SCATTERED PUBLICITY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 768, 14 September 1929, Page 8

SCATTERED PUBLICITY

ADVERTISING DOMINION OVERSEAS TOO MANY DEPARTMENTS (THE SUN'S Parliamentary Reporter) PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Friday. A protest against the number of organisations conducting publicity work for the Government was uttered by Mr. J. S. Fletcher (Grey Lynn) who instanced the Railway Publicity Department, the Meat Board, the Fruit Board and the Tourist Department, which were all doing advertising. He did not wish to decry the excellent work of these departments, but he would suggest that if there were coordination of their in one department a better return for the expenditure would be gained, and the work could be carried out on a bigger scale. The Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. P. A. de la Parrelle, said that it was proposed to call a conference of the bodies concerned with a view to co-ordination of effort. Another criticism of the publicity estimates was made by Mr. W. D. Lysnar (Gisborne), who claimed that the amount of £2,000 put down for publicity work in England was ridiculously inadequate for the purpose. The Government had a very capable officer at Home in charge of publicity operations, and lie was being paid £9OO a year, which showed that he should have more money at his disposal. Two or three full-page advertisements iu the English papers would absorb the £2,000. The Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. P. A. de la PiArelle, said that the Government realised the importance 1 of publicity, and everything possible to further it would be done.