There was a tight battle between top three songs in this week's 95bFM Top 10, listen to find out who won in this special all NZ muisc edition of the show!
As of July 2023, the government scrapped the $5 fee on prescriptions. Since then, the public health system has seen a significant change in hospital admissions rates.
However, with a new government in parliament, the government wants to reinstate the $5 co-payment for prescriptions.
Rachel spoke to GP at the Auckland City Mission and Professor of General Practitioners and Primary Health care at the University of Auckland, Dr Bruce Arroll, about the implications the public health system will see if the government reinstates $5 fees on prescriptions.
The coalition government recently introduced legislation aimed at rolling back the establishment of Maori wards in local constituencies, requiring local councils to hold a referendum if they brought in wards without first polling residents or to scrap the wards that they have.
The Waitangi tribunal consider the legislation to be a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi principle prioritising, as they say the crown failed to consult with the tribunal or Maori stakeholders, and that the move will undermine the role of Maori and Iwi in local governments.
For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to the Green party’s Ricardo Menendez March to discuss the Maori Wards rollback. We also had a chat about the recent review of Kainga Ora, as well as Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s speech at the national party conference.
Last week, New Caledonia became the site of widespread civil unrest and mass riots. Protests erupted in response to a decision made by the French government to grant voting rights to residents of New Caledonia who had been residing on the Island for at Least 10 years, overturning a previous constitutional amendment that only permitted the Island’s indigenous Kanak population and residents residing on the Island before 1998 to vote in local elections.
New Caledonia’s Indigenous Kanak people, who have largely resisted French rule and have campaigned for independence for several generations, said that the constitutional amendment would undermine their push for independence and give greater preference to newer French settlers.
Oto spoke to Professor Yvonne Underhill-Sem, a professor of Pacific studies at the university of Auckland, to discuss the context behind the current unrest, and the Kanak independence movement as a whole.
Last week, an independent review was conducted into Kainga Ora, homes and communities, by former Prime Minister Bill English. The review made the claim that Kainga Ora was financially unviable, and made seven recommendations to the government aimed at improving the agency’s financial performance, of which the government has agreed to implement four.
However, social housing advocates have expressed concern regarding the review and government response, saying that it would undermine the construction of social housing and give the Government the ability to sell Kainga Ora properties to private developers.
Rachel spoke to Vanessa Cole, a spokesperson for public housing, to gather her perspectives on the review of Kainga Ora, and what it means for social housing development in Aotearoa.
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