SEPARATION OF SERVICES

Southland Times, Issue 23336, 21 October 1937, Page 6

SEPARATION OF SERVICES

Radio Broadcasting In New Zealand TWO ADMINISTRATIVE HEADS COMMERCIAL PROGRAMMES CRITICIZED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 20. Separation of the Commercial Broadcasting Service from the National Broadcasting Service is provided for in the Broadcasting Amendment Bill, which was introduced in the House of Representatives today by GovernorGeneral’s Message.

Coincidental with the establishment of a separate service, the Bill authorizes the appointment of a controller of commercial broadcasting, who, under the direction of the Minister of Broadcasting, is to control the commercial service. The controller is to be appointed by the Governor-General-in-Council and is to hold office for three years. Last year’s appointment of Mr C. G. Scrimgeour to this office is confirmed. The powers of the director of broadcasting in the national service are to be exercised by the controller of commercial broadcasting in the administration of the commercial service.

Provision is made for various financial transactions to be handled separately by the administrative officers of the two services. Power is also given for the establishment of subsidiary accounts in the broadcasting account at the Reserve Bank. When the Bill was introduced the Postmaster-General (the Hon. F. Jones), who was in charge of the measure, said it provided for a subsidiary account for commercial broadcasting inside the main broadcasting account. The Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes (Nat., Hurunui): Is the controller of commercial stations under the control of the director of broadcasting? Mr Jones: No, he is under the control of the Minister. Mr Forbes: He has a separate branch then. Mr Jones: Except so far as the account is concerned.

UNIFIED CONTROL ADVOCATED

Mr Forbes expressed the opinion that the broadcasting service would be more efficiently administered if all the branches were under one administrative head.

“Has there been a battle royal between the controller of the commercial stations and the director of broadcasting?” asked Mr S. G. Smith (Nat., New Plymouth). “Does this amendment mean that Uncle Scrim has won the first round? The Government appoints a professor to take charge of broadcasting and then another man to administer the commercial stations.”

The Prime Minister (the Rt Hon. M. J. Savage): They are two different jobs. The necessity for more effective control in commercial broadcasting was emphasized by Mr W. J. Polson (Nat., Stratford). The service, he said, was crying out for control. Mr A. S. Richards (Lab., Roskill): Would you like to close it down?

“I want to see some control of the controller,” said Mr Polson. “However, I don’t want to hound him down. The director of broadcasting is the man who should have control. Sometimes we have two sets of programmes which clash with one another. One is an uplifting programme from the national stations, but programmes of a very different character may come from the commercial stations.”

Reference to the lavish expenditure in the commercial broadcasting service was made by Mr J. Hargest (Nat., Awarua). Numerous members of the staff were receiving over £5OO a year, he said, but in the police force, which was responsible for the maintenance of law and order, the number receiving that amount was considerably less. Mr Smith: The police cannot croon. The Bill was read a first time.