BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION BILL

6.10 p.m.

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for Health and Law (Mr K. M. Byrne) (for the Minister for Finance): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the object of this Bill is to provide for a separate and more effective control of broadcasting and television services, such control to be maintained by the Ministry of Finance.

At present, the statutory authority for levying broadcast listening station licence fees is embodied in the Telegraphs Ordinance (Chapter 108). This Ordinance is administered by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office mainly in connection with matters pertaining to telecommunications. As telecommunications will be a Federal subject after merger, so will the Telegraphs Ordinance become a Federal Ordinance. However, it has been agreed that radio licence fees are an item of State revenue. As such, it is only proper to divorce the statutory authority for collecting such fees from the Telegraphs Ordinance.

It is also decided to transfer the responsibility of enforcing radio licensing, hitherto carried on by the Broadcasting Division of the Ministry of Culture, to the Inland Revenue Department, since, with the extension of broadcasting services and the introduction of television, the Broadcasting Division has found it more and more difficult to devote its time to look after the enforcement of licensing. Nevertheless, it has become more urgent to tighten the control and to curb the evasion of licence fees.

The present Bill to which the statutory authority will be transferred is based on Part V of the Telegraphs Ordinance, which deals with the control of wireless telegraphy generally.

The Bill will continue to confer on the Government the exclusive privilege of establishing any broadcasting station and of installing or working any apparatus for the purpose of transmitting or receiving broadcasting matter.

The present system of licensing is to be maintained and those establishing a broadcasting station or installing, or working any broadcasting apparatus without a licence will be punished.

To facilitate the day-to-day administration, the Minister is empowered to delegate his powers under the new Ordinance, except that of making subsidiary legislation. He is also empowered to authorise the refund of any licence fees out of the Consolidated Fund and to exempt any person from the provisions of the Ordinance or of any related subsidiary legislation.

Sir, under the existing law - section 38 (2) of the Telegraphs Ordinance - a search can only be made by a police officer who has been granted a search warrant by a magistrate in order that preventive action can be carried out more promptly and more effectively.

Clause 8 of the present Bill empowers the officers, who have been duly authorised by the Minister and who have reasonable cause to believe that an offence has been or is being committed in any broadcasting station or other places, to make a search of such station or other places. Again, the provisions of the existing Radio Communication Regulations can only be enforced through a prosecution and threat of prosecution. However, the temptation to evade is strong, particularly with owners of the cheap transistor sets which cost as little as $20 per set and are easy to conceal. Radio dealers have been ignoring the requirement to supply the Telecommunications Department with names and addresses of persons who have purchased new radio sets, and the only remedial action of cancelling the dealers' licences has been found to be too drastic a step to resort to in most cases. In the circumstances, it is considered more expedient and expeditious to provide for the compounding of offences, and such provisions are now made in the clauses in the Bill.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Byrne].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.