Top five columns of 2019: Mike Hosking

Mike Hosking. Photo / NZME

As we say goodbye to 2019 and welcome in 2020, it's a good time to catch up on the very best of the Herald columnists we enjoyed reading over the last 12 months. From politics to sport, from business to entertainment and lifestyle, these are the voices and views our audience loved the most. Today it's the top five from Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking.

Diplomatic doormats - Winston Peters' career-defining cock-up in Turkey

Following the Christchurch terror attacks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stirred the pot at his rallies by playing excerpts from the mosque gunman's livestream. PM Jacinda Ardern suggested Winston Peters would deal with the situation, as he was travelling to Turkey. While Peters did meet the president, he didn't end up raising the matter with him.

Hyperbole and hot air - Greta Thunberg will grow into a Jacinda Ardern

In September, Hosking took aim at young climate change activist Greta Thunberg, claiming she had "won the award for world's most annoying kid by lecturing adults with a startling amount of hot air and hyperbole". And the terrible fate she has ahead of her? Becoming "a Jacinda Ardern".

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's fairy dust is starting to wear off

Could Jacinda Ardern - described as a "part time prime minister" - finally be losing her sheen? In August, Hosking sure hoped so. While she was admired internationally for her response following the Christchurch terror attack, he felt there still issues at home she had yet to address.

Banning single use plastic bags is a nonsense

Shopping bags were a hot topic midway through the year, as the Government announced a ban on single use plastic bags. Hosking described this as the "ideal contender for faux action of the decade" - bringing up the bootloads of reusable bags he had accumulated
due to forgetfulness.

The Shchetkova family is the proof our immigration system is a farce

In January, the Ukranian owners of a St Heliers restaurant were denied residency as their business did not add significant benefit to New Zealand, according to Immigration. Hosking compared their case to that of convicted Czech drug smuggler Karel Sroubek, who does have residency. "Do you think we got that one right?" he asks.