Nearly half a million New Zealanders tuned in to watch Patrick Gower's latest documentary on methamphetamine in Aotearoa, which was made with the support of NZ On Air.
Patrick Gower: On P reached 486,422 Kiwis during Tuesday night's broadcast, making it the most watched local programme on Three this year.
"I am really, really stoked," Gower said in a statement.
"I am just so happy that Kiwis got around their screens to learn about what this evil drug methamphetamine is doing to Aotearoa New Zealand. These numbers show that people really care."
The Voyager-winning Newshub journalist expressed his gratitude to those who shared their stories for the documentary so that others could learn.
"I dedicated this documentary to a mum I know who never gave up on her son with an addiction. This documentary is for that mum, and everyone like her, and I hope it goes some way to helping us start to treat addiction with more humanity," he said.
From his investigation, Gower concluded that Aotearoa needed to take a health-based approach to dealing with meth users, insisting the Government needed to "do something different".
He said the response to the documentary was "bloody humbling", telling his viewers: "I wish I could give you all a hug."
"I would also like to NZ On Air - this wouldn't have happened without them. Broadcasting issues like this are just so important."
