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.
From hiring freezes to canning Te Aka Whai Ora, we've seen a significant shake-up of our public health system under this current administration, and now, Minister of Health Simeon Brown has put forward further amendments to change Health New Zealand's purpose, objectives, and functions.
Wednesday Wire Producer Emmanuel spoke to George Laking, an Associate Oncology Professor at the University of Auckland, over his concerns that the reforms will degrade access to preventative care and worsen health outcomes.
Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu was greeted by United States President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss many things, including ending the war in Gaza. After a lengthy talk, the leaders announced to the press the conditions they had come up with to offer to Hamas, despite no Palestinian or Hamas officials being present.
The proposal calls for an immediate ceasefire, a swap of hostages held by Hamas and prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territory and demands that Hamas immediately disarms and renounces any governance in the strip. The US President’s plan would also establish a temporary governing board that would be headed by Trump himself and would include former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Trump then announced Hamas had three or four days to respond to the deal, and Netenyahu promised that if Hamas were to reject the deal, he would “finish the job” in Gaza.
To talk about the peace proposal led by Donald Trump and if it brings the war in Gaza any closer to ending, Producer Max spoke to co-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa John Minto and retired professor in international relations Stephen Hoadley.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin talks about a crafty way to fix broken bones, an unusual surgery to restore vision, and a long extinct New Zealand penguin species.
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Sara spoke to MP Carl Bates about the Holidays Act overhaul, submissions on the Electoral Amendment Bill, and the government’s decision not to recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly,
For our new segment Green World, Sara spoke with climate commissioner Dr Andy Reisinger about this week’s Overshoot Conference and the future of global climate action, as well as University of Auckland’s Sasha Maher on global and national climate investment and solutions.
Wire Producer Jasmine spoke with Dr. Megan Boston about the government's updated Earthquake-prone building regulation
Yesterday, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk announced changes to the earthquake-prone building regulations that will remove nearly 3000 buildings from the classification register.
Previously, buildings would have to meet a 34%NBS (new building standard) threshold to predict likelihoods of withstanding seismic action. The new system instead prioritises identifying structures that pose a higher risk to human life. Alterations seek to measure risk in a manner that balances safety with more affordable and realistic remediation action for existing properties.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Dr. Megan Boston, Senior Lecturer for Civil Engineering, at the University of Waikato about what the new quake-prone building regulations mean for Aotearoa’s community safety and heritage.
For Dear Science today, Sara and Jasmine speak to Cushla McGoverin about using hot glue guns to mend bones, tooth-in-eye surgery, and a large penguin species went extinct in Aotearoa 3 million years ago.
Welcome to the latest addition to the Tuesday Wire: Green World! A segment run by bfm news team-ers Sara, Leilani & Max, Green World will dive into the eco-future — uncovering everything from niche research topics, strange and interesting tech innovations, and the latest environmental developments from across the globe.
This week, the first ever Overshoot Conference will take place in Austria, where climate experts from around the world will come together to discuss how climate targets can be recovered as we head toward exceeding 1.5 degrees of warming.
New Zealand Climate Change Commissioner Dr Andy Reisinger, who will be attending the event, says the global capacity to respond to this urgent issue “depends on collective social and political will”.
Last week’s UN Climate Summit also saw numerous political leaders speaking to global climate commitments, in particular in the lead up to COP30.
US President Donald Trump denounced scientific evidence on the urgency of climate change, Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo called for urgent climate action.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand spokesperson Carolyn Schwalger called for refreshed commitments to international cooperation on climate solutions, and Albanese specifically called out isolationist decision-making across the globe.
In the first interview with Dr Andy Reisinger, Host Sara talks about the Overshoot Conference and global climate action.
When it comes to a global response to climate impacts, UN Chief of International development Achim Steiner has said that an observed increase of national defence spending has detracted from critical investment.
University of Auckland Management and International Business professor Sasha Maher who has engaged with research on climate finance, spoke to Sara about the financial obligation of individual states, towards climate solution.
The government has announced their plan to repeal the Holidays Act in an effort to make the application of leave entitlements for workers easier to calculate — an issue which has been estimated to have resulted in more than $2 billion in remediation payments to workers for miscalculated entitlements.
But critics including from Labour and the Greens say the changes will see some workers lose protections, especially when their hours defer from the traditional employment arrangement.
Submissions on the Electoral Amendment Bill reveal that many New Zealanders believe the changes will disenfranchise voters and negatively impact democratic participation.
The proposed changes in the bill include removing the ability to enrol on voting day, banning prisoners from voting, and disallowing the provision of food and drink at election booths.
Over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ announced that New Zealand does not officially recognise Palestinian statehood, going against the decisions of countries like Australia, the UK and Canada.
Peters said that, at this stage, such a decision might legitimise Hamas, but that the government will take a ‘when, not if’ approach to the issue.
Wire Host Sara spoke with National MP Carl Bates about all of these topics, starting with the Holidays Act
Last week, US President Donald Trump had an outburst of criticism towards the UN. Despite the why and what of these criticisms by the right wing leader, he is not the first to levy criticisms against the organisation and its structures.
Particularly, the inability for the organisation to enact, oversee and rule on meaningful change, as well as the powers invested in an outdated security council, have been subject of significant concern, especially in the 21st century.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Senior Tutor in Law at the University of Auckland, Dr Justin Sobion, about the UN’s glaring issues, and potential fixes.
Last Week, at a United Nations Climate Summit, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters pointed to what he called the “elephant in the room” - that in order to rein in emissions, the top 4 countries in terms of emissions, at 60% of the world’s emissions, must do their part.
While there is validity to these claims, and they offer a welcome contrast to the Climate Denialism of leaders such as US President Donald Trump, there are still concerns over what these claims may mean in terms of Aotearoa’s own responsibilities and approach to climate change and action.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Senior Lecturer in accountancy and Finance at the University of Otago, Dr Sebastian Gehricke, about these claims, and how they may reflect the Government’s approach to Aotearoa’s emissions responsibilities.
Over the weekend, at the United Nations General Assembly, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that New Zealand would not formally recognise a Palestinian state.
This follows weeks of the Government not explicitly laying out what their plans were regarding recognising Palestine, unlike countries such as France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, who all announced they would be recognising a Palestinian state.
The government’s decision to not recognise a Palestinian state has received criticisms from the opposition parties, international relations experts, and pro-Palestinian advocates.
For our weekly catchup, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about the country’s decision not to recognise Palestinian statehood.
We also discussed the government overhauling the Holidays Act.
The changes include a shift to hours-based accrual system for annual leave and a 12.5% Leave Compensation Payment for casual employees as opposed to accruing leave.
Joel also spoke to Simon about this topic, specifically about its impact on casual and part-time employees.
But first, we discussed the Government’s decision not to recognise Palestine.
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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