WELLINGTON, June 8. The Leader of the Opposition had made charges of waste and inefficiency, said the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) in the Budget debate this evening. Mr Fraser said that when he thought of the vast scope of the war effort, he marvelled that so little had gone wrong. When the Leader of the Opposition was Minister in charge of war expenditure he had said that he had found only two cases of waste in camps. Mr FTaser said that Mr Holland had deplored the prohibition on policemen working on wharves and other places when off duty. The police were to keep law and order, and they had plenty to do looking after sly-gro? shops and other things. It was not conducive to good discipline to have men doing any other work than that for which they signed on. That could be taken as a final deqision as long as he was Minister in charge. Claiming that the Budget contained a complete statement of war expenditure, the Prime Minister said the Government was prepared to submit details and accounts to the Public Accounts Committee. It was ridiculous for the Leader of the Opposition to criticise the war damage insurance, as the increase ’ from 2s to 5s been made when the Japanese entered* the war, and people were imploring protection against the increased dangers of invasion and damage to property. Defending subsidies, the Prime Minister said they were given by every one of the United Nations in the war. In Great Britain they amounted to £100.000.000 per annum. Subsidies in New Zealand totalled about £3,750.000, and on a pro rata basis the amount paid in Great Britain was much greater.

The Leader of the Opposition had said that soldiers would have to pay the cost of subsidies when they returned after the war; but soldiers would not object to subsidies to keep down the cost of living of their mothers, wives, and children. Mr Fraser said that while questions of rehabilitation and manpower did not occupy a great deal of the Budget, they occupied a prominent and important part in the minds and hearts of the Government. The Government agreed with the Leader of the Opposition that soldiers should be placed on the land at a productive value. When there wore proposals to take land at its productive value he hoped the Leader of the Opposition would stand to his guns, and support the Government wholeheartedly when it took steps to see that the soldiers were not exploited in the value of the land. Use of the Air ‘‘Nothing is more misleading than the statement that the Government is using the air for party political purposes,” said Mr Fraser, amid Opposition laughter. “The Government is responsible for the war effort, and is going to use the air to defend that in all its phases. It is going to use thfe air to defend stabilisation and price fixation, and food price control, and to promote the production of commodities required by the people generally. The Government is not going to allow persons who feel a sense of guilt to rouse indignation when people are being told of convictions under the food price regulations.” Mr Fraser said that the President of the United States, faced with a problem similar but immensely larger than that faced by the New Zealand Government, last year had adopted the same course, and taken over the coal mines. That was the question on Which Mr Holland had left the war administration. ‘‘The war administration might nave led to a National Government if

it had proved successful,” said Mr Fraser. , , , An Oppositidn member; It had no chance. „ ~ With the withdrawal of Mr Holland and his colleagues from the war administration all hope of a National Government had gone, Mr Fraser added.

Mr Fraser said Mr Holland had referred to an inquiry at a naval base. The inquiry was made by Mr Justice Blair and two engineers, Messrs Cable and Stewart, and their report was adopted in great measure. He knew that the discipline at the base even now was not as good as it ought to be. He would like to be able to say that it was. but he had doubts. Every step possible was being taken. How could a war be fought without getting into debt? asked Mr Fraser, in reply to Mr Holland’s references to the burden of debt. Did the Leader of the Opposition think that the people should pay the whole cost now by taxation. Was that possible? The pre. sent policy had the support of the people, and they would show their appreciation by their contributions to the war loan.

Referring to the possible effect of lease-lcnd transactions on the Dominion's London funds, the Prime Minister s-iid that an arrangement had been entered into by which the country’s sterling resources would be safeguarded.