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Tuesday, 19 December 1911

Mr WEBSTER (Gwydir) (3:27 AM) . - I was rather surprised to hear the Prime Minister's statement that the Government are more certain of what they are doing now than they would be if they purchased a system that has been accepted by many other Governments after the fullest investigation and inquiry. All this trouble has arisen over a wrong step taken in the past.. I have never learned exactly how the preceding Government adopted the suggestion, that the Telefunken company should erect two wireless stations.

Mr Joseph Cook - On the advice of the same expert that is now advising in this case.

Mr Frazer - No; Mr. Balsillie was not here then.

Mr Joseph Cook - Then has Mr., Hesketh nothing to do with it?

Mr Frazer - Mr. Hesketh is not the radio-telegraphic adviser of the Government at the present time.

Mr WEBSTER - I am satisfied that a serious mistake was made in the first place. I have never yet learned what share in the income from wireless messages taken at those two stations the Telefunken company were to receive as royalty. There seems to be an inclination on the part of Ministers to withhold information to which? the House is entitled.

Mr Frazer - When did the honorable member ask for that information?

Mr WEBSTER - I ought not to have toask for it. It ought not always to be necessary to drag information out of theGovernment.

Mr Frazer - If the honorable member would indicate his wish the information would be provided.

Mr WEBSTER - I have not done so ^because, sometimes, I have asked questions -and have not obtained the information I sought. Honorable members seem to think that when those two stations were erected, and the contract price had been paid, the bargain was closed; but we have yet to learn what proportion of the revenue of the stations was to be taken by the Telefunken -company. We are in the dark on this -question. It may not be advisable to throw any more light on it.

Mr Fisher - Hear, hear ! That is really --the difficulty.

Mr WEBSTER - It seeems strange -that we cannot learn, as the honorable member for Flinders suggested, whether the Government are taking any steps to test -the validity of the patent they are adopting.

Mr Fisher - The Minister said that every step was being taken that a sensible Ministry could take to protect the rights of the Commonwealth.

Mr WEBSTER - It would be sensible for the Government to approach the Patent Department to ascertain whether "the system infringes in any way existing wireless rights.'

Mr Fisher - Nothing has been neglected that sensible men could do or suggest.

Mr WEBSTER - If the Government have not submitted the question to the pro:per authorities, upon whom are they relying? Is it solely on Mr. Balsillie? That officer has only been here a short time, and "his antecedents do not appear to indicate that he won success for those with whom he was previously associated. His credentials do not appear to be altogether of the highest type. He may not be introducing the same radio-telegraphic system that was disallowed in the Old Country. He may be learning by experience, and putting forward an idea by which he thinks he can side-track the other systems. My own opinion is that eventually the Marconi system will be held to be the basis of the whole wireless principle. The Marconi company withdrew their action against the Telefunken company only to initiate a more effective action, taking Sir Oliver Lodge's patent as the basis. If they can -establish their right to use that patent, then on the previous judgment 'of the Court they must eventually come out as the real possessors of the wireless system. If that is -so, whatever system we adopt will trench upon their rights, and then we shall be in a most unsatisfactory position. It is a great thing for the Minister to say that he is prepared to take all the risk on behalf of the Commonwealth. Probably Mr. Balsillie feels safer with the knowledge that he has the Government behind him than he did when he had only a company behind him. It is not a very good idea to put Mr. Balsillie forward to register the system on behalf of the Commonwealth, and then give him the sole right to patent it anywhere else. The Commonwealth takes the responsibility of proving whether he is right or wrong, and he takes all the benefits that he may obtain from the rest of the world. The question is not so much whether- we are secure, as whether the bargain made with Mr. Balsillie is a good one. If his patent is successful, and turns out to be better than existing systems, it is going to be a very big thing for Mr. Balsillie, but not for the Commonwealth.

Mr Joseph Cook - If it is as good as the Marconi, he is very foolish to stop here with it.

Mr WEBSTER - If it is not as' good, where are we? Either it will prove to be better than the Marconi, and so enable Mr. Balsillie to profit to an incalculable extent) under the conditions to which the Prime Minister has agreed, or it will be worse, and in that case we shall suffer - even if we have not to test the matter in the Courts - through having installed an inferior system.

Mr Frazer - Would the honorable member suggest that we should give Marconi £50,000 more for his rights instead?

Mr WEBSTER - I am not inclined to help to run the Postal Department any longer. The honorable member does not know what Marconi would ask for his patent rights for Australia. He has never been approached.

Mr JOSEPH Cook - I think he has.

Mr WEBSTER - I have no knowledge of it. If he was approached, it was probably before the Telefunken company took a hand. Now that he has a competitor, his terms might be more reasonable. I cannot fathom the problem, and must trust to the wisdom of the Government. This I am quite prepared to do.

I would draw the attention of the Minister to the provisions of a measure that is to be submitted relating to the payment of compensation to those dependent on officers who have died while on duty without having received their six months' furlough. There are in the service, men who, years ago, committed offences which were not serious, but for which a black mark was put against them. Some of them have since served twenty years with a clean record. The Postmaster-General might consider whether those offences should not be overlooked, and the men given the right to have the furlough to which other men are entitled.

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