Since Wednesday last week, Auckland and the wider Northland region were warned of heavy rain and winds expected across the North Island.
On Friday night however, as severe thunderstorms struck Auckland, residents were not sent severe weather alerts until after the worst part of the storm had already arrived.
Many Aucklanders have called out the slow response system, in an effort yet again to revitalise discussions around Auckland’s storm and natural disaster preparedness.
As well, Auckland’s public transport system is under the microscope this month as Aucklanders endure just over a fortnight without train services, as workers seek to speed up the completion of Kiwi Rail. Yesterday, Transport Minister Chris Bishop also announced a multi-billion dollar project for a Northland Expressway that he says will improve public transport.
In the meantime, public transport prices have increased — for ratepayers and users —- translating to less bang and more buck for Aucklanders.
Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics, firstly by asking if she was satisfied with Auckland Council’s response pace in the lead up to severe weather conditions.
Four climate activists were arrested and seventy protesters were trespassed after blockading operations at Bathurst Resources’ Stockton coal mine for more than sixty hours.
The protest targeted the Australian-owned mine which is planning an expansion of activities approved through the government’s new fast-tracked consent process.
While Resources Minister Shane Jones has justified the coal expansion as important for domestic energy needs and economic growth, activists assert that the government is wrongly “doubling-down” on fossil fuels when they should be scaling up renewable energy.
Producer Sara spoke with Adam Currie, a climate activist from 350 Aotearoa and one of those who was arrested for disrupting operations at the coal mine this week.
She started the interview by asking what the main goal of the protest was
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Oto speak to him about Simeon Brown’s Health Infrastructure Plan, the downgrading of climate change in the new Defence Capability Plan and the recently announced extension of military assistance to Ukraine.
He spoke to Amanda Larsson - Senior Campaign manager for Greenpeace Aotearoa, about Greenpeace’s investigation into meat processing corporation JBS and their role in the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
And he spoke to Sue Coutts, an advocate for the Zero Waste Network about their take on the government’s proposal to update the waste minimisation act.
Max spoke to the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa co-chair, John Minto, about the PSNA appeal to New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, in which they requested that New Zealand initiate the call for an internationally enforced “no-fly” zone over Gaza.
In this week's post-easter edition of the Top 10, Big J is joined by Friday Drive's Milly in Smashton's absence. They talk about finding the big egg at the end of an Easter egg hunt.
Last week, health minister Simeon Brown announced the government’s infrastructure plan for rebuilding hospitals.
The plan involves a $20 billion investment into hospitals across the motu, which Simeon Brown has said will upgrade emergency departments and will improve delivery timeframes.
In that same week, the government’s recent defence capability plan, which involved a $12 billion increase in funding to the New Zealand Defence Force, downgraded climate change as a priority for the NZDF
And, earlier this week, Primate Minister Christopher Luxon announced that New Zealand would be extending its military assistance to Ukraine until 2026.
For their weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Greens MP Ricardo Menendez-March for the party’s take on all of these issues.
Greenpeace recently conducted an investigation into the meat processing corporation, JBS, which concluded that the company had failed to meet its deforestation-free commitment.
The Brazilian multinational is the largest meat processing enterprise in the world and largely operates in the Amazon Rainforest, where they have been accused of contributing to illegal deforestation, mistreating their livestock and even spreading zoonotic diseases.
In 2020, JBS announced their plan for zero deforestation by this year, which included a monitoring system for their suppliers. However, the Greenpeace investigation found that the company had made little progress on their commitment and was continuing to contribute to the Amazon’s deforestation.
Oto spoke to Amanda Larsson - Senior Campaign manager for Greenpeace Aotearoa, about their investigation into JBS and how they plan to hold them accountable for their deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
On the 22nd of April 2025, the Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa, or PSNA, wrote to the New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, requesting that New Zealand initiate the call for an internationally enforced "no-fly" zone over Gaza.
PSNA Co-Chair, John Minto, said that it would be "a small but practical step to blunt Israel's continuing genocidal attacks on Palestinians".
Producer Max spoke with John Minto, to talk about the appeal to Foreign Minister Winston Peters, New Zealand's commitment to the region, as well as the impact it would have if New Zealand were to take action.
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