TV consortium out

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32846, 21 February 1972, Page 2

TV consortium out

(N.Z. Press Association)

AUCKLAND, Feb. 20. The leading commercial contender for the second television channel, the Associated Network Group, will not now apply for a warrant.

The decision was announced yesterday by the group’s sponsoring directors, Sir James Doig, Sir Robert Kerridge, Sir Clifford Plimmer and Sir James Wattie. The unanimous decision of the four member companies

contains an attack on “Government procrastination” which “frustrated any positive second-channel action over the last three years.” The companies—U.E.B. Industries, Ltd, Kerridge Odeon Corporation, Ltd, Wright Stephenson and Company, Ltd, and Wattie Industries, Ltd, — i made their decision at a meeting on Friday. “The four companies feel they can make no further television commitments while the Government consistently refuses to make specific decisions on important recommendations handed to it last

July by the Broadcasting Authority,” their statement said.

“The Government’s nondecision virtually assures the N.Z.B.C. of monopoly control of both channels unless a contender engages in another long legal battle. “Even then, the Broadcasting Authority’s final decision could still require the Government to make the kind of decision which it has consistently refused to make during the last seven months.” The directors said the Minister of Broadcasting (Mr Walker), in making the an-' nouncement last week that any decision on the second channel was over to the authority “stated that it was not his intention to direct the authority on various matters which were so exhaustively traversed at the public hearing and summarised in the authority’s July report. “We consider that statement, coming after seven months of Cabinet and caucus indecision, is typical of the Government’s procrastination, which has frustrated any positive second channel action over the last three years.

“We have always stressed our belief in the desirability of a strongly-backed, competitive public-interest channel. “We think our group’s pub-lic-service motivations are obvious to anyone who has taken the trouble to read our submissions. “However, there comes a time when our other responsibilities persuade us to call a halt to activities which seem continually frustrated by a reluctant Government. “Our main regret is that the public may now be denied an opportunity of participating in what could have been a unique opportunity to show how responsible citizens would organise a publicinterest television corporation.

“It has been generally stated in the news media that the issue of a warrant for a second network channel lay between the N.Z.8.C., and the Associated Network Group. “On this premise, the result of the Government’s non-de-cision could be that the N.Z.B.C. will continue to have a monopoly of television in this country. “Let the public understand clearly that this means a monopoly not just for a few years, but, because no further channels are available on the existing frequencies, for 20 or more years.” The companies said the Government was obviously willing to spend big sums of public money to have the Broadcasting Authority re-do all the work it had covered over the last two years and a quarter, but they were not prepared to commit company funds to do the same job twice.