Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Sara Mckoy, Max Micheel, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
95bFM reporter Laura Kvigstad spoke to Alex Tarrant, a political journalist based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Wellington about about the Reserve Bank looking to introduce debt-to-income restrictions and what this might mean for housing.
This week, Jogai, Harry, and Lucy chat to the Head of the AIDS Epidemiology Centre Dr Sue McCallister about yesterday's HIV statistics, and catch up with Dr Melanie Berez of Otago University to learn more about her report on sexual violence in adolescent relationships. Jogai speaks with Jaycee Tanuvasa about Auckland's thriving vogue scene and what this means for young LGBTQ Maori and Pasifika peoples in 2017, and our Thursday feature State of the States is back with Nick Sawhney. Andrew Little is also back for our weekly chat. All this and more on the Thursday Wire - check out the full podcast here.
The Auckland Vogue Scene has been alive and thriving in the CBD for years now but it’s truly come into the limelight with a short documentary Vice produced this year, showcasing the young LGBTQ Maori and Pasifika community that makes it shine. Jogai caught up with New Zealand Samoan artist Jaycee Tanuvasa about the incredible journey of Voguing, and how it aims to uplift and empower some of the most vulnerable in our society.
The Family Violence clearinghouse has released a new report concerning sexual abuse and relationships in adolescents. The report covers how violence and abuse in adolescents are disproportionately unreported, and how education concerning gender norms can help to combat this issue. Wire producer Lucy Austin spoke with author of the report, Otago University's Dr Melanie Beres from, who began by telling us about what exactly the report covers.
The University of Otago's AIDS Epidemiology Center released their annual HIV/AIDs report yesterday as part of their newsletter. The report showed that 244 people were diagnosed with HIV in New Zealand in 2016, the highest number ever diagnosed in one year since recording began of the epidemic in 1985. Wire Producer Harry Willis spoke with the Head of the AIDs Epidemiology Center Dr Sue Mcallister to try and break down some of the statistics released and to try to figure out why these numbers are getting higher each year.
The Auckland Council are wanting know the public’s opinion on the rules around Easter Weekend trading. The proposed bylaw will give communities around Auckland the ability to choose whether or not open on Easter Sunday, but this possible change is drawing both praise and criticism. Producer Adam Jacobson spoke to Retail New Zealand’s Greg Harford and First Union’s Retail and Finance Secretary Maxine Gay to hear about the arguments on each side of the debate.
Anti-establishment sentiment has been an increasingly more relevant and contentious topic around the world, especially going into this year’s general election in New Zealand. An academic keenly interested in this topic is Grant Duncan from Massey University, who will be giving a public lecture about it tomorrow night. Producer Will Parsonson speaks to Grant about recent global political events and what the potential impact might be on New Zealand, first asking him about the changing landscape of international democracies.
If you’re interested in heading along to Grant’s free lecture tomorrow night called ‘Trust, distrust and the end of politics as we knew it’, register here. The lecture runs from 6:00-7:30 in the Atrium Building Round Room on Massey University's Albany campus.
This week on the Wednesday show, Ximena, Adam & Will (our great new producer, hi Will!) take a look at the different arguments around Easter trading laws, as well as chat to a smart dude about anti-establishment politics ahead of his lecture at Massey University tomorrow night. AUT's Allan Blackman is back with us again for Dear Science after his trip overseas to talk to us about the latest in science news, including how a brand-spanking new science centre is set to open in Jordan, and Ximena speaks to NZ First's Tracey Martin for our new regular political commentary feature with her on the Wednesday show each week.
A group who advocates for community mental health support workers has warned there may be an exodus if pay rates do not increase. Platform sez workers in the sector may move to the aged care and disability sectors, who are set to receive a pay increase between 15 to 50 percent on July First as part of a settlement that was reached early this year. Our reporter Katie Doyle spoke to Platforms CEO Marion Blake about the warning and her concerns with the current state of the Mental Health sector.
On Sunday, “Block the Ban” held a protest against the government’s decision to ban new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria.
The United Nations’ committee for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination has released a report warning that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights.
And last week, the government rejected the recommended methane emissions targets.
This is despite officials warning against the government doing so, stating that lowering methane emissions targets could increase New Zealand’s contribution to global warming.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.
Safety measures on public transport are of growing concern this week following the fatal and unprovoked attack that took place on route 76 in East Tāmkaki on Monday night.
Earlier this week there were also multiple critical incidents that occurred simultaneously across Auckland’s West Coast beaches and waterways, seeing an unusually high deployment of emergency services and surf lifesavers for this early in the summer.
Swedish home and furniture retailer Ikea opened in Sylvia Park a week ago today, drawing huge excitement for many.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about these topics.
Last week was scrutiny week, where Parliament focuses entirely on holding government agencies and ministers to account, to check-in on how well the Government is performing.
Many of the questions surrounding scrutiny week have been focused on climate change, with many recent reports highlighting the Government’s questionable decision-making.. The biggest headline was that the coalition had chosen to reject all three of the climate change commission’s recommendations to strengthen New Zealand’s emissions targets.
Along with this, the United Nations released a new report, where they’ve warned that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights and entrenching disparities for the indigenous population. In the 14-page report, the UN expressed concerns over multiple government policies affecting Maori, including the disestablishment of the Maori Health Authority, cuts to public funding for Maori services, and minimising the role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the report released by the United Nations, but first they discussed Scrutiny Week and the Government’s recent climate change decisions.
The government is pausing the new prescriptions of Puberty Blockers to gender diverse and transgender young people from the 19th of December onwards, following a similar move by the UK after the results of the NHS’s Cass Review.
Wire Producer Flo spoke to activist Lauren Craig about the effects of the legislation, her petition “Reverse the decision to deny transgender and takatāpui young people access to puberty blockers” against the changes and the wider political motivation for the policy.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here
With the rise of fast fashion outlets like Shein and Temu alongside the wider mainstream options available that contribute substantial amounts of clothing waste to landfill, experts are calling for an urgent response on a governance, business, and individual level.
Wire Host Sara spoke to Mindful Fashion Chief Executive Jacinta Fitzgerald about the problem, and the industry response to sustainability, as well as University of Auckland Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the importance of ethical consumption.for individuals.
First, is the interview with Fitzgerald, where she begins by talking about the organisation Mindful Fashion.
Following this, Sara spoke to Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the research he has undertaken around consumerism.
The biannual Scrutiny Week took place in Parliament last week, with meetings across select committees and government departments focussed on scrutinising the outcomes of government work.
These include hearings on ministries like Health, Housing, Environment and Justice.
Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Carl Bates about Scrutiny Week, firstly by asking him to talk about the meetings he was involved in
The government has recently rejected all of the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations regarding strengthening the country’s methane targets recommendations.
The commission’s recommendations include strengthening the county’s 2050 methane emission targets, continuing lowering emissions after 2050, and that international shipping and aviation, which represents 9% of the county’s total emissions, should be included within targets.
Despite the commission saying that there would be upfront costs, many of the changes would result in cost savings over time, however, the government rejected this claim.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about the government rejecting these recommendations.
Tāmaki Makaurau’s council budget is among those impacted by the proposal of a rates cap, considering Tāmaki’s average 5.8% annual rates increase across the 25/26 financial year.
Youth homelessness is a growing concern as discussions continue around “move on” orders for those without housing in Auckland’s CBD.
And the Skycity Convention Centre is set to open in 2026, with high hopes for what it may bring for Tāmaki Makaurau after its prolonged development.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Counsellor Fairey about these topics.
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