Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Castor Chacko, Alex Fox, Emmanuel Orange, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
New Zealand cities are having to make new, tough decisions about infrastructure as extreme weather intensifies.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Professor Theuns Henning of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Engineering about New Zealand’s infrastructure challenges and what the potential solutions are.
For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about Community Committee Grants for 2026, and a proposal from Mainfreight to open bus lanes to trucks.
They also spoke to Associate Professor Theuns Henning of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Engineering about the challenges for New Zealand’s infrastructure in the face of increasing extreme weather events.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke to Shanan Halbert about leadership pressure on the government, inflation, and the response to recent flooding.
She spoke with Emeritus Professor Tim Hazledine about New Zealand First’s proposal to break up the supermarket duopoly.
And she spoke with Dr Christopher Cornwall about the environmental impacts of sewage discharge following flooding in Wellington.
Recently, amid a swirl of media speculation and rumours, the Prime Minister made the unprecedented move of initiating a vote of confidence in himself, with the aim of clearing the air and dispelling the notion that he has lost the support of his caucus. Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced that he had succeeded in the anonymous ballot, although he refrained from revealing the exact numbers.
We’ve seen a variety of reactions from other political leaders, with Labour leader Chris Hipkins insisting that the votes should be released and, and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters describing the whole thing as a strategic error on the Prime Minister’s part.
Producer Toby spoke to Michael Swanson, a research fellow at the University of Otago, about the political implications of this vote. They also discussed the rising popularity of New Zealand First, and talked about the future of that party beyond the leadership of Winston Peters.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Green Party’s proposed national electrification policy.
Monday Wire producer Thomas spoke to Save Science Coalition spokesperson Ben Wylie-van Eerd about cuts to the government’s science funding.
Producer Toby spoke to Otago University research fellow Michael Swanson about the Prime Minister’s recent vote of confidence.
Producer Theo spoke to Parents for Climate Aotearoa’s Alicia Hall about their campaign to restore rural school bus routes and lower fees for students under 25.
Last week, the Save Science Coalition released a report looking at the impact of government cuts to science over the last two years, finding they have led to over 700 roles being slashed.
The report contained eleven stories of New Zealand scientists who had to move countries or shift into a different field to find work as a result of government cuts, and made suggestions for non-partisan long term funding to ensure the security of New Zealand’s research and development.
To discuss the impacts of cost cutting to publicly funded science and potential solutions to the problem, Monday Wire producer Thomas talked to Save Science Coalition spokesperson Ben Wylie-van Eerd.
Last week, the Green Party leaders, Marama Davidson and Chloe Swarbrick, hosted their state of the planet address, where they launched their call to electrify the nation.
On top of that, events this week have led the party to criticise the government. The first critique, instigated by the floods that swept the nation, hitting the Coromandel and causing a state of emergency in the Wellington Region, led the Greens to question the government's decreased funding of flood responses as harsh weather increases.
The second critique came with a cabinet paper this week that shows the government is planning on moving ahead with reforms to legislation that will see references to the Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti o Waitangi redefined, in what the government sez is about ‘standardisation’ but what the Green Party sees as dishonouring Te Tiriti.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, we discuss their criticisms of the government but start with a discussion of their electrification policy.
After an NZ First initiative from within the coalition agreement, the government has proposed to weaken treaty obligations. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith claimed the government was attempting to create more consistency by changing the semanticUs of obligations to make the government take the treaty “into account” rather than prevous formulations such as “honour” or “have regard”.
Critics have sed the changes attempt to weaken obligations to the Treaty and have opened grey zones based on semantic understandings.
Flo spoke with Associate Professor Andrew Erueti at the University of Auckland’s law school about the government’s proposed changes to Treaty Obligations.
The St James Theatre, which first opened in 1928, is a category 1 heritage building sitting on Queen street in Auckland’s arts precinct. Once a venue for many shows and concerts, and having hosted notable individuals including Queen Elizabeth II, it has since been in a state of disrepair after it closed following a fire in 2007. Its fate has long been debated as it further decayed and attempts to restore it had stalled due to lack of funding. Finally, in 2023, the government announced it would match Auckland Council’s pledge of 15 million dollars for the rebuild, allowing work to fully commence.
I spoke to Steve Bielby, director of the St James holdings, about how the rebuild is coming along now that funding is secure, what remains to be done and how the public is engaging with the news that the St James will one day reopen its doors.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin speaks with us about Poison Frogs, Songbirds generating Neurons, and Personalised Brain Sensors.
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Alex spoke with Ryan Hamilton about New Zealand’s Fuel Stocks, and how the Government is moving forward with regards to fuel and positioning around the Strait of Hormuz.
Producer Flo spoke with Associate Professor Andrew Erueti at the University of Auckland’s law school about the government’s proposed changes to Treaty Obligations.
And Producer Liam spoke with Steve Bielby, director of the St James Holdings, about the rebuild of the historic St James Theatre, what challenges and opportunities it has brought and what this will mean for Auckland and its heritage.
Despite a tenuous ceasefire, the fuel crisis - resulting from the US and Israel bombing of Iran, and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz - drags on. Prices have remained high, hitting low-income households hard, and while fuel stocks in or on-the-way to the country sit comfortably above a month’s cover, approaches to conserving fuel remain front-of-mind for many.
One strategy that New Zealanders have been urged to adopt is switching to public transport, which would put fewer cars on the road. However, access is often dependent on location and affordability.
Over the past few years, the Ministry of Education has reviewed numerous rural school bus routes, cancelling some, cutting off students from ready access to their education.
For this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke to Alicia Hall from Parents for Climate Aotearoa, on their petition to restore rural school bus routes and make public transport free for children, and students under 25.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
Last week, the Green Party leaders, Marama Davidson and Chloe Swarbrick, hosted their state of the planet address, where they launched their call to electrify the nation.
On top of that, events this week have led the party to criticise the government. The first critique, instigated by the floods that swept the nation, hitting the Coromandel and causing a state of emergency in the Wellington Region, led the Greens to question the government's decreased funding of flood responses as harsh weather increases.
The second critique came with a cabinet paper this week that shows the government is planning on moving ahead with reforms to legislation that will see references to the Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti o Waitangi redefined, in what the government sez is about ‘standardisation’ but what the Green Party sees as dishonouring Te Tiriti.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, we discuss their criticisms of the government but start with a discussion of their electrification policy.
Last week, fuel stocks in the country went down by three or four days across each fuel type. The government recognised this as not enough to change to phase two in the national fuel plan, drawing some concerned comments from the political opposition around the state of our stocks, and when the government plans to actually move up phases.
Following a week that saw both Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon comment on the state of the Strait of Hormuz, and the way the United States has handled the ongoing conflict, Willis also travelled to the US to meet with White House advisors.
This week, Host Alex spoke with National MP Ryan Hamilton about these fuel crisis developments, and what the government’s approach going forward may look like.
To start our discussion, however, we spoke briefly about the confidence in Christopher Luxon’s Leadership.
Earlier this week, Councillor Julie Fairey moved a resolution to investigate Auckland Council’s involvement with companies that are complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
And this week, Auckland Council launched an AI virtual assistant to report issues such as graffiti, roaming dogs, and noise complaints.
For City Counselling, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown announced the signing of a new ‘City Deal’.
The deal will see closer partnership between the central government and Auckland Council, coordinating planning in areas such as infrastructure and transportation.
The deal will see a long-term partnership between the government and council, with regular meetings and cooperation on strategies for innovation and transportation, with reviews of sporting venues such as Eden Park and the Auckland Tennis Centre.
However, the deal has been critiqued by some as being a collection of promises without any new funding.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, he and producer Theo discussed the signing of the Auckland City Deal, and how the Green Party would work with Auckland Council on issues such as transportation and infrastructure.
Last week, the Ministry for the Environment together with Stats New Zealand released Our Freshwater 2026, a major report on the state of Aotearoa’s freshwater systems based on decades of data. The report highlights both long-term improvement and deterioration of waterways nationwide, with particular focus on groundwater sources and the impacts of agricultural land use and the climate crisis on water quality.
I spoke to Troy Baisden, co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists and Adjunct Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, about what the findings of this report mean and also about the strengths and limitations of freshwater reporting.
Last week, the Government and Auckland Council agreed on the ‘Auckland City Deal’, which seeks to enhance co-ordination between the two bodies to enable better investment in the city to get the most out of what Mayor Wayne Brown has called the ‘Engine’ of the economy. This will see better communication between the mayor and prime minister, co-operation on certain legislation, and funding.
The weekend also saw Cyclone Vaianu hit the country, with parts of the country facing damage and flooding. The government now has the job of responding to the damage, and deciding what needs to change, looking forward to future cyclones.
This week, Host Alex spoke with National Party MP Ryan Hamilton about each of these topics.
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