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RADIO LICENCE FEE
Restoration to £1 1/
Urged
CANBERRA, Tuesday. — In evidence
before the Parliamentary Committee
on Broadcasting, Mr. T. W. .Bearup,
acting general manager of the Aus
tralian Broadcasting Commission.
supported a suggestion that the
charge for radio listeners' licences
should be restored to £1 1/.
Mr. Bearup said that the reduction
in the licence fee and the reduction
of the proportion of fees paid to the
A.B.C. had seriously curtailed the
commission's activities, and meant a
serious financial loss to Australian
artists.
Because of the reduction, the num
ber of celebrity concerts was reduced
by half, and the importation of
overseas artists had been curtailed.
The A.B.C. was trying to develop
Australian talent so that it could
compete on equal terms with artists
overseas, whose recordings were used
mainly by commercial stations. Aus
tralian artists were paid by the A.B.C.
at a rate equal to the amount they
would be able to earn elsewhere.
Whenever a famous overseas artist
was broadcast he was assisted by an
Australian student. Of 1093 speakers
last year only 65 were members of
university staff's.
The A.B.C. played a big part in
popularising Australian authors. Last
year it purchased 204 short stories by
Australian authors. Since 1936 the
commission had bought 679 plays and
serial episodes, 219 musical comedies
and revues, and 2083 children's plays
and serial episodes.
It would cost the commission
£100,000 a year to have its own news
service. The A.B.C. did not want to
take control of short-wave services
unless the commission were given ad
ditional finance.
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