RADIO LICENCES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24227, 20 February 1940, Page 3

RADIO LICENCES

NEW SYSTEM PENDING NO QUARTERLY ISSUE SIX MONTHS MINIMUM After March 1 it will no longer be possible to obtain quarterly radio licences. The annual rate of 25s will remain, the Acting Minister of Broadcasting, Mr F. Jones, said yesterday, but licences will be issued only for six months or a year, according to the desire of the licensee. Explaining the necessity for discontinuing the practice of issuing licences for periods of less than six months, the Minister said there were now more than 335,000 licensed broadcast receiving sets in the Dominion. For several years past the number of licensees taking advantage of the quarterly payment practice, which, incidentally, was neither contemplated nor provided for when the licensing system was introduced, had been rapidly increasing, until to-day the high proportion of quarterly licences had caused* 5 the system to become so unwieldy that something had to be done to relieve the staffing and other difficulties encountered by the Post Office. ' . , . .„ , The outbreak jf war had intensified these difficulties. Mr Jones said, and, after careful consideration _ of, the whole question, the conclusion' was reached that the only means of relieving the position was the elimination of quarterly licences, coupled with a simpler issuing system. This has been arranged, and consequently from March 1 every radio receiving station licence issued would be for a period of either six months or twelve months, according to the desire of the licensee. , . , . The Minister stated, in conclusion, that neither in Australia nor in the United Kingdom was provision made f o i- the issue of for periods of less than one year, and that as far as he was aware. New Zealand was the only country m the world where licensees were given the option of paying the fee half-yearly.