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.
Australia’s national under-16 social media ban will be officially enforced as of Friday next week, with huge disruptions for rangatahi across the ditch. The Response has included two Australian teens, Noah Jones and Macy Neyland, backed by rights organisation, Digital Freedom Project, who have challenged the legislation in the high court with a staunch response from their federal government.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke with Dr. Alex Beattie, Senior Lecturer in Information Management at Victoria University of Wellington, about his concerns for how the legislation regards rangatahi and their digital rights, and the likelihood of Aotearoa following suit.
A project funded by the Health Research Council (HRC) has spotlighted the significant gap in support for Asian rangatahi who’ve experienced sexual violence in Aotearoa.
Research investigated the experiences of professionals and carers - from counsellors, psychologists, educators, social workers, legal and medical practitioners and more from across the motu.
Increased cultural competency, safety, and support emerged as common themes to a more cohesive cross-sector approach to improve support for survivors.
I spoke to the initiative’s lead researcher, Dr. Ying Wang, Research Fellow at the Centre for Arts and Social Transformation at the University of Auckland about this kaupapa.
High levels of nitrate have been found in water supplies in New Zealand, especially in rural regions such as Canterbury, these levels of nitrate can pose significant dangers, especially to children.
Traditional nitrate removal methods produce carbon dioxide and other waste material, Producer Flo spoke to University of Auckland Civil and Environmental Engineering Associate Professor Wei-Qin Zhuang about the dangers of nitrate, his newly developed methodology and its potential usage in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts have been utilised since 2012 to treat offences fueled by drug use or committed by people in active addiction.
Offenders who would have otherwise faced up to three years in prison can instead commit to rehabilitation programs and community work to aim to address the core issues of these offenders.
Amidst rising levels of methamphetamine use in New Zealand, the courts have shown success at rehabilitating offenders in the community and stopping reoffending.
Producer Flo spoke to Dr Katherine Doolin, Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Auckland about the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts, the upcoming conference on AODT courts and her thoughts about the future of drug-crime related policy in Aotearoa New Zealand.
On Monday, the government announced that they’d be introducing a rates rises cap, which is expected to be legislated by the end of 2026. The cap would be a minimum of 2% and a maximum of 4% nationwide.
When talking about the reasoning for the introduction of a rates cap, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that ratepayers in New Zealand were “fed up”.
Along with this, The Labour Party announced that if they were to be elected in next year’s election, they would offer doctors and nurse-practitioners low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones. In their policy, Chris Hipkins stated they would hand out up to 50 loans per year, which would be up to 90% of the cost of buying into a practice, capped at $500,000 dollars. They also specified they’d be prioritising areas that had no general practitioners or practices with closed or partially closed books.
And last week, the Government announced a proposed major shake-up of local council. Where Mayors of cities and district councils would take over the duties of regional councils.
For our Weekly Catchup with The Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the Government’s regional council’s announcement and Labour’s low-interest loans for family GP practices.
But first, they discussed The National Party’s rates rises cap.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about The National Party’s newly announced rates rises cap, The Labour Party announcing they’d be providing low-interest loans for family GP practices, and last week’s Government announcement that they'd be majorly shaking up local government.
Producer Flo spoke with Dr Katherine Doolin, a Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Auckland, to talk about the effectiveness of Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Courts, the upcoming conference on AODT courts and hopes for their further implementation in the future.
Max spoke with Peter Shepherd, a Professor in the department of molecular medicine at the University of Auckland, to discuss the World Health Organisation listing Ozempic-style weight loss drugs as a recommendation to combat obesity.
And Flo spoke with Wei-Qin Zhuang, an Associate Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Auckland, to discuss a new methodology to remove nitrate from water supplies.
According to new guidelines by the World Health Organisation, Ozempic-style weight loss drugs are now recommended to combat obesity.
The recommendations in the new guidelines are conditional for now, as the WHO have emphasised that medication alone can’t tackle the worldwide problem of obesity. They’ve also suggested behavioural therapies such as changes to diet and exercise. Overall, the WHO says these medications could play an important role in tackling a condition that affects millions of people globally.
To break down this announcement by the WHO, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke with Peter Shepherd, a Professor in the department of molecular medicine at the University of Auckland.
Recently, the government has announced some major reforms to how regional councils operate, with regional councillors proposed to be replaced by boards made up of city and regional mayors, and potentially even Crown-appointed representatives, called combined territories boards, or CTBs.
As well as this, Health Minister, Simeon Brown, has called for the decentralisation of Health New Zealand, with the expectation that the entity focuses on deliveries closer to the front-line, additionally expecting a plan to do so by the end of the year.
For our weekly catch up with the National Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to MP Stuart Smith about these topics, starting with the regional council.
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A new study by the University of Auckland has shown rising levels of burnout within the Pacific community.
The research is the first large-scale study to examine burnout within New Zealand-born Pasifika adults between the age of 18 to 65.
The study found that 90 per cent of the adults experienced burnout, with almost 50 per cent experiencing burnout repeatedly.
Producer Vihan spoke to University of Auckland Doctoral Candidate Asetoa Sam Pilisi about his study on burnout within New Zealand-born Pacific communities.
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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