NO PROPAGANDA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23112, 10 August 1938, Page 15

NO PROPAGANDA

ADVICE TO MANAGERS SCRIPT OF SPEECH NOT SEEN ADMISSION BY MINISTER ■ Thy telegraph—special reporter! "WELLINGTON, Tuesday An assurance that .the affairs of the Commercial Broadcasting Service were efficiently conducted was given by the j Postmaster-General and acting-Minister of Broadcasting, the Hon. .F. Jones, during the discussion on broadcasting in the House of Representatives to-day. No undue significance could be attached, said Mr. Jones, to the meeting of managers of commercial stations held in Wellington recently and addressed by the Prime Minister. It was a meeting in connection with normal departmental activities The Prime -Minister had expressed the wish to talk to those attending the meeting. Ho had not lectured them, but had simply told them that anything in the nature of propaganda over the air would not be tolerated. He also drew their attention to the necessity of exercising care with regard to broadcasts by persons from overseas who might express personal views regarding foreign countries. The Prime Minister's advice had been fully appreciated. "Decided to Hit Back" "During the last 12 months, the service has been running very smoothly," said Mr. Jones. "However, the controller apparently resented all these insinuations which have been made against him, and ho decided to hit back." Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (Opposition — Waitomo): He had resigned before then ? Mr. Jones. The hon. member has been one of the worst at making insinuations. Mr. Broadfoot: And you had his resignation in your pocket for seven days without telling anyone about it? "The resignation had not been considered up to Sunday," said the Minister, "and we did not know what lines the controller proposed to follow in his Sunday broadcast. Personally, I was surprised at the which lie did follow. I do not see that there is any need for a Royal Commission to investigate the commercial service. All the necessary safeguards are in operation, and members of the staff are working efficiently. I! Script had been Seen "When it is considered that none of these men has been trained in the civil service, and that we have had to recruit from outside, it will be lecognised that the service has been run in an efficient manner." It was impossible to give the freedom of the air to everyone, Mr. Jones stated. Normally, it was the practice to read the script of addresses which wero to be broadcast. An Opposition Member: Did you see Mr. Scrimgeour's script? Mr. J ones: If we had seen the script of this particular address, it would not have gone over the air. , At the conclusion of Mr. .Jones speech, the time had come for the dinner adjournment, and the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates (Opposition—Kaipara) asked if the debate would be continued during the evening sitting. There were j several members, he said, "who still I desired to speak. I The Prime Minister: It will not bo continued.