CENSOR DEFENCES

Evening Star, Issue 24327, 16 October 1942, Page 4

CENSOR DEFENCES

STRIKE GAG NOT A " BLACK-OUT ” COMMODITY RULING PREVENTED PANIC BUYING (Special.) WELLINGTON, Oct. 16. Why the Director of Publicity controlled newspaper references to the Waikato strike and mention of shortages of commodities, was explained to the House of Representatives last night by the Minister of Supply, Mr Sullivan. He was answering Mr Doidge, who had stated that the emphatic condemnation of the Waikato miners by Mr Semple .at a largo public meeting in Tauranga never appeared in the newspaper report, and that the editor explained that ho was prohibited from mentioning that subject. Mr Doidge characterised it as a complete blackout. Mr Sullivan denied that the action taken by the Director of Publicity amounted to a black-out. He read the confidential telegram sent by that officer to newspaper editors; “ 'To assist in localising serious coal dislocation, and to secure speediest return to full production, the assistance of the Press is necessary to prevent extension of the trouble. There must be no publication of reports of meetings, resolutions, or statements in support of the unlawful strike, or any statements supporting nr condemning the strikers without reference to the Director of Publicity.” Mr Doidge: It was the gag. Mr Sullivan said it was a direction to editors that they must submit the question to the director in order to ensure that the trouble, which was already sufficiently bad in the Waikato, and was creating difficulty for the country, was not accentuated by publication of matter which would intensify the difficulty. It was not prohibition of publication, and a groat deal of matter was published throughout the length and breadth of the country. There was nothing to prevent an editor from publishing the statements of the Minister of Transport. Ho had noticed that criticism of the censorship by the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association had been referred to with approval by the Leader of the Opposition. Reference had been made to the fact that the newspapers were prohibited from publishing references to commodity shortages. The Minister read the direction issued to the Press, declaring that this was necessary to prevent the panic buying which followed every reference to scarcity, whether correct or not. A certain group of grocery stores which had a normal demand for 25 tons of sugar weekly, sold 25 tons in one day following Press references to a shortage, and in the week following the entrv of Japan into the war. this group sold as much sugar in one morning as their norma] sales for a week The same quantities of sugar were available as in the previous year, but there were hoards in existence. However, the sugar position today had entirely changed, and there was a shortage in the country. Mr Sullivan finally stressed that, whenever there was any reference to a shortage of any commodity, the tendency of the public was to buy to the limit of their capacity. A reference to the consnrshin issue was also made bv Mr Coates. He said be believed that the question of censorship could with advantage ho reconGihwed altogether It was alwavs a matter of opinion as to how much it was wise to divulge, hut the main point was to see that information that might be of. advantage to the enemv did not get out. If there was a doubt, he was sure the Prime Minister was openminded enough to make certain of what the complaints reallv were. He could not see that the censorship became the matter of a no-confirlenee motion.