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.
It has been 10 years since the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh that killed over a thousand garment workers. It was seen as a flashpoint in the fast fashion industry and led to some change. But fast fashion is still popular and workers and the environment are still exploited by the industry. Mike Lee is an associate professor in marketing at Auckland university, and he discussed the Rana Plaza collapse as well as why fast fashion is still popular even though more is now known about the conditions many workers face. Mike began by discussing what happened in Bangladesh in 2013.
Spike speaks to Associate Professor Stephen Hoadley about Biden's official 2024 campaign announcement, and how the election cycle is currently shaping up.
Spike speaks to Max Boraman, Professor of Politics at Massey University, about his recent piece on the Aotearoa union movement of the late 60s to 80s, and how they were able to combat a previous cost of living crisis.
Spike speaks to author and inequality researcher Max Rashbrooke about the new IRD report on the effective tax rates of the wealthiest families in Aotearoa.
In Aotearoa, drug checking is a free, legal, and confidential service that aims to help people find out what is actually in their drugs so they can make informed decisions about if, when, and how they take them
Last week, the NZ Drug Foundation released its 2022 drug checking data report.
Jack Cormack-Neto spoke to Principal Science Advisor, Emily Hughes, about the impact of their drug checking clinics.
A massive study has been undertaken involving tens of thousands of accounting questions across hundreds of university campuses. These questions were fed into ChatGPT AI software, and the answers marked by the professors as though they were student’s answers.
The results were quite astonishing.
Arno spoke to Ruth Dimes, Business masters programme director at the University of Auckland, to find out more about the study and to see how real humans stack up against our AI counterparts. Arno started by asking about the aims of the study.
The SpaceX Starship rocket launch, which led to a subsequent explosion, can hardly be called a failure. Scientists involved learned a lot about rocket design through the partial launch, and even NASA has lauded the mission as a success.
Elon Musk has been accused of ignoring advice around the launchpad design that might have led to the failure of the rocket to complete its circumnavigation around the earth, but this remains as conjecture in the astrophysics community.
Arno spoke to University of Auckland astrophysicist Richard Easther to find out more about the launch: to find out what went wrong, and what went right. Arno started by asking if the launch was expected to fail.
AUKUS - a security pact signed between Australia, the UK and the US is a contentious topic for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Due to its pro-nuclear sentiments, New Zealand has been inherently hesitant to join the pact because of the impact it could have on New Zealand’s diplomatic relations with its Asia-Pacific allies.
Anti-AUKUS sentiments have dominated the political discourse around the topic, with many academics and politicians past and present against the pact because of the geopolitical tensions it could muster. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark called the AUKUS deal an “entanglement” that New Zealand shouldn’t get itself into.
To receive more input, Andre Fa'aoso spoke with Doctor Arama Rata, an independent researcher and spokesperson for Te Kuaka, a group that advocates for progressive foreign policy.
Host Andre Fa'aoso spoke with Doctor Arama Rata about the domestic tensions around New Zealand joining the AUKUS security-pact.
Jack Cormack-Neto chatted to Principal Science Advisor at the NZ Drug Foundation, Emily Hughes, about what they found at drug checking during 2022.
On The Green Desk, Jack Marshall interviewed Marine Ecologist Aaron Egerhe about the economic value of kelp forests.
Producer Alex Bonham spoke to Chief Executive Officer of Ecomatters Environment Trust, Carla Gee and senior organic waste advisor at the Auckland Council Elise O’Brien, about the potential for food scraps to improve soils and avoid tonnes emissions each year.
Producer Arno spoke to Richard Easther, astrophysicist at the University of Auckland, about the SpaceX Starship launch.
Arno also spoke with Ruth Dimes, Business masters programme director at the University of Auckland, about a study comparing students performance to ChatGPT AI.
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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