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.
For their weekly interview, News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to the ACT Party’s Karen Chhour about school teachers striking on Thursday and the Auckland Council’s budget proposal.
She also discussed the significance of Michelle Yeoh's Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards and Asian representation in the film industry with Filmmaker and Co-Founder of the Pan-Asian Screen Collective, Shuchi Kothari.
Producer Daniel Teunissen spoke to Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Ritesh Shah, about the influence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on other humanitarian crises.
He also asked philosopher Neil Durrant about his reasons not to be a stoic and why we should instead look at the philosophy of Nietzsche.
Why don't the world's other humanitarian crises see the same response as Ukraine? As beautiful as the response has been, why is there a discrepancy with people from other countries seeking refuge?
Daniel asked this question to Ritesh Shah, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland. His research bridges several disciplines — including sociology, politics, international relations, and anthropology.
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, and a continued cause of inequity for women is differences in healthcare and medical research. I spoke to Associate Professor Kelly Burrowes about this inequity, its causes, and how it can be resolved going forward.
Kia Ora, and welcome to The Wire for Rāpare Thursday!
This week on the show, Spike speaks to:
- Andrew Little on ongoing support from NZDF for regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, and the recent controversy surrounding public servants and their political neutrality code of conduct
- Associate Professor Kelly Burrowes on health inequities for women in regards to research, clinical trials and disease screening
- and Gresham Bradley from Rainbow New Zealand about Georgina Beyer and her legacy as a campaigner, politician and landmark figure
And Simon speaks to:
- Professor John Morgan about the future of Auckland
- Dr. Ayesha Scott on investing with a gender lens
- and Dr. Ulrich Speidel on his thoughts around the communication outages after Cyclone Gabrielle, and how to make infrastructure more resilient
The future of Auckland is a debate that many individuals are engaging in after the weather events of the past few months. Professor John Morgan outlines his vision for what a liveable Auckland looks like and how we go about transitioning to a city that works for all Aucklanders in the face of the climate crisis. Simon started by asking Professor Morgan if we need to rethink what is normal after the recent weather events.
By investing with a gender lens investors can send a clear message to companies that female representation in boardrooms is an important issue. Dr. Ayesha Scott is a senior lecturer at AUT and she shares how this can help with gender equity. Simon began by asking Dr. Scott what investing with a gender lens is?
Cyclone Gabrielle knocked out communication networks across parts of the North island and there have been calls that the communication network across Aotearoa is not up to standard to deal with disasters of this scale. Dr. Ulrich Speidel is a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and he shares his thoughts on the current state of communication networks across Aotearoa. Simon started by asking him why cyclone Gabrielle knocked out so many communication networks.
For their weekly interview, News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ACT’s Karen Chhour about the Health NZ chair being sacked, the government's tourism workforce plans, and School Strike 4 Climate.
Drag Queens Erika and CoCo Flash from Rainbow Storytime NZ discuss the importance of drag storytime events in Aotearoa.
For Action Station, Producer Daniel Teunissen speaks to the Area Manager of the Citizens Advice Bureau Auckland City, Kate Anderson, about Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposal to cut its funding for the service.
Our Europe correspondent Cameron Adams reported on the 'Art is a Weapon' festival in Berlin.
And Daniel interviewed Paul Callister, from the Institute of Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, about why restoring long-distance passenger rail should be a part of Aotearoa's strategy to lower its climate emissions.
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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