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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will no longer face Mike Hosking of Newstalk ZB in her usual round of weekly media interviews.
In a statement to Newstalk ZB, the prime minister’s office said the move comes after its schedule was reviewed.
However, Hosking was aggressive, saying that the Ardern government had “finished its accountability.”
“She doesn’t want to be on this show every week anymore,” he wrote on Facebook.
“The somewhat tragic conclusion that is drawn is the questions it receives, the requirement of a level of responsibility, it is a bit difficult.”
Meanwhile, Judith Collins also criticized the rescue.
“It’s a shame the prime minister doesn’t have time for Newstalk ZB on Monday morning. All those tough questions …” he wrote on Twitter.
ACT leader David Seymour also issued a statement on the matter, saying the government is getting “arrogant.”
“Jacinda Ardern will ultimately regret this growing arrogance, the latest example being the cancellation of her weekly discussion with Mike Hosking of NewstalkZB.
“He joins a long list of increasingly arrogant moves by the Prime Minister and her Government.
However, media commentator Gavin Ellis told 1 NEWS that it is only a problem if Hosking is highlighted.
“The habit of politicians appearing in weekly slots seems to have reached the point where it is considered an obligation. It is not,” said Ellis, former editor-in-chief of The New Zealand Herald.
“It is up to the prime minister if he spends his first hour on Monday talking to radio broadcasters, and it would be understandable if during the pandemic he would find it difficult to dedicate that time to engagements with the media.
The move comes after more than 30 years of the segment with the acting prime minister, who was originally Prime Minister David Lange with Paul Holmes of Newstalk ZB.
However, Ellis said Ardern would be “making a mistake” if he singles out Hosking.
“Your show is the highest rated commercial radio and as such should also rank high on a list of media citations.
“Hosking is a robust interviewer and his personal views certainly cannot be called leftist. However, Jacinda Arden is more than a match for him in his debates.
“If he is the only one to erase it from Monday’s newspaper, it is an error in judgment that will be interpreted as an unwillingness to be scrutinized.”
However, the political scientist at the University of Auckland, Jennifer Lees-Marshment, had a different opinion.
When asked if there should be public concern about the Prime Minister, or ministers in general, returning to answer questions from the media, Lees-Marshment said that if it was all media, yes, but only one, no.
“This is something to watch, but no crime has yet been committed,” he told 1 NEWS.
“The logic for the Ardern team to do this can be just strategic. All PMs are busy, so the advisors must decide where to allocate their time.
“Hosking’s audience is unlikely to be a key target market, and Ardern already has a large market share, so the goal is to defend that, not expand it.”
Lees-Marshment said weekly shows are good for helping politicians build a reputation, but they are less valuable to maintain once they are well known, as Ardern is.
“As long as politicians continue to lead a variety of media, dropping a regular slot on one show is not a problem. The question is whether she will drop others.
“Another side of the coin is: Do we want our prime minister to do weekly media shows or focus on governing? There is a balance to be struck between communicating about how to get the job done and actually getting the job done.”
The prime minister’s office has been contacted for comment.
