OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 September 1943, Page 2

OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS

AN ELECTION PLEDGE (To the Editor) Sir, —At an election address delivered at Alfredton last Thursday evening Mr Robertson was asked by the undersigned J. L. Heckler whether, in view of the fact that the Broadcasting Service had accumulated funds of about £1,300,000, the Labour Government, if returned, would be prepared to reduce the radio licence from 25s to 15s per year. Mr Robertson answered that the sum mentioned was stupidly incorrect. He stated , that the accumulated funds did not come to anything like the figure mentioned. He said he doubted if there was £lOO,OOO, or even £50,000 or even £25,000. He said he knew this because he was chairman of the Accounts Committee. He finally gave his solemn undertaking, and twice repeated it, that if there were anything like the figure quoted, he would “withdraw from the election contest right away.” We accepted the undertaking. Well now: We have before us the Government Printer’s published balance sheets of Government Departments for the year ended March 31, 1942. This shows (page 12) the following entry: NATIONAL BROADCASTING SERVICE Accumulated Fund £ £ Balance as at Ist April 1941 880,708 Transfer from Revenue A/c. 199,559 1,080,267 The £199,559 transferred from Revenue Account is the profit or excess of income over expenditure for the year ended March 31, 1942. The details are given on the same page of the publication. This brings the position up to March 31, 1942. We have also before us the “Annual Report of the National Broadcasting Service” for the 12 months ending March 31. 1943. This shows (page 5} that the surplus or profit for that year was £374,361. When this is added to the accumulated funds for the previous year it gives a grand total as follows: — £ Previous balance of accumul lated funds 1,080.267 Add 1943 surplus 374.361 Grand total 1,454,628 Other details given are as follow: — Listeners paid in licence fees for 1943 549,423 Other receipts were 55,985 Total receipts 605,408 The expenditure was 231,047 This left a cool profit for the year, as above stated., of £374,361 So the collections for last year amounted to more than double what was spent —talk of daylight robbery—and the surplus for that one year was just fifteen times greater than Mr Roberstson vouched the whole accumulated fund amounted to. No wonder that- in England they can manage very nicely on an annual licence fee of 10s. We now therefore, on behalf of ourselves and other electors to whom the pledge was publicly given, publicly call upon Mr Robertson to announce his withdrawal from the election according to his pledge. The people will be able to judge whether the Government intends to keep its election pledges generally by whether it keeps or breaks this one. We must assume that it will be kept, so that Mr Robertson's withdrawal is as good as done and we therefore take the opportunity of thanking Mr Robertson for offering his services. But after all, it seems high time that Masterton was represented by a member who knows about these things.—We are, etc., J. L. HECKLER, W. HORNE. Ihuraua, September 10.