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.
The Public Service Association says that the ‘needs not race’ based directive to government agencies is putting all that progress that has been made to improve the lives of Māori at risk.
With the government directing all government agencies that public services must be delivered by need and not race disregards the systemic disadvantages experienced by Māori and Pasifika.
The PSA’s Janice Panoho says that the move will set back Māori for generations at a time when they remain one of the most disadvantaged groups in Aotearoa.
Producer Evie spoke to Panoho about these concerns and what impacts she believes this directive may have.
For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about updates regarding the Treaty Principles Bill, as well as Te Pāti Māori MP, Hana-Rawhiti Maipa-Clarke, being a recipient of the One Young World Politician of the year award.
For our weekly catch up, Producer Evie spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about a government directive to create a public service that delivers on ‘need not race’, and the draft treaty principals bill being tabled at cabinet for the first time.
Producer Evie also spoke to the Public Service Association’s Janice Panoho about what the government has labelled ‘a colourblind public service’, and some of the concerns that come with us.
Host Joel spoke to Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Caroline Shaw, regarding a new study showing that ‘decarbonising’ transport would have a signficant impact on health; mental and physical.
Producer Evie spoke to the University of Auckland’s Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law Treasa Dunworth about her request for an inquiry to be made into whether New Zealand is sharing intelligence to aid Israel in its war on Gaza.
And finally, Host Joel spoke to the National Secretary for Retail and Finance at First Union, Rudd Hughes, about the Woolworths strikes that took place last week, with extra walkouts being planned for the 17th of September.
Last week, workers at Woolworths walked out of their stores,with another strike being planned for tomorrow afternoon over ongoing negotiations between First Union for better pay and working conditions for workers.
On Friday, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the National Secretary for Retail and Finance at First Union, Rudd Hughes, about Tuesday’s walkout.
They started off by asking Huges why there was a walkout of over FORTY stores.
A group of three lawyers is calling for a first-of-its-kind inquiry into whether New Zealand spy agencies are helping Israel's war in Gaza.
In a letter to the inspector-general of intelligence and security (IGIS) on Thursday, they said the country was in danger of aiding international crimes.
The request has four parts, covering previous investigations that have been undertaken by the watchdog, along with Aotearoa’s connections to countries like the US and UK who have been proven to aid Israel.
Producer Evie spoke to Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, Treasa Dunworth, one of three lawyers pushing for this inquiry about what triggered these concerns, and how the inquiry would be undertaken.
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Labour Party Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni on the government signalling a shift in their foreign policy stances, the allocation of 6 months in select committee for the Treaty Principles Bill and Bird of the Year.
They speak to Yale Daily News Andre Fa’aoso about yesterday’s Harris/Trump Presidential debate and Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris.
And they speak to the University of Auckland’s Dr Tatjana Buklijas about the fast track legislation in a democratic context.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia speak to Councillor Julie Fairey about how Auckland Council’s celebrating Te Wiki o te Reo Māori next week and Council’s emissions reductions targets
She also speaks to ActionStation Director, Kassie Hartendorp, about the Treaty Principles Bill and a campaign ActionStation has launched in response, Together for Te Tiriti.
For State of the States, our weekly 95bFM US election coverage, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso on yesterday’s Harris/Trump Presidential debate and Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris.
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Dr Tatjana Buklijaš, about the fast track legislation within the context of democratic participation on infrastructure decisions.
This week, Cabinet reviewed the first draft of the ACT Party’s Treaty Principles Bill.
The Bill has been met with controversy, with officials warning the government that it “calls into question the very purpose of the Treaty and its status in our constitutional arrangements” and that it could be detrimental to Māori and social cohesion.
Criticism has also come from Māori leaders saying it could remove Māori from decision making processes entirely, as well as most recently a group of 440 Christian Church leaders signing an open letter asking MPs to say no to the Bill.
Both National and New Zealand First have said they will not support the Bill beyond the select committee process.
In response to the Bill, ActionStation Aotearoa has launched a campaign, Together for Te Tiriti, which “welcomes people of all backgrounds who believe that our country is better off when we honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”
Sofia spoke to ActionStation Aotearoa Director, Kassie Hartendorp (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) about this Bill, current discourse around it, and ActionStation’s campaign.
It recently came to the public’s attention that the Inland Revenue Department had been providing social media firms with the personal details of taxpayers to be used in marketing campaigns.
While the IRD have tried to reassure taxpayers that their details were anonymised using a hashing process that would replace the letters in their names with numbers, many have raised concerns about the potential privacy implications that could come with their personal data being sold to social media companies, as well as the efficacy of the hashing process itself.
Wire Host Oto spoke to Gehan Gunasekara, Associate Professor in Commercial Law at the University of Auckland, to discuss the IRD’s selling of taxpayer data to social media firms and its potential implications.
Following a consistent year of pressure, the Victoria University of Wellington has announced its divestment from all Israeli government bonds and shares. The foundation has previously reported having close to $50,000, which they have divested following major Student sit ins and pushback.
The divestment is only the first step in a long process of boycotting Israel, however there is continued student backing and a recent petition attempting to further progress the severing of ties to Israel.
Producer Sasha spoke to spokesperson for Student Justice for Palestine Poneke, Frank Mackenzie about how continued student pressure led to University of Victoria Wellington divesting from Israeli bonds and stocks.
From Dec 27 to Jan 18, all train lines across Tāmaki will be shutting down for summer maintenance, a closure which is expected to be the last of its kind ahead of the opening of the City Rail Link.
The current measles outbreak in Tāmaki is being continually monitored, with exposure sites being updated daily on info.health.nz. The public are encouraged to track whether they’ve been in possible contact with the virus, and get up to date on any vaccinations to limit possibilities of transmission.
Auckland Council are supporting arts initiatives across the summer months, with Music in the Park kicking off in early January, and Movies in the Park following in February.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about these topics, and also asked for comment following the attack by two gunmen at Bondi Beach earlier this week.
Yesterday, the latest six-monthly survey of housing support providers under the National Homelessness Data Project, or NHDP, showed that homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled in the year to September. The report also found that 14 of the 21 agencies interviewed reported an increase in homelessness.
As well as this, Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 has taken effect. And according to an interim report into social media harm, a social media ban for children in New Zealand is worth exploring further.
And last week the Government announced the replacement of the Resource Management Act, or RMA. The coalition said its replacement will slash red tape and supercharge growth.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the Government’s new RMA reforms and a potential social media ban in New Zealand.
But first they discussed the latest report on Auckland homelessness.
The Parliament’s Workforce and Education Committee has released an interim report on an inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders face online. The government has recently announced an overhaul of the Resource Management Act and introduced two new bills in its place, the Natural Environment Bill and the Planning Bill.
For our weekly catch-up with the National Party, Producer Vihan spoke to MP Carl Bates, who is also the Deputy Chairperson of the Workforce and Education Committee, about the new findings of the interim report, the new Natural Environment Bill, and the Fast Track Approval Amendments Bill.
The government has announced the overhaul of the Resource Management Act (RMA), which will be replaced by two different bills, the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill. The RMA is set to be fully replaced by 2029.
The RMA, which has been in effect for 34 years, is polarising across the political spectrum.
In announcing the reforms, RMA Reform Minister, Chris Bishop, says that “pretty much everything” will be quicker and less costly under the new regime.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about this overhaul of the RMA.
They also discussed The Education and Workforce Committee’s interim report on the harms young people experience online, with a majority recommending a ban on social media for under-16-year-olds.
But first, they discussed the overhaul of the RMA.
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
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
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