76,491 strong petition to remove Mike Hosking as moderator

76,491 strong petition delivered to TVNZ to remove Mike Hosking as moderator

Mike Hosking’s flippant comments last week on who could vote for the Māori party last week were one more indication that he is unfit to moderate the Election Debates, says Erica Finnie.

Erica presented a combined petition today to Head of News at TVNZ, John Gillespie. 76,491 Kiwis outraged by his role in the Debates signed the combined petition asking TVNZ to replace him.

Over the last two weeks, more than 3600 people also emailed Mr Gillespie directly, and hundreds posted on the TVNZ Facebook page asking for Hosking to be replaced as moderator.

“Mike Hosking is consistently socially irresponsible as a political commentator. His misguided comment about the Maori party last week illustrates the harm of his influence on democratic process,” says Erica.

“The Election Debates need to be hosted by a fair, unbiased presenter to ensure politicians have reasonable opportunities to present their party’s views,” she says. “TVNZ owe New Zealanders a more thoughtful choice of presenter.”

Mike Hosking is well known for his opinions in his segments as a political commentator, and is unfit to be moderator. It is vital that the nationally broadcasted election debates offer an unbiased opportunity for candidates representing their political parties to debate on policies.

Erica says if Hosking is not replaced she will work with the other petition starter, Kyle Sutherland, of Wake Up NZ, to ask the thousands of supporters to boycott the companies that advertise during Thursday’s election debate.

“TVNZ needs to replace the moderator for the debates and take its role as a state broadcaster in this election seriously,” she says.

ENDS

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