TREATMENT OF B STATIONS

Southland Times, Issue 23308, 18 September 1937, Page 8

TREATMENT OF B STATIONS

Allegation Against

Government

ACCUSED OF FAILURE TO KEEP PROMISE

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, September 17.

The failure of the Labour Party to keep its promise to protect the B radio stations was referred to by Mr W. P. Endean (Nat., Parnell) during the Address-in-Reply debate in the House of Representatives today. Mr Endean said that the Government obtained many votes at the last election by its promise to radio listeners. When the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) was in the south recently he was asked to consent to a board being set up, but his reply was that it would be too cumbersome.

“This dictatorship attitude of the Government exists in every phase of activity,” said Mr Endean. “It is crushing out the spirit of the people and we are supposed to be Britons, who never will be slaves. We are rapidly becoming slaves because of the tyranny of this brand of Socialism that has obtained control of New Zealand and which some day will develop into Communism.” Mr Endean said that before it was elected the Labour Party had an arrangement under which Mr C. G. Scrimgeour engaged in politics over the air to assist it to gain office. Since then an advertising department of radio had been established and in his opinion a thorough investigation was necessary to find out all the facts. Why

were not tenders called for advertising space on the air. The Government had made arrangements with unseemly haste and the advertising rights for New Zealand had been let in Australia. Mr Endean said he would like to know what it cost the Government for motor-cars for performers who attended the Auckland studios.

Mr A. F. Moncur (Lab., Rotorua) said the appointment of the director of commercial broadcasting at £l5OO a year was being criticized, but nothing was said about the appointment of the governor of the Reserve Bank at £5OOO. Mr H. S. S. Kyle (Nat., Riccarton) said it was senseless to compare the governor of the Reserve Bank with the director of commercial broadcasting. Mr Moncur: I compared only their salaries.

“If I had been attacked by a newspaper in the way that a certain gentleman was a while ago I think I would be seeing my lawyers,” Mr Kyle added. “That gentleman has closed up like an oyster." The Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry): What do you think is the difference between the governor of the Reserve Bank and the director of commercial broadcasting? “One is acknowledged to be a gentleman throughout the world,” said Mr Kyle. “You can read a certain newspaper to learn about the other. I think that if the members of the Government told the people their honest opinion it would not be the same as they say on the public platform. The governor of the bank would not have been in it with the other man if the terms of his original appointment had been retained. , The Rev. C. L. Carr (Lab., Timaru): That was only fori three months. Mr Kyle: You would not have minded having his salary for three months. The sky was the limit there.