Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking has responded to criticism about him hosting TVNZ's upcoming election debates.
Winston Peters yesterday slammed Mr Hosking's selection to host TVNZ's election debate, saying he is right-leaning and a "wholly unsuitable" choice, but Mr Hosking says Mr Peters was simply jealous of not getting onto the stage himself.
TVNZ head of current affairs John Gillespie confirmed Mr Hosking will present three debates in the run-in to the September 23 election.
The debates include two sessions where leaders Jacinda Ardern and Bill English will square off - August 31 and September 20 - and a multi-party debate with other party leaders on September 8.
Mr Peters said New Zealanders were "tired of [Hosking's] brand of broadcasting".
"This goes to the nub of the matter. At election time there is a standard of fairness and balance to be set by broadcasters. The choice of Mr Hosking breaks all those."
Mr Peters urged TVNZ to give a seat to minor parties, including his, for the debate.
An online petition is also circulating calling on TVNZ to cut Mr Hosking from the state broadcaster's election coverage.
When questioned about Mr Peters' comments this morning on Newstalk ZB, Nadine Chalmers-Ross said she had just finished sticking up for her co-host on air and asked him if the moderator determined the outcome of an election.
"To be fair, I don't think people are up in arms," Mr Hosking said.
"I think what you've got is Winston who does this same thing, different election. He did it last time around.
"His big beef seems to be that he wants to be on the big stage with [Labour and National] and it was never going to happen, is never going to happen. It is what it is, so he needs some attention."
Mr Hosking recalled how the Labour Party and its then leader David Cunliffe were aggrieved at him hosting the debate in 2014.
"But we got that sorted out as well. It all works out well in the end, it's just an election. Everyone was worried and after it was just fine."
Mr Hosking believed he ran a "reasonable sort of debate" last time and expects this year's debates to be even bigger.
"To be fair, and without blowing my own trumpet in any way shape or form, which I would never do, I think at the end of the day it was widely considered that we ran a pretty reasonable sort of debate.
"The other thing is, it rated through the roof, they were huge numbers last time and the irony was this time we're thinking 'how's this going to go?'. I think it's going to be bigger than last time, there's even more interest in it."
He said people would complain no matter who the moderator was.
"That's the way it works."
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In his various media roles, Hosking makes no secret of his political leanings, and his personal preference for the policies of the National party. That lack of impartiality alone disqualifies him as mediator in these debates, given that they are such an important part of the democratic process.
Equally important is his wilful ignorance of such key issues as the reality of anthropogenic global warming (AGW). As a retired physical chemist I’m well aware of the science and of the global expert consensus. The national science academies of every advanced nation around the world have assessed the evidence and endorsed the science and the importance of urgent action. The World Bank, the OECD, the IMF, Bank of England, the UN FAO, the global reinsurance industry and even the Pentagon have warned of the serious economic and security implications of unchecked AGW. It may be possible to ignore these from a fashionable apartment in Auckland – for now at least - but in the real world the impacts are already being felt.
Hosking's short-sighted ignorance rules him out. Time for him to retire.
I think you will find that is a decision for NZME/NewsHub, although maybe you know as much about Broadcasting as matters climatic.
Hosking works for several media outlets. The perception of bias arises from his opinion pieces, on NewsTalk and in print.
Ideally, he could at least refrain from blagging Labour/Greens during the campaign, until after the TVNZ debates.
This means dropping program elements on radio to suit the needs of a TV audience. Mike works for the media, he doesn't run it. These are structural business issues that people ignore in their haste to identity a media 'bad guy'.