MR A. C. CAMERON’S SPEECH

Otago Witness, Issue 4041, 25 August 1931, Page 59

MR A. C. CAMERON’S SPEECH

RADIO REGULATIONS INFRINGED WELLINGTON, August 20.

In a statement in the House of Representatives to-day tlte Postmaster-general (Air J. B. Donald) said the Leader of the Labour Party (Mr 11. E. Holland) and Mr C. L. Carr (Timaru) had recently asked questions concerning the broadcasting from Station 4YA, Dunedin, of a speech by Mr A C. Cameron, past-president of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce. The matter had actually been taken up with the general manager of the Broadcasting Company before any public comment had been made, as it was clear that a good deal of the subject was controversial and constituted an infringement of the regulations. The Postmaster-general added: In reply to the department’s inquiries the general manager stated that the station director at Dunedin considered that all reasonable precautions had been taken with a view to ensuring that nothing of a controversial or political nature should be introduced. An assurance was received from the secretary of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce to this effect and an undertaking given that the speech would be confined to Imperial and economic questions. It would appear, however, that the position was not made clear to the speaker prior to the broadcast. In a further communication to the general manager of the Broadcasting Company, said Mr Donald, the department took the view that the explanation tendered was not very convincing, and that the address should have been properly supervised and the broadcast interrupted immediately controversial matter was commenced. The general manager was also informed that failure to do so had evoked unanswerable criticisms, and that it was imperative that adequate safeguards should be adopted to prevent a recurrence. The action taken, he concluded, should preclude the possibility of a similar happening.