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.
Earlier this week the City Rail Link reached a milestone, breaking through the end of its final tunnel.
The tunnel boring machine created space for the new rail system by breaking through fifteen metres of cement per day.
The machine was Named after Dame Whina Cooper, the Maori Rights activist who led the hikoi to parliament.
For this week’s segment of City Counselling, I had a chat with Shane Henderson about the City Rail Link milestone as well as the 2022 Mayoral conservation awards.
E whai ake nei, coming up on the Friday Wire, Liam had a chat with Christina Ammunson from Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori about the goal of having one million basic speakers of Te Reo in Aotearoa by 2040.
Casper continued his chats with mayoral Candidates, today, he spoke to Gary Brown.
Liam also spoke to Shane Henderson about the City Rail Link and the 2022 Mayoral Conservation awards for City Counselling.
David Liwei Shi had a chat with Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono about how a lack of mask mandates put vulnerable communities at risk.
And finally, Liam spoke with Felicia Low from the University of Auckland about perinatal mental distress.
The government's decision to lift most Covid-19 public health measures has raised concerns about the risks to vulnerable communities.
With a lack of mask restrictions and vaccination requirements in health systems, people who are immuno-compromised could be at much greater risk for having a negative reaction to Covid infection.
The Green Party in particular have been critical of the government's decision, highlighting how long covid and deaths from the disease continue to be prevalent.
To learn more, David Liwei Shi had a chat with the party's Teanau Toiono about the risks.
This is the full version of Casper’s interview with Auckland mayoral candidate Gary Brown, of which an abbreviated segment was played on the Friday Wire.
Gary Brown is the chairperson of the Hibiscus and Bays local board and is running on a centre-right platform that espouses back-to-basics common sense and community cooperation.
Welcome to the Thursday Wire! Today, Stella speaks to Cameron Leakey, Master of Public Health student at UoA, about his recent attendance at an international conference regarding a sustainable workforce for sexual health. Frances brings us Greendesk, speaking to Jess from Reparation Studio about Aotearoa’s garment industry. Casper continues his interviews with mayoral candidates, today it’s Efeso Collins. Tuva’a speaks to Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni. Finally, Stella speaks to Anna Radford from Honour The Maunga, and Paul Majurey from the Tupuna Maunga Authority, to get each group’s perspectives on land management for volcanic cones in Tāmaki Makaurau.
This is the full version of Casper’s interview with Auckland mayoral candidate Efeso Collins, of which an abbreviated segment was played on the Thursday Wire.
Efeso Collins is currently a councillor for the Manukau Ward, and his campaign for mayor has been endorsed by Labour, the Greens, and the similarly aligned local body group city vision. His flagship campaign policy is making Auckland's public transport fees-free.
The International Seabed Authority has granted permission for Canadian corporation The Metals Company to mine the sea floor in the Eastern Pacific, a move which Greenpeace sez signals the beginning of a new and destructive extractive industry that will place profit before people and biodiversity, threatening ocean health and people’s way of life.
To chat about the ISA’s decision, as well as what impacts deep sea mining could have on surrounding communities, Emilia spoke to Greenpeace Aotearoa’s seabed mining campaigner James Hita.
On this week’s installation of Eurovision, Emilia speaks to our European correspondent Cameron Adams about the war in Ukraine, elections throughout Europe, and more.
Casper speaks to Brooke van Velden about the end of the traffic light system in our weekly chat with the ACT Party deputy leader.
Emilia speaks with Liam Rutherford from NZEI Te Riu Roa about their calls to increase funding for te reo in education.
She'll also be chatting to James Hita from Greenpeace about the International Seabed Authority greenlighting deep sea mining in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Once again today we have another interview from Casper with Auckland’s Mayoral hopefuls; today he’ll be chatting with Craig Lord.
And finally, Emilia will be chatting to our European correspondent Cameron Adams on Eurovision about the war in Ukraine, elections in Sweden and Montenegro and more.
That's us for the Wednesday Wire! Enjoy Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori!
This is the full version of Casper’s interview with Auckland mayoral candidate Craig Lord, of which an abbreviated segment was played on the Wednesday Wire.
Craig Lord is a freelance media operator and former engineer, and is campaigning on a platform of overhauling council bureaucracy and council-controlled organisations and turning Auckland's CBD into a civic district.
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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