Chch may win radio H.Q.

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33157, 22 February 1973, Page 1

Chch may win radio H.Q.

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, February 21. There is not much likelihood that Christchurch will be made the centre of one of the two television corporations —but there is a “strong possibility” that it might be chosen as headquarters for the radio corporation.

The Minister of Broadcasting (Mr Douglas) indicated this after he had talked matters over for an hour with members of a deputation headed by the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr N. G. Pickering).

“I undertook to consider! the submissions put forward! by the deputation,” Mr Doug-1 las said. “I told them that; the submissions were well] prepared, and contained a] few points which required! careful consideration." Asked whether a decision on Christchurch would be made before the proposed committee prepared its White Paper. Mr Douglas said: “This is not likely. I originally promised that the membership of the committee would be named in two or three weeks. This will be done shortly . . .”

Other members of the deputation included the Mayor of Riccarton (Mr R. V. Harrington), the director of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association (Mr I. D. Howell), and the chief executive officer of the South Island Publicity Association (Mr M. Foate). Three local Labour members and the former Minister of Broadcasting (Mr H. J. Walker) attended the deputation. SEVERAL SUBMISSIONS

Mr Pickering said after the discussions that the deputation presented several sets of submissions. The first was directed at whether or not Christchurch would be considered as a television centre. The second submission dealt with Christchurch hopes to become a radio centre. In the memorandum setting out the case for the establishment of a television corporation in Christchurch, It was pointed out that the original suggestion that Christchurch should be sought as a radio centre had been modified. Radio, it was thought, was in a special

position of imbalance, and required special measures. The memorandum, an eight-page foolscap document, examined world trends, mentioned the problems of colour introduction, and concluded that the Broadcasting Authority should be located in Wellington (with control of the leasing of Avalon centre) and i that one television corporation should be located in I Christchurch. OPAWA SITE

It drew attention to the existence of eight acres at Opawa, purchased by a previous Director-General of the N.Z.B.C. for the establishment of a broadcasting centre, and the existence of a Gloucester Street site “also ripe for development.”

“If the new television cor- I poration were established in i Christchurch it might be an ' incentive to bring to fruition the Opawa broadcasting centre concept, which has always been regarded as the ultimate objective in preference to the modified Gloucester Street plan.” The submission asking for Christchurch to be the radio corporation centre stated that Christchurch, more than any other main centre, had suffered from the economies imposed by the N.Z.B.C. as part of economic retrenchment. The Opawa centre concept had to be abandoned, and the less-ambitious Gloucester Street scheme also had to be halted. DRAMA STUDIO “More recently the closing of the sound drama studio in Christchurch has been a further setback, both to the radio industry and to the acting profession.” A third submission said that Christchurch was the only large centre still using pre-war studio facilities for radio. Others were Tauranga, Napier and Wanganui. In a separate submission, ‘ Mr Walker asked Mr Doug--1 las to defer the Government’s ■ present proposals until he I had obtained the views of world experts. In a memorandum to the Prime Minister (Mr Kirk), Mr Walker asked that the position be reconsidered “in the light of the discovery of an error of more than ’3O per cent made by vour Minister of Broadcasting t in analysing N.Z.B.C. accounts.”