PM heading back to talkback radio show

John Key. File photo / Martin Sykes

Prime Minister John Key is repeating the talkback hour on Radio Live that caused him such strife in the lead up to last year's election.

Radio Live announced today that Mr Key would again host a `Prime Minister's Hour' on the station tomorrow, with chosen guests including journalist David Frost, Olympic cyclist Sarah Ulmer, chef Al Brown and former Australian prime minister John Howard.

Radio Live first hosted the Prime Minister's Hour in September last year, sparking anger from Labour who claimed it gave Mr Key an unfair advantage in the lead-up to an election, a period in which strict broadcasting and election advertising rules applied.

The Electoral Commission agreed and referred it to the police, saying its view was that Radio Live had broadcast an election programme in breach of the Broadcasting Act, despite telling Mr Key not to talk about politics.

Police decided not to lay charges, saying there was insufficient evidence to do so.

The Electoral Commission also said it was not an election advertisement because Mr Key was acting under the direction of Radio Live, so it fell under an exemption to election advertising rules.

In last year's show, Mr Key had stated at the beginning that it was an `election-free' zone and interviewed celebrities including the Mad Butcher and Richie McCaw. Part of Radio Live's defence at the time had been that it intended to make the Prime Minister's Hour an annual fixture.

The PM's Hour will be on at 2pm.