22 MAY                        THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE                        1505

The complaint cannot therefore be upheld.

It is appropriate, nevertheless, that the Tribunal should make some general comments. The Tribunal is sympathetic to the complaint made by Mr Turner since the programme we find, does heavily promote Benson & Hedges, a cigarette manufacturing company, with a brand of cigarettes named Benson & Hedges.

The awards were dominated by the Benson & Hedges signs and logo. That would not concern us if the event was not televised.

We have referred to Rule 4.1 governing the broadcast of sponsored material.

While it is clear that adequate editorial control was not exercised on this occasion to reduce to a reasonable level the name and brand of the sponsor, there is no evidence that the Corporation relinquished "editorial rights or control over the extent and presentation of such material".

It would be an internal matter if the sponsor was not a company whose cigarettes are banned from television advertising for health reasons. The voluntary ban self-imposed by broadcasters carries with it an implied obligation to abide by the spirit of the advertising rules in other programmes. On page 2 of the Television Standards and Rules there is reference to self-regulation as follows:

The quality of broadcasting in New Zealand is very much in the hands of the broadcasters themselves: the standards they aim at, the degree of self-discipline they impose on themselves, will more than anything else dictate the nature of the end product. One way in which the self-discipline can express itself is by the manner of their approach to rules, and in particular by their willingness to carry out the spirit as well as the letter of any rule. The rules and standards themselves have not been plucked out of the air, so to speak, but could be said to be the current expression of the tradition of acceptable broadcasting conduct that has been gradually developed over several decades.

It would be unfortunate if the Broadcasting Corporation lent itself to providing a platform for the promotion of a brand of cigarettes, in respect of which it refuses to accept paid advertising. The Corporation should endeavour, as far as it can, to thwart any endeavour by the cigarette industry to gain indirectly the equivalent of television advertising by sponsoring public events which are televised.

While acknowledging the difficulties and complexities of this area of television administration, and the world-wide problem, the Tribunal has no doubt that in the case of the Benson & Hedges Fashion Design Awards, the Corporation allowed undue prominence to be given to the name in the broadcast. It should have exercised control of the stage setting for the awards to eliminate the continual undue prominence of the name Benson & Hedges.

Instructions and guidelines should be given to producers to enable them to determine such matters before agreeing to televise such events.

Only if the Corporation is known to take a firm position will production staff be able to deal properly with individual cases.

Membership

The Tribunal co-opted Messrs S. H. Gardiner and R. Boyd-Bell as persons whose qualifications or experience were likely, in the opinion of the Tribunal, to be of assistance to the Tribunal in dealing with the complaint. They took part in the hearing and the deliberations of the Tribunal but the decision, in accordance with the Act, is that of the permanent members.

Dated the 9th day of May 1980.

For the Tribunal.

B. H. SLANE, Chairman.

Consent to Raising of Loans by Certain Local Authorities

Pursuant to the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956, the undersigned Assistant Secretary to the Treasury, acting under powers delegated to the Secretary to the Treasury by the Minister of Finance, hereby consents to the borrowing by the local authorities, mentioned in the Schedule hereto, of the whole or any part of the respective amounts specified in that Schedule.

SCHEDULE

Dated at Wellington this 5th day of May 1980.

J. R. BATTERSBY, Assistant Secretary to the Treasury.

Consent to Raising of Loans by Certain Local Authorities

Pursuant to the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956, the undersigned Assistant Secretary to the Treasury, acting under powers delegated to the Secretary to the Treasury by the Minister of Finance, hereby consents to the borrowing by the local authorities, mentioned in the Schedule hereto, of the whole or any part of the respective amounts specified in that Schedule.

SCHEDULE

Dated at Wellington this 12th day of May 1980.

J. R. BATTERSBY, Assistant Secretary to the Treasury.

Consent to Raising of Loans by Certain Local Authorities

Pursuant to the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956, the undersigned Assistant Secretary to the Treasury, acting under powers delegated to the Secretary to the Treasury by the Minister of Finance, hereby consents to the borrowing by the local authorities, mentioned in the Schedule hereto, of the whole or any part of the respective amounts specified in that Schedule.