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.
Yesterday, the government announced that Auckland would move to Step 2 of Level three from next Tuesday at 11:59pm in principle. Waikato will also be moved to Step 2 at 11:59pm tonight. News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston interviews Dr Dianne Sika-Paotonu, an immuniologist and Head of the Pacific Office at the Univeristy of Otago Wellington, about the easing of these restrictions. They discuss Dianne's position on the decision and the impact in may have on Māori and Pacific communities
Last week the government announced that funding for the disabled would be transferred from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social development to a new Ministry for Disabled People. The new Ministry has been welcomed by many disability support organisations, as it gives hope for fairer and better services. Joe talks to Peter Reynolds, the CEO of the Disability Support Network on the matter.
A Recent study published by researchers from the UK and Australia have found that research funding for eating disorders and support services are quite low, especially amongst youth. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues we see a notable increase in people struggling with mental health problems, experts have raised the point that the rising demand in support services from young people needs to be matched with research in order to track the long-term effect that conditions such as eating disorders have. Joe talks to Associate Professor in Psychological Medicine Jenny Jordan from the University of Otago on the matter.
Jessica Hopkins spoke to executive director Robyn Twemlow and Sian Winmill, a person with tourette's syndrome about why the lack of funded support services needs to be addressed urgently.
Host, Jessica Hopkins is finally back in the studio for the Wire today.
This week she speaks to Robyn Twemlow and Sian Winmill from the Tourettes Association of NZ about why they are calling for the Ministry of Health to consider Tourettes Syndrome as a disability.
She also speaks to researcher Teresa Stanley about Drowning Prevention Auckland's new learning module for adults, to address the gap between perception and reality when it comes to water competency
Producer Joe Wickins speaks to Letitia Harding from the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation about their latest research on youth vaping.
And Christina Huang continues her regular segment with the Waitematā Local Board. This week she speaks to board member Kerrin Leoni.
The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation and the Secondary Principals Association released their recent study on vaping amongst youth in New Zealand. The study was New Zealand's biggest vaping survey, with nineteen thousand students from years nine to thirteen participating. The survey was carried out due to growing concerns from schools, teachers and parents over vaping and smoking habits. Joe talks to Letitia Harding, the Chief Executive from the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation about the study’s findings.
Following a number of drowning fatalities over lockdown, Drowning Prevention Auckland is launching an online learning module for adults. This new module aims to address the gap between perception and reality when it comes to water competency.
Jessica Hopkins spoke to researcher, Teresa Stanley about how people can stay safe by assessing their competence and preparing themselves for open water activities.
Noah speaks to Local Government Ministerm Nanaia Mahuta, National's Spokesperson for Local Government, Christopher Luxon, and Green Party Spokesperson for Conservation, Eugenie Sage, about Three Waters management.
Ilena speaks to Paris Marx about Facebook's new 'metaverse', and Councillor Pippa Coom about light rail and libraries.
Ilena talks to Paris Marx, a Canada-based phD student at the University of Auckland, writer and host of the 'Tech Won’t Save Us' podcast about Facebook's 'metaverse'.
Today, during Facebook’s annual Connect Conference, Mark Zuckerberg shared his vision for what he calls a ‘metaverse’. The metaverse will be a social, 3D virtual space where users can share immersive experiences with other people, in real-time. It won’t be built, run or owned exclusively by Facebook. Rather, the company will collaborate with policymakers, experts and industry partners. There are already a wealth of New Zealand companies and creators working in this space, including fashion designers, gaming and VR experience creators, academics and marketers involved. To better reflect this new chapter in the company, Facebook is rebranding to ‘Meta’. This will include a new logo and colour.
Paris discusses their concern that the rebranding could mean a renewed focus on addressing misinformation and echo chambers, or serves to distract from recent scrutiny that Facebook is under after internal documents were leaked by a whistleblower. They also talk about what the implications might be in who is funding this venture, and how the metaverse sits in a post-Covid, increasingly digitalised world.
The government has announced they are pushing through with their Three Waters plan to centralise water management in Aotearoa, despite opposition from numerous mayors and councils.
Noah Ferguson-Dudding spoke to Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta about the backlash it has received. Healso spoke to National's Local Government Spokesperson, Christopher Luxon, and the Green Party's Conservation Spokesperson, Eugenie Sage, to hear why they oppose the policy.
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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