New Zealand Prime Minister on air with Mike Hosking for the first time since 2021

Chris Hipkins faced questions from Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking live on air this morning, nearly two years since a NZ Prime Minister appeared on his show.

The last time Hosking spoke to a Prime Minister was when Jacinda Ardern was on air in March 2021.

Hipkins’ interview with Hosking comes ahead of the Cabinet meeting today to consider the first and long-awaited reprioritisations of Labour’s policies.

Hipkins said that specific details on reprioritisations will be revealed this afternoon after Cabinet meets, however, he would not say whether the details would include an announcement on the TVNZ-RNZ merger.

At least one policy is set to be scrapped.

Dumped policies are likely to be announced in tranches over the coming weeks, rather than all at once.

First up could be the TVNZ-RNZ merger, with Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson reportedly not answering questions at Waitangi over the weekend, deferring comment until after today’s meeting.

This could mean a Cabinet decision to put the merger on ice, effectively abandoning five years of attempts to significantly reform state broadcasting.

Hipkins told Hosking the media landscape has changed and both media companies need to adapt, whether a merger goes ahead or not.

Asked if the Three Waters Reform would be going ahead, Hipkins said the country’s water infrastructure is failing and will “absolutely” be reformed.

”I don’t think any Government can responsibly turn their backs on that.”

Hipkins told RNZ that he had been given only preliminary details on the developing story of a Kiwi pilot who has been kidnapped by separatist fighters in Indonesia’s Papua region.

Hipkins said the NZ embassy in Indonesia was on the case, but he did not have full details..

The New Zealand national was piloting a plane carrying five passengers from Mozes Kilangin Airport in Mimika, in Central Papua, to Paro Airport in Nduga. The area is a highly militarised district with a long history of insurgency in the newly named Highland Papua province, according to the Australian.

According to Singapore-based newspaper the Straits Times, the small commercial plane was on fire when it landed in a remote highland area.

Hipkins also told RNZ’s Morning Report that he has not ruled out sending search and rescue teams from New Zealand to help in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

He said they were in contact with fire and emergency teams in the affected regions to see if New Zealand could provide additional support.

However, it was still “early days”, Hipkins said.

”We haven’t made decisions on that...it would be too early to make calls on that at this stage.

“You wouldn’t rule things out.”

Hipkins acknowledged that the international community had been a huge help to New Zealand after the deadly Christchurch earthquake in 2011.

”We acknowledge the devastating affect [these events] can have.”