RADIO HEARING THIRD APPLICATION FOR LICENCE

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32209, 30 January 1970, Page 24

RADIO HEARING THIRD APPLICATION FOR LICENCE

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, January 29. Aucklanders relied for their daily information on two sources of information, both of which, he submitted, were monopolies, said Mr C. P. Hutchinson, Q.C., opening his submissions for a private radio licence on behalf of the Auckland Broadcasting Company at Broadcasting Authority hearings today.

Mr Hutchinson named the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation and newspapers as the only two sources of information available.

“I submit it Is, if not necessary, at least desirable that there should be a third medium of information—an independent television or radio station,” he said. Mr Hutchinson said the authority was required to consider the necessity or desirability of proposed services in the public interest and also the desirabi ity of avoiding monopolies in ownership or control of news media. “If a warrant is granted to us we will endeavour to run a station of the very highest quality,” he said. Mr Hutchinson began his case for the Auckland Broadcasting Company late this afternoon. It is the third of five applications the authority will hear for a private radio licence in Auckland. The authority is under the chairmanship of Mr R. T. Peacock, its members are Mr H. E. Duff Daysh and Mr R. B. Miller. Not Yet Formed In his submissions, Mr Hutchinson said the company he was representing had not yet been formed, but would be formed if the authority granted it a licence. The proposed company world have a shareholding of 250,000 $1 shares. New Zealand Forest Products, Ltd, had agreed to take up 112,500

of the shares and Rutland Industries, Ltd, would take another 112,500.

One of the company’s pro-! posed directors, Mr K. A. Bennetts, would take up 15,000 shares of which 5000 would be held in trust for the company’s managing director. The remaining 10.000 shares would be taken up by the company’s proposed chairman of directors, Mr D. S. Cox.

There was an undertaking; in writing, signed by each of the four shareholders, that when the company was in operation each would offer half his shares to the general public at par prices. “These four shareholders are showing public mindedness in that they are prepared to put up the money and take the risk,” said Mr Hutchinson. “It is only when the station is in operation that they will offer the shares to the public and then at par prices.

I “It is in line with their declared policy that a profit I motive will never be pursued | at the expense of an effective radio service to the community.”

Mr Hutchinson said that the idea of forming a company and applying for a licence had been put up by Mr Cox’s brother, Sir Geoffrey Cox, who had been editor and chief executive of British Inf dependent Television news services for 12 years.

Since 1968 Sir Geoffrey Cox had been deputy chairman of Yorkshire Television. He had agreed to act as consultant to the company should it get a licence.