LABOUR'S BIAS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 84, 6 October 1938, Page 22

LABOUR'S BIAS

MR. WRIGHT'S VIEWS

EXAMPLE OF BROADCASTING

"A Government should hold the scales evenly between all sections of the community. No one section should receive an advantage at the expense of another, but I believe that the present Government does not pretend to hold the scales evenly," said Mr. R. A. Wright, Independent candidate for Wellington West, at Karori last night.

The Prime Minister's sympathies, he declared, were in one direction at the expense of other sections of the community. New Zealand, if it returned the Labour Socialist party, was hastening to the time when the Government would become a tyranny.

The allocation of broadcasting/facilities was criticised by Mr. Wright as | being unfair, especially as the Gov- j ernment represented a minority of the I electors. The crowning act of injustice was the Prime Minister's reserving to himself the right to broadcast in reply to any opposing speaker whom he considered had misrepresented the Government's actions or policy. That meant virtually that the Prime Minister could speak .as often as he i liked. ! In addition, said Mr. Wright, there j had been on Sunday nights so-called religious talks by the gentleman in charge of the Commercial Broadcasting Service. There might be some religion in the talks, said Mr. Wright. He was not disputing that, but the talks were also thinly-veiled political addresses and. anyone who read between the lines could see that that was so. The fact that Mr. C. G. Scrimgeour had since attempted to speak from the public platform in support of a Government candidate showed very plainly where his sympathies lay. The man was entitled to his views, but he was not entitled as a Government servant to adopt a partisan attitude in the control of broadcasting, which belonged to the whole of the people. "I venture to say that the majority of fair-minded men and women will not admit that a Government servant has the right to use his power in that way," said Mr. Wright. "The taking-up of a particular political attitude is in my judgment wrong, and should not be allowed." (Hear, hear.) The Press of New Zealand had narrowly escaped oeing muzzled by the Labour Government, which was incensed at some of the criticism it had received from the Press, said Mr. Wright. Why the Bill to effect the muzzling had not been brought into the House of Representatives he did not know, but it had been said that the caucus of the Government party refused to allow the Bill because the party had its own newspaper, which would also be muzzled by such a Bill. The Socialism of the Labour Party was adversely criticised by Mr. Wright, who, in support of his contentions, analysed several of the Government's measures. Mr. B. G. H. Burn presided over about 40 people, who gave the candi» date an attentive and a vote of thanks and confidence.