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 big 18 currently means the chance to vote, especially relevant when like Caeden, you’re turning 18 in the middle of a voting period.
They chatted with former Co-Director of Make it 16 Sanat Singh about why keeping the vote age 18 is not a good idea, and why voter turn-out is currently so low amongst 18 to 25-year-olds.
Full disclosure: They were part of Make it 16 with Sanat but couldn’t pass up on an opportunity to talk about the voting age on the day they're finally able to vote.
Earlier this year Green Party MP Chloe Swarbrick had an alcohol harm minimisation bill voted down by Parliament which would have limited alcohol advertising in sports amongst other measures.
Since today is their 18th bday, Caeden spoke to Chloe about her bill and the drinking culture that kicks in with the drinking age.
They started by asking if Aotearoa has a drinking culture problem.
Family for Every Child, VOYCE - Whakarongo Mai and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren have come together to collaborate with Tick 4 Kids, a movement designed to stimulate conversation around what must be done to improve the lives of children and young people in Aotearoa.
Today on the Wire Beth spoke to Christina Howe from Grandparents Raising Grandchildren about Tick 4 Kids’ scorecard, a survey that Family, VOYCE and GRG contributed to, that asks political parties which policy solutions surrounding care and protection they will implement if elected.
Other scorecards have been developed across other liveable incomes including housing, health, education, belonging, climate action and youth justice.
For their weekly catch-up, News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins speak to Green Party Co-Leader James Shaw about violence against political candidates and farming in a climate-crisis world.
She also spoke to PhD candidate in New Zealand Politics at the University of Otago Michael Swanson about the MMP system 30 years on.
Arno spoke to researcher in public health at the University of Otago, Dr Anja Mizdrak about research modelling alcohol advertising.
He also spoke to general Manager of Economic and Environmental Insights and Statistics at Stats NZ, Jason Attewell about record high temperatures in New Zealand.
And he spoke to optometrist Andrew Yu about people foregoing eye health checks due to costs.
A modelling study from the University of Otago has found that increasing alcohol taxes, reducing its availability, and banning marketing would result in significant health gains for New Zealanders.
To find out more about these health gains and what policies could be implemented to reduce alcohol harm, Arno spoke to Dr Anja Mizdrak, a senior research fellow at the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago Wellington.
Arno started our interview by asking what the purpose of the study was.
Newly released data has shown eight of ten of the warmest years in recorded NZ history have been in the last decade. Among other freak weather events this year, concerns are raising about climate change and the effect we are having on our environment.
To find out more, Arno spoke to Jason Attewell, General Manager of Economic and Environmental Insights and Statistics at Stats NZ.
Arno started our interview by asking how long climate data has been recorded for.
This election year marks 30 years since Aotearioa changed to a mixed member proportional system or MMP.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to PhD candidate in New Zealand Politics at the University of Otago Michael Swanson about what impact this change has had on politics in Aotearoa.
She started off the interview asking about what MMP is and how it differs from our previous electoral system, First Past the Post.
Last Election, The Auckland Central seat was won by the Green Party’s Chlöe Swarbrick, the second Green MP to win an electorate seat.
Recent polling has shown National Candidate Mahesh Muralidhar only two percent behind the incumbent Chlöe Swarbrick.
In the lead up to the election, Nicholas will be speaking to the Auckland Central Candidates from Labour, National, The ACT Party and The Green Party about issues facing this electorate.
Nicholas asked the candidates questions about housing security and affordability, public transport policy, relationship with the Auckland Council, and climate resilience.
In this interview, Nicholas speaks to Auckland Central Candidate Felix Poole from the ACT Party.
The pricing of New Zealand produced food has been put into the spotlight as there have been reports of New Zealand products being sold for less money overseas.
A new Grocery Commisioner has been appointed to look into matters regading the supply and retailing of Food in New Zealand.
Nicholas spoke to Emeritus professor of nutrion at AUT Elaine Rush about New Zealand’s Import and export of food.
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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