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.
Last week, the NZSIS released it's New Zealand Security Threat Environment report for 2023, outlining what the government sees as the biggest threats to Aotearoa's domestic security. The largest threats were outlined as violent extremism, foreign interference, and espionage.
Wire producer Rosetta spoke to Dr William Hoverd, associate professor at Massey University, about the NZSIS report, and what he believes are the risks involved with publishing potential security threats to the public.
University of Auckland Senior Lecturer for Biological Studies Dr Brendon Dunphy has spent the last 10 years studying seabirds as oceanic indicators of climate change. Wire producer Rosetta spoke to him about his research and findings.
The Labour Party announced their tax policy over the weekend. It included policies like dropping GST off fruits and vegetables and changes to Working for Families.
The Policy has received some support, but several organisations advocating for the eradication of poverty and tax reform say it does not go far enough to address the wealth gap in Aotearoa.
Caeden spoke about this with Glen Barclay, Chair of Tax Justice Aotearoa and the Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign which is a coalition of 20 organisations aiming to work for better taxes to grow revenue and have a fairer tax system.
They started by asking Glen if Labour’s announcement is fair tax policy.
Caeden also spoke to economist Susan St John for the Child Poverty Action Group’s position on the announcement. As they have been quite critical of it, they started by asking what the issues were.
Able is New Zealand's leading provider of media access services. Today is the launch of Able’s new app Earcatch.
Earcatch will provide blind and low-vision New Zealanders all-time access to synced audio description through wide streaming media platforms such as TVNZ.
Ash spoke to Able CEO Dan Buckingham about the app and what Earcatch will mean for Aotearoa’s blind and low-vision community.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Labour’s Andrew Little about New Zealand’s first National Security Strategy, the proposed Immigration (Mass Arrivals) Amendment Bill, and reports that complaints of migrant exploitation have increased under Labour.
For City Counselling, councillor for Waitākere Shane Henderson spoke about the State of the City Report comparing Auckland to nine other cities globally and the government's plans for 19 new marine protection areas for the Hauraki Gulf.
World Vision Advocacy Campaigns and Communications Manager Morgan Theakston discussed the government's proposed legislation to address modern slavery and supply chain exploitation.
Producer Olivia talked to Climate Justice Taranaki researcher, Catherine Cheung, about the recently announced BlackRock green energy investment deal.
She also spoke to Associate Professor of Law and Associate Dean of Equity at the University of Auckland Law School, Hanna Wilberg, about issues with our social welfare system.
The government recently announced a partnership with BlackRock, an American multinational investment company. BlackRock will invest two billion dollars into green energy, aiming to achieve one hundred percent renewable energy.
Olivia spoke to Climate Justice Taranaki researcher, Catherine Cheung, about their concerns with this deal and possible alternatives.
Concerns have been raised that Aotearoa’s social welfare system has problematic aspects that contribute to hardship, such as the continuation of repayable grants that are taken from people’s benefit, which advocates say are already too low.
Olivia spoke to Auckland Law School’s Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Equity, Hanna Wilberg, about the issues with our current system and where people can go for help.
Last week the government announced it was working on legislation to address modern slavery.
World Vision and Tearfund previously put out an open letter to the government calling for this.
For Get Action! News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to World Vision Advocacy Campaigns and Communications Manager Morgan Theakston about the government's proposed legislation and why it is important to address supply chain exploitation.
A recent report called ‘State of the City’ examines Auckland City in a global context, comparing it to developed cities in other countries. The report draws both comparisons and highlights potential areas of improvement.
The report was commissioned by the Committee for Auckland, in partnership with Deloitte and Auckland Council’s economic and cultural agency Tātaki Auckland Unlimited.
Arno spoke with Greater Auckland editor Matt Lowrie to find out more about the findings in the report. Arno started by asking how Matt viewed Auckland prior to reading the report.
This year ConsumerNZ launched a campaign to rid our Supermarket shelves from “Dodgy Specials”.
The campaign asked for examples of misleading pricing in our supermarket aisles.
The Labour Government has just announced new regulations around Unit Pricing that could help combat these “Dodgy Specials”
The regulations mean that all similar products will have to be displayed with a consistent unit price, making it easier to distinguish which products are cheaper by unit.
Nicholas spoke to Consumer NZ’s Jessica Walker about these new regulations, as well at ConsumerNZ’s campaign to rid New Zealand’s supermarket of quote “Dodgy Supermarket Specials”
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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