31 MAY
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
1807

depart from its basic format and programmes at the date of the
amendment if this application were granted.

Mr Impey acknowledged there had been departures from the
original detailed proposal and that major departures had been made
in the afternoon and early evening programming. He said that the
Tribunal’s doubts expressed on page 10 of the decision (that the
applicant was far too sanguine about the prospects of a significant
late afternoon and evening audience based on special interest groups)
had materialised. The major departure was the cessation of ethnic
programmes, particularly those aimed at the Polynesian audience.

He detailed the financial difficulties that the company encountered
and the extra funds that had to be put into the company to keep
it going.

The original application had provided for the Manukau
Community Foundation to take not less than 10 percent shareholding
and to receive 2 percent of revenue. The trust had been formed but
it had not been possible to pay 2 percent of revenue and indeed a
discharge was entered into in respect of that proposal. The
Foundation remained a shareholder. The station became known as
a Polynesian radio station but did not rate well with Polynesians.

Mr E. C. Stevens, Programme Co-ordinator for Radio Pacific,
gave evidence of his experience of working for the station from
April 1979. He worked full time from April 1980. Pacific Peoples
programme had been broadcast between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday
to Friday but it was found that the 3 hour broadcast extended the
voluntary broadcasters to the maximum limits and there were some
conflict between the various hosts and contributors.

Friction led to the Pacific Peoples programme director leaving
the air.

The programmes had rated poorly and failed to attract a majority
of ethnic listeners. This was compounded by the predominance of
the Mana Motuhake political party on the Monday night Maori
programme. The station could not, in terms of the Broadcasting
Rules, remain objective and neutral with the continuation of that
programme.

Mr Stevens took up fronting the programmes from January 1981
and with the help of ethnic hosts continued to broadcast news
bulletins in Maori and Pacific Island languages. The station also
took direct news bulletins from correspondents but the new format
pleased nobody. The toll calls and translators costs were cut with
the financial difficulties of the station and the management decided
to have talkback sessions and cut language broadcasts of any kind.
The result was not only a significant savings but a rise in the evening
ratings.

Mr Stevens considered that the mistake in 1979 was in taking
over a high idealism and attempting to implement it without proper
resources. Ethnic broadcasts would have been more successful if
the station had been a music one as the cultures were music based.
Oratory alone was not enough to retain a continuing audience. He
thought that perhaps 3 half-hour programmes would have worked
if there had been at least 2 full-time programmers involved in setting
up and backgrounding the broadcasts. He considered that no
commercially based station which had to rely on advertisers and
ratings would be able to maintain minority ethnic broadcasts as
proposed originally by Radio Pacific. Experience overseas,
particularly in Australia, had showed that the task was a formidable
one and that the original proposals were a reflection of an older
style liberalism which bore little resemblance to the realities of
modern multi-culturalism. There was a note of paternalism which
was not appreciated by the ethnic groups and by shooting at too
much too soon the target had been almost completely missed.

There had been a sharpening of awareness in Auckland that it
was a multi-cultural centre and it had developed some people who
would make outstanding broadcasters. Many non-broadcasters had
also had access to broadcasting.

Since then there has been a strong link with the station in open
line talk back sessions with ethnic groups expressing their opinions
during the programmes at various times of the day. Previously they
had many members of the Pacific Island communities who thought
they could only speak during their special session. When particular
broadcasts such as the Samoan programme were on, few of the
other Pacific Island or Maori listeners would be listening. The
segmentation seemed to defeat the whole aim of multi-cultural radio.

Mr A. G. Wadsworth, a chartered accountant, is experienced in
the financial management and direction of commercial radio stations.
He gave evidence of the involvement of himself and Mr Lowe early
in 1982 and a crisis with the bank which was averted. One of the
conditions of that was that Mr Wadsworth would report to the bank
monthly. In July 1982, Mr Lower became managing director and
the financial year resulted in a net profit of $74,832 which was a
turn around of $392,503. This had been effected by reducing expenses
by $452,870 (25.5 percent) with a drop in gross income of only
$60,310 (4.1 percent).

The additional capital contribution and time commitment of the
directors had saved the company. The budget expectation for the
year ending March 1984 is for a net profit of $190,449 based on
a break even calculation of $118,700 per month. The company hoped
to maintain its audience share above 10 percent, to improve its
gross income, strengthen the news room and provide a news service
to other stations, relax the fixed cost structure to relieve pressure
on staff and develop the potential of the station and to improve
profitability to exceed 10 percent of gross income.

Forty-three percent of the capital of the company is now held by
Mr Lowe, Mr Wadsworth, Mr Chamberlin, Mr Finlayson and Mr
Whitten and/or their associates.

A little over 7 percent is held by the Community Foundation and
some individual shareholders and just under 50 percent of the
shareholding is held by approximately 1100 shareholders.

Mr Lowe gave further evidence about the management and
direction of the station. He pointed out that only 2 of the original
directors were still with the company and emphasised the
programming policy with its principal information components of
talk back and interviews with guests, news, sport, including racing,
community information and special interest documentaries, many
of a musical nature. There were 131 hours of talk back each week
or for guests to express opinions on a variety of subjects. He believed
that this had involved the community in discussion and decision
making and provided a free flow of information between people as
set out in the application.

The Aucklanders who preferred those programmes were mainly
older citizens. Music tended to attract the majority of younger
listeners. The station currently provided a form of companionship
for older people and a catalyst which brought people of similar
interests together. The station was heavily committed to news and
was providing a news service to 3 other stations. News headlines
were given on the quarter hour. Efforts to maintain a regular daily
news update from the Cook Islands, Western Samoa and Tonga
had not been successful in setting up reliable sources. The service had
not been sustained.

The emphasis on sport had increased, particularly with the
introduction of racing, which tended to appeal to an older audience.
The main concentration of sport was on Saturdays.

Mr Lowe claimed the station had a heavy commitment to
community information, both through talk back, open line and other
programming features, as well as the community notices and
produced spots for matters which required ongoing assistance such
as Alcoholics Anonymous, telephone counselling services and the
like. There were regular community information features, home
handyman programmes, early history mini programmes and special
documentary programmes of a musical nature.

The station drew 90 percent of its revenue from the retail sector,
partly because advertising agencies regard the bulk of its audience
profile as relatively unimportant in the eyes of media managers.
The station was represented by Radio New Zealand network sales
offices in Auckland, Wellington and the South Island.

Mr Lowe accepted that the station had departed from the
conditions of its warrant as it could not live with them. It could
not concentrate the majority of its time on these objectives although
it could give some of its time to those which were relevant. The
station was not courting teenagers and children but it was still
involved in health education, cultural and ethnic matters in the
programmes through open line activity and guests. He claimed that
Radio Pacific was involved in the community.

Opposition

For Hauraki Enterprises Ltd., Mr Bryers said at the time of the
granting of the warrant section 71 (2) (d), as it was then worded,
did not enable the Tribunal to impose conditions limiting
programme content but section 71 (2) (c) gave power to the Tribunal
to specify in a warrant any undertaking given at the hearing which
governed the warrant. During the course of the appeal hearing
counsel for Mr Dryden tendered a written undertaking which enabled
condition 4 (b) to be included in the warrant.

Mr Bryers submitted that the application for amendment was an
attempt to withdraw the undertakings given at the original hearing.
He submitted that it was only in the most unusual circumstances
that it could be in the public interest for a condition imposed as a
result of an undertaking to be subsequently revoked at the request
of the applicant. He said it amounted to the Tribunal being asked
to reassess the whole question of whether the applicant is entitled
to a warrant at all.

Mr Bryers said the evidence sought to demonstrate that
Polynesian, educational, community based and news programmes
did not have widespread appeal, and were unprofitable. They were
therefore undesirable. The applicant had experienced financial