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.
Animal Rights Activists form The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses are opposing the holding of the Taranaki Cup, due to the sports' complications surrounding horse health and wellbeing. Joe speaks to Elin Arbez from The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses on the impact of horse racing and their protest against the holding of the Taranaki Cup.
Aneeka Moheed interviews Liam Rutherford, President of NZEI Te Riu Roa, about pay parity between teachers across different sectors and how this is negatively impacting the early childhood sector.
The news surrounding New Zealand's MIQ system and journalist Charlotte Bellis has led the ACT Party to call for an immediate end to MIQ. News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to Brooke about this call, as well as what the ACT Party believes New Zealand's response to the Ukraine crisis should be.
With tonnes of edible food being thrown out yearly, food waste is a massive issue to tackle. Leading the fight against food waste are academics and organisations aiming to reduce the burden on our planet.
Reporter Christina Huang spoke with Ellen Fogarty from Flinders University in Adelaide, about a recent study she conducted on food waste recycling in the hospitality sector. She also spoke to some of the people leading the fight against food waste: Nick Loosley, founder of Everybody Eats; Madeleine Cull from For the Love of Bees; and Gavin Findlay, CEO of KiwiHarvest. They discussed their vision for reducing food waste in Aotearoa and society's shifting mindset towards sustainability.
Today on the Wednesday Wire, we start with Dear Science with Allan Blackman joins us live. Christina Huang and Allan chat about robots performing surgery, fossils that are over two hundred thousand years old, and a bubble that did not pop for over a year.
Jemima Huston speaks to ACT Party Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden about her party calling for an end to MIQ, as well as what she thinks New Zealand’s response to the Ukraine crisis should be.
Aneeka Moheed talks to Liam Rutherford from NZEI Te Riu Roa about pay parity in the education sector and the problems for early childhood educators.
Jemima interviews Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni about the latest announcement of $121 million worth of Covid-19 relief funding for the arts and culture sector.
Christina looks into food waste and how people are tackling it in Aotearoa and Australia. She speaks to Ellen Fogarty from Flinders University in Adelaide, about a recent study she conducted on food waste recycling in the hospitality sector. Christina also talks to some of the people leading the fight against food waste: Nick Loosley, founder of Everybody Eats; Madeleine Cull from For the Love of Bees; and Gavin Findlay, CEO of KiwiHarvest.
Today, the government announced that $121 million of relief funding for the Arts and Culture sector had been made available to sector workers. News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni about what the funding entails, how people can access it and whether this funding relief is enough to provide sustained support for arts and culture workers.
For the last two weeks Jemima has been speaking to people working in arts, music and events who lost their jobs and income when Aotearoa moved to 'red' and felt that there was very little support made available by the governement. To hear these podcasts, click here.
Today on the Tuesday Wire, Jemima Huston and Emily Bell speak to educators about returning to classrooms during the Omicron outbreak. Emily interviews Stephen Lethbridge, President of the Auckland Primary Principals' Association, about how schools are operating under the red light setting and Jemima speaks to educators Liv and Chris about how Covid-19 has impacted their work and how they are feeling about heading back to in-person learning this year.
Jemima follows up on her piece last week about the impact of the red setting on the arts, music and events industry. As there has not yet been any targeted government support made available, Jemima talks to freelance tour manager and promoter representative Sarin Moddle about where people should go for help. They discuss what resources are available for people working in arts, music and culture right now and how the public can support the industry.
Emily interviews the National Coordinator for the Public Transport Users Association Jon Reeves about the government's project plan for the Auckland City Light Rail.
Finally, Jemima talks to Event Producer for the Auckland Lantern Festival Eric Ngan about the history of the event and its online launch today.
Last week, News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston spoke to the event directors for Splore, The Others Way and Freaks Out East, as well as musician and artist Jazmine-Mary about how moving to the red setting had impacted the music, arts and events sector. The general consensus was that there is very little government support for the sector's workers who are now unable to find consistent work under red.
Despite many similar stories circulating the news and social media last week, there has still been no targeted support announcements made by the government. So, Jemima wanted to focus on what resources are available to help people working in this industry right now. She interviews Sarin Moddle, a freelance tour manager and promoter representative, about where industry workers can go to find support and how the public can help.
If you are a member of the arts, music and events industry here are some helpful tips from Sarin:
Music Helps: for a counselling hotline and information about their benevolent fund.
If you are interested in supporting this call for help from the music, arts and events industry please go to change.org to sign the peition calling for support payments for workers and businesses unable to operate under the red setting. You can also go to actionstation.org.nz to sign Jazmine Mary's petition calling for better support for artists during the pandemic.
To check out last weeks podcast on this issue, click here.
On our regular City Counselling segment, Jessica Hopkins spoke to Auckland Councillor Pippa Coom about the year ahead for the Council.
They discussed the local elections happening this year, the Government's light rail announcement, and how our recent move to Red has affected Auckland residents.
She also asked Pippa about the controversy surrounding a proposal to put Auckland regional parks into the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.
This week on the show, host Jessica Hopkins spoke to New Zealand Public Service Association National Secretary Erin Polaczuk about their calls for the Government to improve working peoples pay.
And on our regular City Counselling segment, she spoke to Auckland Councillor Pippa Coom about the year ahead for the Auckland council, and the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park proposal.
Producer Liam Hansen spoke with Karl from Monster Valley about their studio spaces closure and the future of the agency and Ricardo Menéndez March about the Green Party’s perspective on the Auckland Light Rail.
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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