The Wire with Jessica

Brain Tumour Support NZ is a charitable trust established in 2019 to promote awareness for brain tumour diagnoses in New Zealand. During their "Make May Better" month, Brain Tumour Support NZ has launched the “No Going Back” fundraising platform where participants can embark on fundraising challenges to support brain tumour patients and their families.

Producer Ezra spoke to Chief Executive at Brain Tumour Support NZ, Sarah Verran, about their newly launched campaigns, the importance of brain tumour awareness and the incredible work the charity is involved in.

This week is Rape Awareness Week in Aotearoa, a kaupapa that seeks to start conversations and facilitate social change for sexual violence prevention in Aotearoa. This year’s initiatives, led by Whāngarei Rape Crisis and HELP Auckland’s Dear Em Programme, focus on the theme ‘A Community of Consent’. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Dear Em Acting Programme Lead, Imogen Stone, on the importance of this movement for Aotearoa, and how to get involved.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced the government is considering removing election day voter enrolment. 

A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission told 95bFM background information on what election day voter enrolment is including that:

Election day enrolment was introduced for the 2020 General Election, so there have been two elections when it’s been in place.

It means people can enrol or update their details, and then vote, on election day.

Before 2020, people needed to enrol by the day before election day.

In 2023, about 110,000 people enrolled or updated their details on election day.

Anyone who enrols or updates their details in the month before election day needs to cast a special vote.

Minister Goldsmith's reason for looking at abolishing election day enrolment included; that few countries have this ability and the electoral commission does not have enough resources to deal with these special votes. 

Opposition MPs, including Green Party Leader Chlöe Swarbrick has spoken out against removing same-day voting and enrolment, stating in a Press Release “any imposed barrier [to accessible elections] is rightfully open to serious criticism of voter suppression.”

Caeden asked political scientist at Victoria University Dr Lara Greaves (Ngāpuhi, Pākehā, Tararā) about the proposal and its resulting opposition.

They started by asking her to explain the issues with same day enrolment and voting.

On April 17th 2024, amidst widespread international focus on Israel’s military operation in the Gaza strip, pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University in New York pitched tents on their campus's southern lawn, forming an encampment to protest against the university’s financial ties with companies associated with the state of Israel.

Despite a brutal crackdown on the protesting students, Columbia’s Palestinian Solidarity Encampment inspired the creation of 155 similar protest encampments in universities across the globe, with one such encampment having been planned outside the University of Auckland general library, organised by the University’s Students for Justice in Palestine group.

Despite the plans for an encampment, SJP reformatted the event to become a standard rally after the University threatened to call the police if an encampment be established, only allowing a general protest to be held as a form of compromise.

Oto attended the rally and spoke to members of Students for Justice in Palestine, as well as other students, attendees, and supporting faculty members who were there.