BROADCASTING

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 216, 9 June 1936, Page 10

BROADCASTING

New Form of Control Proposed POWERS OF MINISTER Abolition of Existing Board STATE AND ADVERTISING Subsidies to B Stations A dean sweep of the present system of controlling radio broadcasting in New Zealand is proposed in the Bill, which was introduced by Governor-General’s message in the House of Representatives last night. The main provisions of the measure are: — Abolition of the Broadcasting Board. Appointment of a director of broadcasting under direct control of the Minister. Subsidies to B stations, which will not be numerically increased, from license fees. Establishment, of commercial (C) stations owned and controlled by the Government with the sole right to advertise. Repeal of the original Act and the subsequent amending enactment. The Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, replying to questions, said the Government was going to be the master of publicity and was not going to wait for the newspapers or the Opposition to tell the people what it was doing. "The main provision is to abolish the Broadcasting Board,” said the Postmaster-General, Hon. F. Jones, when outlining the Bill. The Bill also would repeal both the original Act of 1931 and the amendment of 1934-35. It has been decided to bring in an entirely new Bill in order to avoid confusion.

“Under the Bill there will be appointed a director of broadcasting who will 'be under the direct control of the Minister,” added Mr. Jones. "The B stations will remain the same in number, but will receive subsidies from the Government. \The revenue of lhe A stations will continue to come from the license fees. We are making provision for the establishment of what may be known as commercial stations, or C stations.” The Hon. A. Hamilton (Opposition, Wallimo) : Where will the B stations’ subsidies come from? The Minister: Portion of the license fees will be set aside to pay the subsidies. Commercial Stations. "The commercial stations will be owned and controlled by the Government, and they will be the only ones which will be allowed to advertise,” the Minister continued. "The Government intends to control the broadcasting, and if there is to be any. advertising the Government will do the job. If it sees lit it will establish the commercial stations.” Mr. Hamilton: They are to be owned and controlled by the Government?

The Minister: I know that surprises the member for Wallace, but that is our intention. “The broadcasting service is growing,” added the Minister, “and it may be necessary to appoint a full-time Minister of Broadcasting. We arc making provision for that.” In reply to an interjection by Mr. W. A. Bodkin (Opposition, Central Otago), the Minister said there was no intention to use broadcasting revenue for any other purpose than maintaining the service. The Leader of the Opposition, Rt.

Hon. G. W. Forbes: Will there be any reduction in the license fee? Mr. Jones: There is no provision in the Bill for that, but if we can make a reduction before the end of the year we will certainly do so. The Hon. Sir Alfred Ransom (Opposition, I’ahiatua) : Will any political propaganda be broadcast? “1 think the manner in which Parliament has been broadcast lias been acceptable to everyone,” replied the Minister. "The Government has, I think, treated the Opposition very well. We have given both sides an opportunity of stating their views. I do not think any member can say that we have been unfair in that, respect, and 1 am certain that the people appreciate the service.” Mr. Forbes: What are we to understand by statements we have heard that the Government is going to broadcast information over the wireless? Government’s Intentions. "I want to say quite definitely," said the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, “that 1 do not see any stopping place at all. The people are entitled to know the best and the worst. They should know exactly what Parliament is doing and what the Government proposes to do. The Government has a duty to the people not to keep them in the dark. What the newspapers neglect to do the broadcasting service will do. We have a far-reaching programme and we want the people to come with us everywhere. The Government is going to be the master of publicity. We are not going to wait for the newspapers or the Opposition to tell the people what we are doing. We are going right ahead. That is plain, is it not?” ■ The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates (Opposition, Kaipara): The Prime Minister says thC people are to be told what the Government' intends to do, but what about those who do not agree with the Government? Mr. Savage: They will have a go. Mr. Coates: Ah, but what sort of a go? Mr. Savage: Any sort of a go. Mr. Coates: Who will decide what matters are to be broadcast? The Minister of Labour, Hou. H. T. Armstrong: You decided that a few months ago. "If the Government is going to broadcast policy matters over the YA stations,” added Mr. Coates, "it seems a one-sided course if those opposed to that are not to be allowed to state their side of the question.” Mr. Savage: We will give you a fair run. Mr. Coates: What do you mean by “a fair run"? Mr. J. A. Lee (Government, Grey Lynn) : Wait and see. The Minister of Education, Hon. P. Fraser: Have you any complaint to make about the fairness of the broadcasting from the House? ‘Mr. Coates: It has been about four to one. , . . Tire accident of the political vote has resulted in there being about 53 Government members and 18 Opposition members. The “fair go” we talk about should bear more resemblance to political opinion as revealed at the last election. The Prime Minister has stated that he is not going to depend on the Press The Rev. C. L. Carr (Government, Timarti): To suppress and distort. Mr. Coales: We in the Opposition represent about 45 per cent, of the voters at the last election, yet the remaining 55 per cent, has the right to say exactly what it likes. The Prime Minister: When we have broadcast debates there have been, as a rule, three Government speakers, two from the Opposition and one Independent. Mr. Coates: I think that on a percentage basis the Independents are getting much more than they are entitled to. Mr. Coates added that he was not complaining about what had happened up to the present, but when Parliament was in recess Government measures would still be explained over the air. It would be extremely difficult to keep broadcast statements free from political colour, A Fair Deal from Newspapers. Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (Opposition. Waltomo) said Government members had persistently maintained that they had not had a fair deal from the newspapers. For every inch the Opposition had the Government bad about three feet. One would ,’jke to know whether the Government was going into the advertising business, because it certainly looked like that. “We are barging into enterprise on every side,” said Mr. Broadfoot. “It seems to me that the Government has a great deal too much confidence in what the public thinks about the radio outside. If the Government is going to have a station to itself—which I think is gross extravagance—then the Opposition should have one too.” Mr. Carr: The more you say the worse your case looks. Mr. Broadfoot: We will leave the gentleman with the radio voice alone. (Laughter.) He can have a turn later on. This Bill is just another example of people spending other people's money and not being nearly careful enough. Mr. Carr: Little man, you have bad a busy day. Mr. Hamilton asked whether there was any chance of the Bill beiug sent to a committee for the purpose of hearing evidence on it. The Postmaster General had stated that portion of the revenue might be used for subsidising B stations. Mr. Jones: Yes, if necessary. Mr. Hamilton: Well, should not the listeners who provide the revenue have an opportunity to make representations? Mr. J. Hodgens (Government, Palmerston) : What about the Friendly Road? Mr. Hamilton: We will deal with the Friendly Road — Mr. A. S. Richards (Government. Roskill) : You dealt with it, you mean. Mr. Hamilton said lie believed that if the question were put to a vote the listeners would prefer that the revenue should go to the national services rather than to the B stations. Mr. Lee: The listeners will get what they have now and they will get something more. It may bo at the expense, of the Press. Listeners’ Altitude To Advertising. "I have never heard of listeners wanting to hear something about, pills.” said the Lender of the Opposition, lit. Hon. G. W. Forbes, when expressin'-’ surprise at the provision in the Bill dealing with the establishing of commercial stations. Mr. Forbes said that listeners in America were always exasperated at the continuous interruption of programmes by advertising matter. He felt certain that the listeners of the Dominion would object to the proposed commercial stations if they were used for advertising. "The Minister has given us some bint that in providing for advertising, the Government wants to get its own back on the newspapers," Mr. Forbes added. “If that is the object then it is a very petty one indeed, and I >m sure the listeners will never agree that

the Government should enter into the competitive advertising business. Broadcastin-; is a public service, and the two cannot be carried on together. It is very unfair for the State to enter in this way into competition with the newspapers.” Replying to Mr. Forbes, the Post-master-General told the House that a large number of newspapers had applied already for permission to establish commercial stations. But the Government was not going to increase the number of B stations and it did not intend to agree to those applications for the establishment of commercial stations.

"The B stations believe that they were going to lie wiped out by the last Government,” Mr. Jones said. "The fact tdiat they voted for Labour in the main shows that they believed they were going to get. sympathetic consideration from us. There were two things we could do to help them —subsidise them or allow them to advertise. We decided that we would not give them the right to advertise, but would grant subsidies.” Mr. Hamilton: Subsidise them with listeners’ money? Mr. Jones: Yes. They are getting the programmes from those stations, and a great many of the listeners have to thank the B stations for the fine programmes they are getting. I do not think there will be any questioq from the listeners about the amount which should be set aside for those subsidies. The former Postinaster-General knew very well that he had subsidised seven private B stations already, Mr. Jones said. The present Government intended to subsidise the remaining 14. It might be that the Government would buy out some of the stations to establish the commercial stations, but there would be no coercion about the sale. But the Government took the view that if advertising was to be allowed the Government should control it. If the Government found in two or three years’ time that advertising over the air was obnoxious to ■ the people of New Zealand, the advertising stations could be wiped out. But if they were in private hands it would be a difficult thing, probably, to get control of them. Mr. Jones said the Bill would not go before a committee, as suggested by Mr. Hamilton. Evidence had been taken from the owners of the B stations and from the organisations of listeners. Half of them were in favour of subsidies and the other half of advertising. But he thought they would all accept whatever was offered to them by the Government. Replying to a protest made by Mr. Coates about only one side of a controversial question going over the air under the Government’s proposed plan, the Postmaster-General said Mr. Coates had himself in the past put out a statement without giving the then Opposition, now the Government, an opportunity to reply. That procedure had been followed by Mr. Coates with a statement on unemployment. “But I can assure the right honourable member that we will give him a fair deal,” Mr. Jones concluded. Mr. Forbes expressed some surprise at a statement by the PostmasterGeneral that, the B stations had voted for Labour In the belief that they would get sympathy. The Minister of Education, Hon. P. Fraser, protested that the Labour Party had not promised favours to any section of the community on the understanding that the party would get votes. The Prime Minister had made a clear statement at the time of the election about B stations, and the Government must honour its pledges. The Bill was read a first time. Just before the House rose, the Speaker, Hon. W. E. Barnard, intimated that the second reading debate on the Bill would commence this evening, and that the first six speeches would be broadcast. However, if the exigencies of Parliamentary debate made it necessary for the debate to start in the afternoon there would be no broadcast.

INDUSTRIAL BILLS

The Royal Assent Received

The three industrial measures passed by Parliament this session, the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, the Factories Amendment Act and the Shops and Offices Amendment Act, received the Royal Assent from the Governor-General, Viscount Galway, yesterday. All three measures were finally examined by the law draftsman last week and amendments designed to correct certain anomalies were introduced under the Constitution Act and incorporated in the Bills before they were forwarded to the Governor-General for his signature. The actual . date of assent to the Bills is of some importance, particularly in the case of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act, as.certain of its provisions are to come into force immediately on the passing of the Act and others some time afterward. Among the latter is the basic wage, which has to be fixed by the court within three months of the passing of the Act, that is yesterday. The restrictions of working hours provided for in all three Acts are not affected by the date of assent, as it is expressly provided that the shorter hours will not operate until September 1. The general operation of the Factories Amendment Act and the Shops and Offices Amendment Act is to date from July 1.