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.
Early this morning, Queen Elizabeth the Second passed away at age 96.
The queen was the head of state for the United Kingdom, Aotearoa New Zealand, and multitudes of other nations throughout the commonwealth.
She originally ascended to the throne on the Sixth of February 1952, making her the longest reigning monarch at seventy years.
The United Kingdom is undergoing a day of mourning ahead of her funeral in ten days time, however the full extent of it’s impact on New Zealand is currently unknown.
Considering her appearance on coins and 20 dollar notes, an economic reworking could soon be in place.
However, the end of the mourning period could possibly see conversations rise on New Zealands need for a head of state.
The possibility of becoming a republic is not unique to our country, with other nations also attempting to understand where this could take them in the future.
For some commentary, Liam had a chat with Stephen Hoadley, an international relations professor from the University of Auckland.
Liam spoke to Stephen Hoadley from the University of Auckland about the passing of Queen Elizabeth the Second. We had a chat about what this means and what could change.
They also had a chat with Pippa Coom on our regular city counselling segment to learn about the extension of the White Lady Food Truck’s License and the efforts to get people back into Auckland's City Centre
And finally Liam spoke to Steve Greenwood from Drive EV about the current state of electric vehicles for World Electric Vehicle Day.
Stella speaks to Chris Wilson, Senior Lecturer of Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland about his recently published work in which his colleague James Halpin infiltrated Action Zelandia, a far-right extremist group in Aotearoa. Tuva’a has his weekly catch-up with Labour’s Andrew Little and Frances brings us Greendesk, speaking to PhD candidate from the university of Otago Nick Foster about his work in pest eradication. Finally Stella speaks to Shrutika Gunanayagam from Able, a media access trust, about Global Literacy Day (today!), and how kids who watch captioned content are more literate.
On this week's installation of Eurovision, Emilia spoke to our European correspondent Cameron Adams about the war in Ukraine, oil and gas supplies, and dinosaur bones.
On the Tuesday Wire, Christina spoke to Viviana Becker from the University of Auckland about the rejection of the Chilean constitutional reforms and what it means politically and for the people of Chile.
For a legal view of the referendum and what comes next, Emilia chatted to Victoria University's Joel Colon-Rios in Santiago.
On Tuesday, Boris Johnson visited the Queen at her Balmoral estate to hand over his formal resignation, after former foreign secretary Liz Truss was elected by members of the Conservative Party to replace him as the next Prime Minister of the UK.
To find out who Liz Truss is and what Britons think about her appointment, Emilia spoke to Neal Curtis from the University of Auckland.
This weekend's Sunday programme on TVNZ exposed damning allegations of sub-standard living conditions and intimidating behaviour from emergency housing providers on Rotorua's Fenton Street, which is home to several motels used for this purpose. National joined Te Pāti Māori yesterday in demanding an independent investigation into the millions of dollars the government has poured into emergency housing.
Christina spoke to Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick for a local perspective on the crisis.
Nationwide demand for plasma donations now exceeds that for blood. Yesterday Sky Tower lit up gold to highlight the urgent need for plasma donors nationwide, with the New Zealand Blood Service urging Kiwis to give up an hour and a half of their time to give some of this life-saving "liquid gold" and save lives.
Emily spoke to the National Communications and Marketing Manager at New Zealand Blood Service, Asuka Burge, about the agency's new plasma campaign and how you can get involved.
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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