Outrageous Radio
p. 65 · Read in the full issue
Fees
Imposed on Pacific Listeners
A RESIDENT of the Cook Islands writes to point out that he is charged the exorbitant amount of 30/- per annum, as a license fee on his radio receiving set.
He remarks that this, on top of static, battery troubles, and absence of daylight reception, has induced him to abandon his wireless outfit.
We have had similar complaints from other Islands territories. The majority of Administrations seem to think they have some kind of Divine right to tax the owners of radio sets, while acknowledging no responsibility for reception or service.
A most interesting development has occurred in Papua, where the proprietor of the “Papuan Courier,” with most com mendable public spirit, has successfully resisted in the Courts the Commonwealth Government’s demand for a wireless re ceiving license fee. While that resistance was offered on the ground that the Com monwealth has no jurisdiction in Papua, it directs attention to the fact that these demands are made, in practically all the islands, by taxing authorities who make no effort to supply listeners with a reliable service.
The position of radio listeners in the Pacific is tragic. They are so isolated that radio makes a tremendous difference in their daily lives, yet their needs are not catered for in any way. Every resi dent of the Islands, almost, has a listen ing set of some kind, in the hope that, between bursts of static, he may be able to pick up some indication of what is happening in the world. A few keep on listening, but the majority, after a time, become discouraged, and use their radio cabinets as containers for bottled goods.
Not one of these people would object to paying radio fees if some honest at tempt were made to give them service, either by way of a central transmitting station somewhere in the Western Pacific, or by a technical study of their require ments, so that a North Queensland station could so improve its transmission as to give reliable service. So far as the Cent ral and Eastern Pacific is concerned, there should be a special transmission from Suva or Apia.
If a few score people will follow the ex ample of Mr. James, In Port Moresby, and fight the rapacious tax-collector in such a way as to direct public attention to the iniquity, there will be some chance of re form.