Greymouth Evening Star. TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1948. Political Abuse Of The Radio

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 August 1948, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1948. Political Abuse Of The Radio

NJO greater abuse of a public utility has been perpetrated in New Zealand m recent years than the use which the Minister of Finance, Mr Nash, made of I lie national broadcasting nelwork on Sunday night for propaganda purposes. N sale to say that the average New Zealander with a sense of the fitness of things finds politics on Sunday a repugnant practice. Not so Mr Nash,' or his colleagues who either approved, or made the decision for him, that he should broadcast. Vvith them, apparently, Sunday is the same as any other day when it comes to polities. In this regard, an underlying note of truth may have been discerned in the pungent, if somewhat humorous, comment of a British observer who recently said that the Socialist gentlemen appear to be Boy Scouts in reverse—their aim is to tell one good political lie a day. except on Sundays, when they tell two ' In addition to the day chosen for it, there were two main objectionable features to Mr Nash’s broadcast, which, between blatant propaganda utterances, purported Io deal with the decision to abolish the exchange rate. The first is that Im set out io secure a grossly unfair advantage over his opponents; the second is that he used the national, radio nelwork merely to .repeat all that he had previously said in the daily press. lie eannol feel very sure of himself. It is safe to say that no single act of its kind in the history of New Zealand has received more publicity than tin* decision to abolish the exchange rate. Air Nash had already, prior to Sunday night, made use of the press facilities gladly extended to him to explain the decision in full. Ho cannot, therefore, argue reasonably that ho. had any real need to use the radio on a Sunday night.

Tonig’ht, the Leader of the Opposition. Air Holland, will open the Budget debate in the House of Representatives, and his principal topic will no doubt he the exchange cut and its effects on the economy of New Zealand. His speech will be broadcast by one radio station ; all lhe remainder will continue with their programmes. For Air Nash’s broadcast, however, all the principal stations wore linked so that he eould have the widest possible coverage of a Sunday night fireside audience. To any fair-minded Now Zealander, no matter his political affiliations, such a shabby manoeuvre can have no appeal. Then* was a lime in the political history of New Zealand —or. for that matter, in the history of British democracy—when if occurred Io no one Io suspect that once a party came to power, lhe human right of its rivals to justice and lair play would be subject forthwith to roughshod infringement. It should be added, in connection with. propaganda. methods, that, in addition to radio broadcasting, the Government uses the expensive National Film Unit, the Stale printing works and press advertisements for more or less thinly-disguised party publicity, all paid for by the taxpayer. If any other Government, with the Socialist Barty in Opposition, adopted such propaganda methods as have been followed by the present Government, the Socialist leaders and their supporters would be outraged. They should lie reminded that the hoot tightens just as well on the other leg. However, no matter what party is in power, cynical, totalitarian abuse of advantage cannot be too strongly condemned.