TV licence fee on phone bill being studied

Press, 4 July 1985, Page 17

TV licence fee on phone bill being studied

PA Wellington The Post Office is still trying to work out how to get television licence fees on to telephone bills. The idea was proposed 10 months ago when the Minister of Broadcasting, Mr Hunt, who is also Post-master-General, said the complicated and expensive: method of collecting television fees could be streamlined. A total of $4O million a year is collected in licence fees. Of that, about $5 million goes to the Post Office for collecting the fee. Mr Hunt said the new collection system would bring in an extra $lO million because about one in five television set owners at present did not have a licence. But some people were concerned that although they did not have television sets, they would have to pay the Minister’s renamed “broadcasting fee.” The Post Office was also caught by surprise when the Minister first floated the idea in press interviews. After a brief controversy the suggestion appeared to be dropped. But the assistant directorgeneral, Mr Derk Rose, said has said that the Post Office

was still working on it. Talks were being held with the Broadcasting Corporation, but it was still very much in the exploratory stages. The issue was complex, he said. One problem was knowing who had a television set and who did not. In that regard it was ■ not nearly as simple as motor registration. He said it would be “some time off” before a report might be available for the Minister. Post Office and broadcasting resources were directed at more pressing issues 'such as the Royal Commission on Broadcasting and the third channel.