Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp, News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host Joel, spoke to her about the coalition government’s free school lunch programme, and the recent comments from Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, regarding this, the first reading of The Land Transport Management (Time of Use Charging) Amendment Bill, and changes made to free bowel cancer screening.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, Joel spoke to him about the changes to free bowel cancer screening, NCEA testing, and the Labour Party’s portfolio reshuffle.
Producer Evie spoke to the Chief Executive of Bowel Cancer NZ, Peter Huskinson, on the changes to free bowel cancer screening, and his organisation’s opinion that this move will be “a step backwards for health equity,” for Māori and Pacific people.
Joel spoke to the Director at E Tū Union, Michael Wood, about Canadian-born billionaire James Grenon purchasing 9.3% shares at NZME, which owns media outlets such as The Herald and Newstalk ZB, and the union’s concerns regarding this move.
Evie spoke to the Chair of Local Government New Zealand’s electoral reform working group, Nick Smith, on calls to make local governments four-year terms, in light of government introducing a four year parliamentary term.
And Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins us in studio to discuss major life changes for young people in Aotearoa.
Up to 1,600 University of Auckland Tertiary Education Union Members are striking today for four hours.
The Union says staff are frustrated at their “employer’s refusal to value staff.”
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Tertiary Education Union Organiser Nicole Wallace about today’s strike.
They also spoke to University of Auckland Associate Professor in Arts and Education Sean Sturm (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa) for their view on today’s strike.
Earlier this week, an investigation was launched into the school lunch programme after baked-in plastic was found in several lunches.
However, principals say the programme has already had various issues since Associate Education Minister David Seymour switched providers as a cost-saving measure last year.
And the coalition government is set to introduce legislation that would give the option of 4 year parliamentary terms.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy LeaderCarmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
The United States has frequently been in the news cycle recently for the Trump administration’s unstable foreign policy decisions.
This includes their decisions to cut 90% of USAID foreign contracts and to pause military aid to Ukraine following a fiery meeting between the leaders of both countries.
University of Otago’s Professor Richard Jackson describes President Trump’s behaviours as a threat to global order and security.
For International Desk this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to him about the instability of United States foreign policy and the global ramifications of this.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following his clash with US President, Donald Trump, has once initiated discussions to move forward a minerals deal with his US counterpart.
During the original discussions, Trump, alongside US Vice President, JD Vance, berated Zelenskyy, which resulted in the Ukrainian President walking out of the Oval Office without signing a minerals deal between the two nations, which the White House says is a precursor to peace talks.
This all comes as the US has abruptly halted US military aid to Ukraine.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the honorary academic and retired Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland, Stephen Hoadley, about this clash, and his opinion that Trump will do a u-turn and start providing military aid to Ukraine, despite the US aligning closer to Russia.
They started off by asking how important this minerals deal is regarding the relationship between the US and Ukraine.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour party Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about recent issues with the school lunch programme and the introduction of legislation that would change parliamentary terms to 4 years.
For International Desk, they speak to Professor Richard Jackson from the University of Otago about the instability of United States foreign policy.
And they speak to Nicole Wallace from the Tertiary Education Union and Sean Sturm (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa), Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, about today’s strike.
For City Counselling, News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to Councillor Shane Henderson about Auckland Council recommitting $15 million in funding to restore the historic St James Theatre, and plans to convert over half of Takapuna Golf Course into wetlands.
They also speak to Retired Associate Professor in International Relations at the University of Auckland, Stephen Hoadley, about Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Velenskyy and US President, Donald Trump’s spat at the Oval Office, and Zelenskyy pursuing a mineral trade between the two nations.
On 1 March 1954, the Castle Bravo nuclear bomb was detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands as part of a nuclear weapons test.
The bomb, which was 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, required the atolls 200 indigenous inhabitants to be relocated to the Rongerik Atoll before being allowed to return in the 1960s.
However, has had devastating impacts on the Islands ecosystem and has created lasting health impacts that Marshall islanders face today.
As such, Greenpeace have issued a call to the US government to pay reparations to the Marshallese people for the impacts of nuclear testing and to comply with Marshallese demands for recognition and nuclear justice.
Oto spoke to Shiva Gounden from Greenpeace Australia Pacific to discuss their calls for reparations, as well as the rainbow warrior voyage, which will be travelling to the marshall islands to conduct research on the impacts of nuclear testing.
As global temperatures continue to rise through unprecedented global warming, the risk of urban and wildfires continues to expand. Many countries continue to fight increasing global warming by phasing out the sale of petrol cars. These countries include most in the European Union, and additionally Canada and China are expecting to do so by the 2030’s.
However, with the United States leaving the Paris Agreement following president Trump’s inauguration, the future of mitigating global warming becomes more unlikely. A temperature rise of four degrees is projected should we not take any action to reduce it.
Producer Sasha spoke with Professor Bruce Glavovic from Massey University about these issues in addition to urban fire planning in New Zealand. We talked about how we can avoid urban fire scenarios and the world’s state of global warming.
Recently an open letter was sent by 100 Christian leaders across Aotearoa to the government, calling for humanitarian visas to be granted to Palestinians in Gaza who have family in New Zealand.
The letter’s delivery to parliament grounds will be accompanied by nationwide Gaza ceasefire pilgrimages held today on Ash Wednesday, symbolising the walk from Bethlehem to Jerusalem and stopping to pray at points that also symbolise Israeli checkpoints in the West bank.
The open letter’s writing and delivery are part of a wider movement in Aotearoa spearheaded by Aotearoa Christians for Peace in Palestine - a cross-denominational group of Christians in support of Palestinians in the occupied territories looking to counteract the Christian Zionist Evangelical movement.
Oto spoke to Esmé Hulbert-Putt - a coordinator at Christians United for Refuge Aotearoa, to discuss the open letter, the ceasefire pilgrimages and why Christians should support the Palestinian people.
For their weekly catch up with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Ricardo Menendez March about the 4th government investigation into school lunches, The proposal to cut Te Reo Māori resource teachers and the Greens call to the government to rule out joining AUKUS.
He spoke to Esmé Hulbert-Putt from Aotearoa Christians for Peace in Palestine about the open letter from Christian leaders calling for humanitarian visas for Palestinians, as well as the Gaza ceasefire pilgrimages that will be happening across the motu later today.
And he spoke to Shiva Gounden from Greenpeace Aotearoa about Greenpeace’s call for reparations from the United States to the Marshall Islands for the impacts of the Castle Bravo nuclear bomb’s detonation in the Bikini Atoll in the 1950s.
Sasha spoke with Professor Bruce Glavovic from Massey University about Urban Fire planning and Global Warming.
And he also spoke to Professor Robert Patman, from the University of Otago about recent global political developments.
Last week, the council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Committee said they would be seeking to implement a number of recommendations that improve emergency readiness for disabled populations.
Following a hui last year where community members were invited to bring forward issues relating to future planning for natural disasters, Sara was interested to hear about how the council is taking suggestions on board.
As well, Auckland Council has been considering proposals to mitigate flood risks around the Wairau catchment, including one which would see the reduction of the size of the Takapuna Golf Course, to convert the space into a flood catchment.
Producer Sara spoke to Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson on both of these topics, firstly by asking him to discuss the desired outcomes relating to emergency preparedness for disabled people, and the council’s first steps to implementation
Zohran Mamdani has all but won the Democratic Primary in New York City after key competitor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
Mamdani will now be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
His campaign was built on cost-of-living, where Mamdani presented himself as an authentic, Democratic Socialist, grassroots campaign leader.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to 95bFM reporter and South Asia correspondent Sanat Singh about Momdani’s win, what this means for the communities he represents, and where to from here.
A reported 131,000 submissions were made on the Regulatory Standards Bill.
The Bill, proposed by the ACT party, includes a set of principles outlining “responsible regulation.” Notably, it does not include any mention of either version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Last weekend, hundreds of Destiny Church members marched on Queen Street in a rally that they called “in defence of faith, flag, and family.”
And the Labour Party has criticised the framing of a poll question by the Taxpayers Union/Curia on whether or not Cook Islanders should retain automatic New Zealand citizenship.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Recently the Green Party commissioned independent legal advice to look into the government’s $200 million investment in new gas fields that was carried out last month and found out that the investment was in breach of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS).
NZ First MP Shane Jones recently announced that he’d be drafting a member's bill to force Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement, which would prevent hapū from negotiating separate commercial redresses and remove any reference to hapū sovereignty from the settlement terms.
And the Green party recently issued a call to the New Zealand government to condemn the US strikes on Iranian Nuclear facilities, almost a week after Iran and Israel had both been trading missile strikes between each other.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Hūhana Lyndon to get the party’s take on all of these issues
Last week, Statistics Minister Shane Reti announced plans to scrap the nationwide census moving forward. The census is the largest statistical survey done in Aotearoa, and provides the bulk of population data used in research and decision-making. Reti says the census is “no longer financially viable” and will be replaced with a combination of smaller annual surveys and administrative data.
While the change looks good on paper, there are concerns around how the change in data collection could affect representation of marginalised and minority groups. Census data tends to be more protected from bias than administrative data and smaller surveys, meaning there are more opportunities for misrepresentation. Some statisticians are particularly concerned about the potential exclusion of marginalised rural communities.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked him about the census decision and its implications on marginalised and minority groups.
Associate Health Minister, David Seymour, has recently announced changes to Psilocybin and Melatonin availability.
Psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms, will be available for certain patients suffering from poor mental health outcomes. Melatonin, which is used for insomnia and jetlag, is set to be available over the counter.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about this move, and the potential accessibility concerns with accessing these medications.
They also discussed taxpayers set to be funding newly-funded cancer medicines for private facilities.
Finally, they discuss opposition parties criticised Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, over a lack of transparency regarding the effectiveness of boot camps for youth offenders, especially as boot camps have received a boost of $30 million, despite the pilot programme still being ongoing.
But first, they discussed Psilocybin and Melatonin.
Last Saturday, over 2,000 protests took place across all 50 American States against President Donald Trump.
The protests coincided with Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the US Army, and they served as a direct response to the military parade in Washington, DC.
The organisers of the protests say they aimed to reject “authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarisation of our democracy.”
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Jeremy Pressman, Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut about the protests and the backlash towards them from the Trump administration.
Housing intensification is a key priority for Auckland Council as Auckland's population is forecast to reach 2.3 million by 2050.
But as planning for growth continues, some Auckland residents have expressed concern about the approval of developments in areas on flood plains or particularly prone to natural disasters.
With Kāinga Ora selling homes as ‘high risk investments’ in areas which were impacted by flooding in recent years, and 15 percent of all granted consents for new builds by Auckland Council being on floodplains, I spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about how the council is taking into account these issues for the coming years.
95bFM 
