STATE RADIO

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22878, 5 November 1937, Page 13

STATE RADIO

; REPLY TO CRITICS COMMERCIAL BRANCH MR. SCRIMGEOUR DEFENDED s TRIBUTES BY MR. SAVAGE I [BY TELEGRAPH—SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Thursday 3 A personal defence of Mr. G. G. a Scrimgeour, and his development of . commercial broadcasting in New Zeaf land was made by the Prime Minister, t Mr. Savage, during the debate on the s Broadcasting Amendment Bill in tho House of Representatives to-night. Mr. ? j Savage said the attempt to discredit tho ) | controller of commercial broadcasting i was being made on behalf of vested . interests. s "The Opposition seems to be a bit - excited over this bill," said the Prime ■ Minister. I Sir Alfred .Ransom (Opposition—- • Pahiatua): The Prime Minister seems ) to bo a bit despondent, i "1 am not despondent," said Mr. Savage, "but there is only one thing I regret. During my 18 years in this Houso I have never before seen tho tactics employed that have been used in this debate. To attack someone outside this House is hardly playing tho game." Responsibility for Appointment Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (Opposition—• Waitomo): Mr. H. H. Sterling was never attacked, was he? Tho Prime Minister: I have never attacked an individual since I have been in this House. "The Rev. Mr. Scrimgeour was a(>pointed on my recommendation," Mr. Savage continued, "and I have no apology to make. I considered that he was the only man in New Zealand with a knowledge of commercial broadcasting and there was no other reason for his appointment. "He and I discussed the terms of his appointment fully and he was not sure what would bo a fair thing in the. way of commission. An arrangement was made and tried out for a few months and Mr. Scrimgeour was man enough to come to me and say that business and revenue were exceeding his greatest expectations. No Royal Commission "The member for Parnell has asked for a Royal Commission to investigate Mr. Scrimgeour's activities. He is not going to get it. That's all. However, he and tho Opposition as a whole can investigate for themselves everything in connection with broadcasting." Mr. Broadfoot: Where is the annual report? The Pi •ime Minister: The report will i be here before tlie House is asked to discuss the accounts. Mr. Savage said he could not understand why personal attacks had been made on the man running the commercial broadcasting service. Mr. Scrimgeour had played his part in the work of a great Church. The .speeches of Opposition members had contained innuendoes as well as direct statement, the Prime Minister continued. Finance had been questioned, but an officer of the Treasury had been in charge of the accounts of the commercial broadcasting service from its very inception. The inauguration of such a service was not a simple matter and it required expert financial guidance. However, the service was going to continue. Radio for Propaganda "The Opposition accuses us of using j the radio for propaganda," said Mr. ! Savage, "if they want propaganda they can have it, although they are getting more than their share already." There had been criticism, too, on the grounds that the licence fees had not been reduced, the Prime Minister continued. The listeners were getting more for their 2os to-day than ever before, and there had been an increase of 118,000 sets since the Government had come info power. Mr. Savage said he had not intended to touch on the jamming of IZB at the time of the election, but tho member for Parnell had hinted that Government members knew more about the incident than they had divulged. However, the report of the Director-Gen-eral of the Post and Telegraph Department stated that tho former Post-

master-General had given instructions that, in certain eventualities, the •station should bo put off the air. It had been pointed out that that would mean jamming, and Mr. Hamilton had agreed. "The Rev. Mr. Scrimgeour is a public servant," said the Prime Minister, "and he is criticised when he attempts to defend himself. There have been attempts to discredit him all along." Mr. Broadfoot: Is lie the reverend? The Prime Minister: Yes, more so than the lion, gentleman. I have never met a man in my life in whom I have had greater confidence. Mr. Savage said there had been criticism because he himself as Minister in charge of broadcasting was not handling the bill in the House. However. ho thought that a Prime Minister should not lie harnessed 11p to a lot of detailed matter, and he could spend his time much better than in arguing about bills. The Prime Minister defended the type of programmes broadcast from both the commercial stations and the national stations. There was no duplication of services, and no question of a dispute between Professor Shelley and Mr Scrimgeour. BROADCAST "JAMMED" PRIME MINISTER'S SPEECH FAULT AT 2YA PLANT RESORT TO OTHER STATION [BY TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Thursday A statement that the speech delivered by the Prime Minister on tho Broadcasting Amendment Bill to-night was to a certain extent "jammed" was made by Mr. A. S. Richards (Government—Roskill), when speaking later in the debate in the House of Representatives. The Leader of tho Opposition, the Hon. A. Hamilton, immediately denied that the Opposition knew anything of the cause of the occurrence. "I am informed," said Mr. Richards, who was the next Government speaker after the Prime Minister, "that while the Prime Minister was speaking tonight there was an oscillation in the form of a humming sound interfering with the broadcast, and it is significant that it ceaspd as soon as the Prime Minister resumed his seat. I will leave members of the Opposition to draw their own conclusions about tho cause of the disturbance. The member for Hurunui, who followed the Prime Minister, had the benefit of being broadcast from the two national stations without any interference." Mr. Forbes: Do you think I did it? Mr. Hamilton rose to a point of order. "The member for Roskill made a very serious charge, and I want to know what the Prime Minister is going to do about it," he said. "The member for Roskill said someone had been interfering with the wireless from this House, and I suppose he wants to blame the Opposition. We know nothing about it and I think it is up to the Prime Minister to have an inquiry right away." The Speaker, the Hon. W. E. Barnard, said that if what had been stated by Mr. "Richards was true it was a serious matter, but at the moment he could only point out that Mr. Richards had made no charge against the Opposition or against any member of the House.

Bising to a point of order at a later stage in the debate the PostmasterGeneral, tlie Hon. F. Jones, stated that at 8.17 p.m. a fault developed in the transmitter at Titahi Bay, causing a loud humming noise, but it was announced over 2YA that the station would stay on the air until the Prime Minister's speech was finished. A few minutes later a fuse blew out, the station ceased to function, and the Parliamentary broadcast was immediatejv transferred to '2YC, the changeover taking place while Mr. Forbes was speaking.