The final screening of Fair Go aired on TVNZ 1, May 13, 2024. Photo / TVNZ
The final screening of Fair Go aired on TVNZ 1, May 13, 2024. Photo / TVNZ
After 47 years on Kiwi screens Fair Go has aired for the last time, the long-running show a victim of the much-publicised TVNZ cuts. The nation tuned in for the final episode.
It’s 7.30pm on a chilly Monday night and Fair Go is screening on TV 1 for the last time.
“The final episode of Fair Go,” said host Pippa Wetzell, on the couch with Garth Bray, Gill Higgins and Kaitlin Aldridge, and they welcomed viewers to the “final show as you know it”.
“These are the moments Fair Go reporters have worked for decades,” Wetzell said over the highlights package of tearful Kiwis, big insurance payouts and communities rallying together.
“These are the stories we love, giving a voice to someone who really needs it, and getting results.”
And though they’d spent years fighting for the little guy, she said, “we’ve never shied away from a laugh”, sharing a medley of skits, gags and true stories (including a horse inside a house) that capture the down-to-earth humour honed by the Fair Go team over the years.
Though they said they were “gutted” to say goodbye to Fair Go in its current form, “It’s not over,” Garth Bray told viewers. “The inbox is still open so keep emailing us.”
The last episode investigated a dodgy lift and whether there will be compensation.
“We won’t be on air next Monday night but our on-air team won’t be letting this go,” they said, acknowledging a new configuration of Fair Go as it leaves TV behind.
There was also an array of parking ticket complaints. Parking is a hot topic, they said, especially in central Auckland, and advised watchers to check out the show’s Facebook page.
“Gutted” fans reacted to the final episode on social media, sharing their thanks for “all the stories over the years” and “excellent hard work”. One Instagram user said they were “still keeping an eye on our dodgy tradesman” and would update the Fair Go team.
The show’s mission was always explicit. It’s in the name. For nearly five decades Fair Go has helped New Zealanders get a better deal, whether it was a concrete conman the show followed for 15 years or the ongoing supermarket trend of shrinkflation.
Kiwis don’t like getting ripped off, and “fairness” has become an ideological part of our national identity.
New Zealanders tuned in to see real-life stories, the “rip-off merchants” (as long-time host Kevin Milne called them) being held to account, and a sense that someone was looking out for everyday people.
Kevin Milne hosted Fair Go from 1983 to 2010. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times
Current Fair Go presenter Pippa Wetzell told Breakfast this morning it was “really tough day” and that the final episode of the show’s current format would be honouring the 47-year legacy of the “phenomenal programme”.
Familiar faces to have graced the screen over the years include Alison Mau, Greg Boyed, Kerre Woodham, Kim Hill and Carol Hirschfeld.
“Keep writing in and we’ll update you when we can,” Fair Go has told its audience on Facebook. In the month preceding the final airing, sharing memories from its 47 years, Fair Go addressed the end of an era.
“Things are changing around here, with just three more weeks before the current version of Fair Go goes off air.”
As you're probably aware, things are changing around here, with just three more weeks before the current version of Fair...
Fans and followers have shared their sadness. “Who will stand up for people now?” asked Sandy, while Susan said “taking a programme off the air that is so popular” was “ridiculous”, and Les said the programme had “put things right for hundreds of New Zealanders over the nearly 50 years of its existence”.
Recent Fair Go subjects have included “tricky” packaging foil, misleading ticket resellers and luggage lost for months.
Fair Go’s last episode follows the emotional airing last night of the final Sunday episode after 22 years on New Zealand screens. Host Miriama Kamo and the team said farewell and revisited some of its major stories.
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark called the end of Sunday“shameful” and said the cut was due to “unwillingness” and “incapacity” for fresh solutions to fund current affairs programmes.
Q+A presenter Jack Tame has called the loss of Fair Go, Sunday, Tonight and Midday “devastating”.
The proposed new iteration of Fair Go will have four new roles and focus on long-form stories for its digital platforms, Shayne Currie has reported.
“Fair Go is still open for business,” Wetzell told Breakfast.
As the final episode wrapped, she and the presenters brought the behind-the-scenes team in front of the camera and thanked them - making TV is a big job.
With many Kiwis wondering what’s next and who’s looking out for them, that famous Fair Go inbox will be one to watch.
Emma Gleason is the New Zealand Herald’s lifestyle and entertainment deputy editor. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, fashion and media.
