Former Fair Go host Kevin Milne says he’s not just sorry for the staff losing their jobs on the long running show now it’s being axed by TVNZ, but also for all Kiwis.

For 47 years Fair Go was on the side of everyday New Zealanders, helping them expose “rip-off merchants” and dodgy businesses, Milne said.

At the height of its popularity around the year 2000, it was attracting up to 1 million viewers per episode, he said.

In many cases, customers cheated by businesses could simply threaten to get Fair Go involved and the businesses would turn around and do the right thing rather than end up on TV.

“I feel very sorry for New Zealand,” Milne said. “Now we no longer have that unique ability to say to anybody who’s shafting us to, ‘Sort this out or I’m getting in touch with Fair Go’.”

He doesn’t believe there’s another TV show in the world where such a threat could be so useful for consumers.

However, that all ends within a few months as the show is set to be taken off air due to a massive cost-cut in TVNZ’s news and current affairs division.

Along with Fair Go, the Sunday current affairs show and two TVNZ weekday news bulletins, Midday and Tonight, are also being dumped.

TVNZ said it is battling a big drop in traditional TV advertising revenue as audiences move to digital platforms.

However, Fair Go staff today vowed to try to save the show, saying it’s in the biggest battle of its almost half-a-century-long life.

“The Fair Go team were devastated to learn today of the plan to axe the show,” they said in a social message.

“For 47 years we’ve been battling for New Zealanders, and we are not ready for that to end. Our next challenge is working out how to keep going for you.”

Milne, 74, said he is “terribly sad” for the staff and has fond memories of the show and his time in New Zealand journalism.

He first started as a TV news reporter for the then government-owned channel, New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, when it was still filmed in black-and-white.

Then he joined Fair Go in 1984, seven years after the programme started.

People were telling him he was mad for joining a show that was already seven years old because it was likely after such a long run to shut down soon, he said.

Instead, he would host the show for 27 years, saying it’s astounding that Fair Go ran for 47 years.

Part of its success was that it tried to take on issues that were most interesting or were most a problem to ordinary Kiwis rather than stories about political intrigue, Milne said.

One memorable investigation series that proved hugely popular was exposing how second-hand cars imported into the country were getting rusty so quickly after customers purchased them.

Another fun and memorable series touched almost every street block in the country when the show campaigned for dairy workers to use serviettes when handling ice cream cones for customers.

“We went out filming, and we actually showed how this happened,” Milne said. “How a guy would wipe his bloody hands on his bum, and then the next he is holding something that you’re very shortly going to be eating. It was a massive response all over the country.”

Milne said he’s really proud of how the show fought for the “little people”.

Speaking about the loss of news programmes at TVNZ, Milne said he’s not sure of the way forward.

He said his own children are able to get reliable news from other sources these days, which gives him some confidence.

However, he’s also at a “loss as to where generation after me are going to seek and be able to get their news”, he said.

TVNZ has confirmed four of its flagship shows face the axe in a major restructuring to save costs, with Sunday staff saying they are “devastated” to learn their roles are being disestablished and “deeply concerned” at the sustained degradation of the fourth estate.

”It’s been a difficult day for TVNZers with some incredibly tough conversations for many around the business, including the newsroom,” chief executive Jodi O’Donnell said.

Anxious staff were called into meetings throughout the morning to learn their fate before being summoned to an all-staff meeting at 1pm.

In a statement, O’Donnell said TVNZ had taken employees through proposed structural changes today which could result in a net reduction of up to 68 roles across all business areas (9 per cent of fulltime employee positions).

She confirmed four of the state broadcaster’s flagship shows were likely to be cut.

”Midday, Tonight, Fair Go, and Sunday are programmes with a long and celebrated legacy at Te Reo Tātaki,” she said.

“The proposals we have presented in no way relate to the immense contribution of the teams that work on these shows and the significant journalistic value they’ve provided over many years.

”Unfortunately, we need to reduce our costs to ensure the business remains sustainable.”

She said the decisions were not taken lightly.

”Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it was a “pretty tough time” being a TVNZ employee today.

He said he had met many other organisations who had to restructure due to tough economic conditions over the past two years, saying that was why he was determined to lower inflation.

Luxon said he was not interested in owning more media assets, saying it wasn’t good for democracy.

He committed to supporting state media as the Government currently did.