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.
This week Tess and Joel talk to the Labour Party’s Meka Whaitiri about Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill who speaks out against Māori Party Co-Leader Marama Fox’s comments made on Tuesday's show. Tess talks to the National Party's Jami-Lee Ross about the Tertiary Education Union survey, as well as the Ministry for Vulnerable Children. Radio Adelaide’s Nicole Wedding talks to Tess about cyclone Debbie, Julia Gillard joining Beyond Blue, and the thriving Quokka population on Rottnest. Tess interviewed Sarah Claudine UK organisation Safe Gigs for Women raising awareness about sexual harassment, and safety at gigs and festivals for women. Joel also talked to Auckland Writers Festival Director Anne O'Brien about the festival line-up and Diversity in literature.
Labour Party’s Meka Whaitiri talks about her problems with Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill and speaks out against comments made by Māori Party Co-Leader Marama Fox’s on Tuesday's show.
bFM's Tess Barnett speaks to Sarah Claudine from an organisation in the UK called Safe Gigs for Women which promotes safety at gigs and festivals for women by raising awareness about sexual harassment.
bFM's Joel Thomas talks to Auckland Writers Festival Director Anne O'Brien about the festival lineup, diversity in literature, and the need to actively search for stories that put you in unfamiliar positions.
Jacinda Ardern joins Jogai for a chat this week in place of a fog-bound Andrew Little. Listen to the full podcast here we discuss the new Labour-Greens fiscal framework announced this week.
This week, Jogai and Jess catch up with Health Minister Nicky Wagner to learn more about the government's legislation of e-cigarettes, and Jacinda chats to Jogai about the new Budget Responsibility Rules announced this week. bFM reporter Ambrose O'Meagher speaks to Russel Norman about the upcoming Greenpeace protest of the Amazon Warrior, and Joel Thomas chats to Sandra Grey of the Tertiary Education Union to find out more about the ever-increasing government pressures put on tertiary staff. Jason Leopold is also back for a final State of the States with our news and editorial assistant, Pearl Little. All this and more on the Thursday Wire - check out the full podcast here.
A recent survey on the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) members has found that 63% of academics are feeling more pressured to pass students over the past decade, as well as 66% of university staff feeling that there is more pressure to admit students that do not adequately meet pre-requisites. bFM reporter Joel Thomas speaks to Sandra Grey from the TEU about this issue, beginning by asking what it is that's putting pressure on staff and academics.
Jason Leopold and Pearl speak for the last time today - touching on Trump's Obama era repeals, net privacy changes and links between Trump staff and Russia. Jason has been corresponding for bFM for 10 years now, and this is his final installment of State of the States. Thanks for everything, Jason.
In the wake of today’s sweeping executive order by US President Donald Trump to reverse efforts to address climate change and instead protect the oil, gas and coal industries, Greenpeace New Zealand is preparing to go and confront his agenda at sea. Oil giants Chevron and Statoil are currently using the world’s biggest seismic ship, the 125-metre long Amazon Warrior, to search for oil off the Wairarapa Coast. Greenpeace New Zealand Executive Director Dr Russel Norman says Greenpeace will head out to sea for protest in the coming weeks. bFM reporter Ambrose O’Meagher speaks to Russel to find ouot more.
Yesterday the government announced the legalisation of nicotine e-cigarettes and e-liquid with appropriate controls. The announcement has received a mostly positive response, with many believing that the change is a huge step towards helping kiwis quit smoking, and attaining the ultimate goal of a smoke-free NZ by 2025. Producer Jess Smith speaks to Health Minister Nicky Wagner to find out more about what the new law involves, and what it means for New Zealand.
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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