Ministers Inundated

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30847, 4 September 1965, Page 1

Ministers Inundated

A storm of paper descended on the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) and the Minister of Broadcasting (Mr Scott) this week. They were both deluged with hundreds of telegrams from members of the Canterbury Televiewers’ Association seeking direct repress-. tation on both the Broadcasting Corporation and its southern region advisory committee. The paper storm apparently doubled in intensity over the Minister of Broadcasting: Mr Holyoake sent the following

stock reply to every telegram: “Your telegram received, and passed to the Minister of Broadcasting for consideration.—Keith Holyoake.” Mr J. M. McKenzie, secretary of the Canterbury Televiewers’ Association, yesterday described Mr Holyoake’s action as “a classical passing of the buck.” “I wonder does the Prime Minister ever watch television?” he said. “He should —for he would have seen a recent programme, ‘Disneyland—lo years’ Anniversary,’ which depicted the room of a former president of the United States, Mr Truman, with

his famous slogan on his desk: This is where the buck stops.’ “Can Mr Holyoake say the same about himself? I think not,” said Mr Mckenzie. His association had considered its representations important enough to write an individual letter to every member of Parliament asking their views on televiewer representation on the Broadcasting Corporation and advisory committees, Mr McKenzie said. “It is imperative for the survival of the corporation that televiewers have the right of at least one member on the corporation to represent their views," he said.