The PM’s Hour is a radio show for the Prime Minister of New Zealand and will be for anyone in that role.

It was not election coverage.

We carefully thought this through and took advice to ensure that The PM's Hour was neither election programming nor election advertising. It was a radio programme which we hope encouraged more listeners to Radio LIVE. It also featured interviews with personalities who rarely do one-on-one interviews. Radio LIVE retained editorial control of the programme.

We fully understand our responsibilities as a broadcaster and the rules around election advertising and programmes – our advice is that The PM’s Hour is neither, but we understand that a complaint has been made about the programme so we will not comment further on this aspect.

There are, however, two issues that have been raised that require some clarification.

Firstly, while The Prime Minister’s Hour show was not available to Phil Goff this year (for obvious reasons) we have been talking to his office about getting him into Radio Live again. Phil is a regular guest on the station, and as of last week, we were standing by for his office to let us know which dates suit his schedule.

Secondly, some suggestion has been made that the agreement between Radio Live’s owners and the Government regarding the staged payment for radio spectrum licensing played a part in our invitation to John Key to host The PM’s Hour.

This is not true.

The idea is loosely based on an overseas example I heard about earlier in the year and which has been developed by my team at Radio Live. Once we had decided to go ahead, the idea was pitched to the PM and he accepted. Friday’s show was the first broadcast of what we hope will become an annual event for Radio Live. It has nothing to do with radio spectrum licensing payments.

ENDS

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