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.
On Wednesday, 24th July, the final report from the Abuse in State Care Inquiry was made public, detailing abuse within and by Aotearoa’s state care system. Of particular note in the inquiry were the impacts on Aotearoa’s Māori, Pasifika, and disabled populations, who experienced on average further hardship than other groups.
The final report makes several recommendations to parliament to ensure meaningful change in Aotearoa’s state care system. Tuesday Wire host Castor discusssed the expectations, impact, and potential outcomes of the abuse in state care report on Pacific communities with Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Auckland, Doctor Tamasailauu Sualii.
Last week, the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill passed through its second reading.
The bill would reverse changes made to increase Māori representation in local government by reverting the Māori ward rules to restore the referendum mechanism.
This would mean if any council wanted to establish a Māori ward, and a petition that had been signed by 5% of people was presented, a binding referendum would have to be held.
Wire host Sofia caught up with ActionStation Director, Kassie Hartendorp, (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) about this and their campaign to keep Māori wards.
Yesterday the Abuse in Care Inquiry was released to the public. It came with a set of formal recommendations, including a suggestion for a formal apology from the government, compensation, and new legislation to do with mandatory reporting.
Labour Leader Chris Hipkins also acknowledged Labour’s role in beginning the inquiry and their response to the 2021 interim report, stating, “We didn't do enough and the ball now falls to you and your government.” He added that “this must be bigger than politics.”
And Data released last week showed the number of benefit sanctions being issued by the government is up 50% compared to this time last year. This has been met with criticism but the Minister for Social Development says the sanctions are because the government is serious about getting people into work.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asks about both of these topics, as well as a bill that was dumped yesterday because the Minister failed to turn up to its first reading.
They started by asking about the number of benefit sanctions.
United States President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 Presidential race. This came after repeated calls from supporters, who were worried that they would lose the election if Biden was the Democratic nominee.
The presumed replacement for Biden has been current Vice President Kamala Harris, and supporters have rallied to support her this week.
Wire Host spoke to Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland’s Dr Timothy Fagden about Biden stepping down and the support shown to Kamala Harris so far.
Last Friday 19 July the International Court of Justice found Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories to be illegal under international law. For the first time it amounted what Israel is doing to apartheid against the Palestinian People.
The Court’s opinion is non-binding but can carry immense weight in the international community. It has added to pressure for Israel to end their siege on Gaza.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Kate Stone from Justice For Palestine about the ruling and New Zealand’s consequent obligations as a United Nations member state.
Greenpeace says they “are raising the alarm” on Fonterra’s role in derailing international Climate Action.
This comes after the Netherlands-based Changing Markets Foundations released a report last week outlining the actions of 22 of the biggest meat and dairy companies across four continents. The report highlights Fonterra and the New Zealand livestock industry as key players in a strategy to delay regulation of agriculture emissions.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Greenpeace spokesperson Sinead O’Flynn about the report and Greenpeace’s concerns.
They started by asking about Fonterra’s role in preventing international climate action.’
Former Green Party MP Darleen Tana has been under investigation and public scrutiny after allegations of migrant worker exploitation emerged at E Cycles, a business owned by Tana’s husband.
After the allegations surfaced, Tana was dismissed from the Green Party, but maintained her innocence, saying she had limited involvement in her husband’s business and that the allegations made against her were false.
In response, an independent investigation into the allegations and Tana’s involvement in her husband’s business was launched, which the Green Party released an executive summary of last week.
For their weekly catch-up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez-March to discuss the executive summary, it’s findings, as well as Tana’s response.
A recent report detailing complaints to the health and disability commissioner about disability support services revealed that the sector suffered from inadequate care standards, poor management of resources and the abuse of those in care.
One of the suggestions made in the report was that better funding and staffing was needed to improve standards in disability care, based on complaints from workers in the sector that understaffing was impacting their ability to provide adequate care.
Oto spoke to Peter Reynolds, CEO of the New Zealand Disability Support Network to discuss staffing shortages in disability care, and the solutions needed to address it.
Following last week’s major IT outage which caused major disruptions for flights, banking and trading, questions were raised about whether cybersecurity should be concentrated in a few companies’ hands. The power outage highlighted governments’ overreliance on tech companies and concerns surrounding personal online information.
Sasha spoke with Gehan Gunasekara, an associate professor of commercial law from the University of Auckland, to discuss the legal and liability implications that come from last week’s power outage.
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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