PROTRACTED DEBATE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19038, 11 June 1936, Page 5

PROTRACTED DEBATE

THE BROADCASTING BILL OPPOSITION'S BATTLE SESSION'S END DELAYED (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. Plans for a prompt ending of the present sittings of Parliament went astray through the highly contentious nature of the Broadcasting Bill which the Government produced as its last item on the programme. Prior to its appearance, the Knowledge that there was only one measure left gave optimists full scope, with the result that it was generally believed that the session would be suspended yesterday except for some formalities the following day, but the second reading alone kept the Broadcasting Bill hefbre the House for eight hours, this stage only being passed after an all-day discussion. Then the equally difficult committee stage was faced just before the dinner adjournment, and most of the trains and boats members would have liked to catch left Wellington while clause 1 was under discussion.

The Government was sparing of ■ the closure, this being used only once during the long evening. An amendment from the Kt. Hon. J. G. Coates seeking to temper full Ministerial control by the association with broadcasting of a corporation of five, including three definite representatives of listeners. was rejected by 43 to 18, while a similar effort by Mr. W. J. Poison on another clause met the same fate.

Midnight was approaching when only four of 20 clauses in the bill had passed the committee, and the next hour was occupied with the Opposition's strenuous efforts to delete from the measure any authority to put advertising on the air. The Government's big majority operated faithfully, the bill eventually emerging from the committee without* amendment, even of the Mi» ister's authorship.