THE GOVERNMENT AND BROADCASTING.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 35, 4 November 1937, Page 4

THE GOVERNMENT AND BROADCASTING.

Yesterday 's discussion inthe House of Representatives on the Postmaster-General 's Broadcasting Amendment Bill has let a little fresh air in on a subject that calls loudly for ventilation, reeking as it does of mephitie exhalations. Both the Leader of the Opposition and the Member for Waitomo are to be congratnlated on the conrage with which they have taokled what cannot but be a very distasteful task. The replies that have so far been made to their attacks are singularly weak and nneonvineing. * No one, for instance, who knows anything about the methods pursued by the Government for resuming control of the "B" class stations is at all likely to accept the Minister 's statement that 18 out of 22 of these stations have. willingly surrendcred their licences. As a matter of faet, relort has been had to all sorts of devices in order to make it qitite impraeticable to retain them and continue the highly aeceptable serviees they had been ifendering to their respective audiences. This, of conrse, has been in direct breach of the promises that were made at election time, when we heard nothing but praise of the way in which these stations were conducted and -undertakings that eneduragement would be efforded to them, even to the extent of substantial subsidies. The mere faet that more than 80 per cent. of them have had to give way-to the pressure brought to bear upon them is in itself quite suffieient evidence as to the Government 's complete disregard for its pre-election pledges. Even ndw there is a ' covert threat to the four surviving stations, the Ministcr stating that "probably" proteeion would be coninued'to them. If a definite pre-election undertaking eounts for so little, then there is not much value to be attached to the Minitserial 'probably,'.' so it may be taken that there is no very long life in prospect for these four stations. H6wever, 'it is evidently in eonnection with the commcrcial side of the broadcasting service that further enlightenment is partieularly required. The Bill now before the House pi'ovides for this being given an altogether independeHt status, involving the setting up of yet another State department with a separate "controller" and, of eourse, a well-paid staff of its own. Without awaiting parliamentary autliority for so doing the Government has already designated the controller for this brancli of the service, and that, so it would appear, without any public invitation of applications for the job/ so that an entirely suitahle and competent man might be seleeted. And who is it to whom this nice little billet, carrying a snug salary of £1500 a year, has been thus allotted in advance of its being legally constituted ? Is it a man of such outstanding and yndoubted qualification that there was no need for submitting him to the test of competition from other applicants ? Far from this, it is a man who had previously been knOwn merely as a minister of the gospel, • though one with strong political leahings. So far as the public are aware, at any rate, he can scarcely boast the business acumen and experience that are obviously essential to the successful institution and conduct of a pupely commercial service to which the Government itself attaches such very great importance, and of which any failure would necessarily mean the imposition of a further burden upon the taxpayers. Then we have Mr. Broadfoot, who evidently has some inner knowledge of what he is talking about, suggesting that certain Australian rights in eonnection with this service have been disposed of in a no less hole-and-corner way. The faet that these are associated with a name that has been very mueh in the public eye during the last year or two i's scarcely ealculated to inspire implicit confidence. The publie are surely entitled to learn what is behind all these so dubious movements. If we are to have a State-controlled commercial broadcasting service, then the public should be given some much mope definite assurance than has so far been vouchsafed that it will be fairly and competently carried on, and it will be with very keen interest that the people of the Dominion will await such explanation and information as the Government may deign to give them. Nor are they likely ta be content with bare unsupported ministerial assertions such has have in so many cases already been proved to be ill-founded.