POWER OF VETO

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 121, 8 June 1937, Page 8

POWER OF VETO

-Preii AsBociHtion.)

Minister and Broadcasts of Speeches B. STATIONS' REQUEST

• Sy Telegraph-

AUCKLAND, Last Night. By requesting the promoters of a meeting at which the future of B radio Btations will be discussed to submit to him particulars of the proposed speeches before. he will eanction a broadcast of the meeting from station 1ZM, the Acting-Miuister of Broadcasting (Hon. F.' Jones) has invoked for the first time regulation 15 of the Broadcasting Act, 1936, which gives him p'ower to supervise the programmes of B stations. The meeting has been called by the B. Stations Protection Committee, a body representing the N.Z. Association of Radio Listeners and the United Listeners' Club, and is to take place at the Town Hall on Thursday night. It is proposed to ask those present to pass a resolution calling upon the Government to carry out its pledges concerning B stations in their entirety. Last week the committee wrote to Mr. Jones asking permission. to broadcast the meeting from 1ZM and a representative also saw Mr. J ones on the matter in Wellington. The Minister told the committee 's representative that before granting permission he wished to have particulars of the speeches to be given, pointing out that that was provided ior under regulation 15 of the Broadcasting Act, 1936, which gave him power to supervise the programmes of B stations. On being informed of tho Minister 's reply the committee despatched a letter to him last night pointing out that it was impossible to give the' actual details of the addresses whicli would be given by a number' of speakers, but stat-ing that an endeavour would be made to ""pfdvide him with the gist of the speeches. The Minister was also informed that the meeting would be nou-political and that vested interests were in no way concerned. Mr. R. W. Mander, secretary of the United Listeners' Club, and Mr. Harper White, secretary of the N.Z. Association of Radio Listeners, who are acting as joint secretaries of the B Stations Protection Committee, said the meeting was being arranged by listeners in the ! interests .of listeners. Their purpose was definitely non-political>and was not to be regarded as an attack on the