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.
At the beginning of October more than 120 psychologists employed by the Ministry of Health in schools and early childhood centres stopped accepting referrals in a nationwide strike asking for better pay and conditions. In 2020 more than three thousand children and youth were on waiting lists for learning support from the ministry, and there are currently more than 50 psychologist vacancies across the country.
Because the month of the strike is drawing to an end, this week on the Wire Frances spoke with with educational psychologist Shelley O’Sullivan. She is one of only four educational psychologists in Taranaki whose work involves supporting most ‘at-risk’ children in schools. They talked about the reality of working as an educational psychologist, COVID’s impact on Shelley’s work and her hopes for the result of the strikes.
This week on the Wednesday Wire we had a packed show!
Zazi began by talking to Senior lecturer in Computer Science and the Director of Games and Extended Reality Lab at Massey University, Dr. Nilufar Baghaei, about her new research discussing how virtual reality can help treat anxiety and depression.
Frances then spoke with Shelley O’Sullivan, an educational psychologist about the month-long strike of psychologists coming to an end.
Next up, Zazi spoke with the leader of the Green Party and Minister of Climate Change, James Shaw, about New Zealand passing a world-first Climate reporting legislation.
Then, we had our regular segment Dear Science with AUT Professor Allan Blackman. This week Frances and Allan are talked about ammonia synthesis in a ball mill, vikings in North America and what happened in the world of nylon on October 27th in 1938…
And finally Zazi had her regular talk with Act Party’s Brooke van Velden, talking about the COVID traffic light system and the vaccine mandate for workplaces requiring a certificate of vaccination for entry.
This week Stella and Isla tell each other their favourite instances of a good old fashioned pivot in the lab. They discuss the invention of Viagra, sticky notes, slinkies and more, all discovered through open-minded approaches to what may be perceived initially as failed experiments.
Last Friday the government announced it’s Covid-19 Protection Framework. Aotearoa will move to the new framework when 90 percent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated in each DHB region. However, critics have said that the 90 percent vaccination target for DHBs is unfair for Māori and Pacific communities. This is because Māori and Pacific vaccination rates across the country are still significantly lower than non-Māori and non-Pacific.
News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to Dr Rhys Jones, a public health physician and senior lecturer in Māori health at the University of Auckland about this critique. They discuss Dr Jones' position on the government’s new traffic light system, what Māori and Pacific vaccination rates are looking like and whether the 90 percent threshold is equitable.
Compulsory Treatment Orders, or CTO’s, are legally mandated orders which require mentally ill patients to undergo psychiatric treatment. CTO’s have been regarded as a contentious and coercive form of mental health treatment for patients struggling with serious mental illnesses, as the practice has been criticised for imposing restrictions on patients which impact their own personal freedom.
A study from University of Otago that explored CTO’s found that the treatment leads to fewer and shorter hospital admissions. Joe talks to Dr Ben Beaglehole, a Senior Lecturer from the University of Otago and co-author of the study, on the matter.
This week on the Tuesday Wire, Jemima Huston speaks to Dr Rhys Jones from the University of Auckland about the government’s new Covid Protection Framework and whether the 90 percent vaccination threshold appropriately addresses the needs of Māori and Pacific communities.
Christina Huang continues her regular segment with the Waitematā Local Board. This week she speaks to Deputy Chair Alex Bonham.
Joe Wickins talks to Ben Beaglehole from the University of Otago about his study surrounding compulsory treatment orders for mental health patients.
Finally, on Tomorrow’s World, Isla Christensen and Stella Huggins look at scientific accidents and the inventions that came from them.
Ilena spoke to Kerri Nuku, the kaiwhakahaere for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, about the Pae Ora(Healthy Futures) Bill. The legislation was introduced into parliament by Health Minister Andrew Little on Wednesday.
The Bill, which is expected to pass next year, amalgamate the 20 District Health Boards across New Zealand into a singular ‘Health New Zealand’ organisation, which will work in partnership with a Māori Health Authority.
Kerri spoke about the benefits of the bill, as well as the concerns that the NZNO have for nurses and patients.
This morning the government announced significant changes in New Zealand's response to Covid-19. Noah Ferguson-Dudding spoke to Professor Nikki Turner, Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre, and Professor Michael Plank, an epidemiological modeler from the University of Canterbury about their reactions to the announcement.
Ilena had her regular catch up with Shane Henderson, who this week talked about how water restrictions in Auckland will ease from tomorrow. Auckland has been under varying forms of restriction since May last year after a long period of drought, but recent rainfall events have had a positive impact on Auckland’s water stores.
Shane also talked about the new bipartisan Labour and National announcement which aims to make it easier to build houses and intensify close to city centres.
This morning, Ilena talked to Golriz Ghahraman, the Green Party spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, on the need to urgently introduce legislation to better regulate the export of military products that could be used to breach human rights in other countries.
At the beginning of this year, it was discovered by journalists that Air New Zealand staff helped maintain and run vessels from the Royal Saudi Navy while they were enforcing the blockade of Yemen. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had signed off on the export of military-use equipment in Saudi Arabia.
The report from a recent independent review by MPs has a number of recommendations to hold companies and exporters to account.
Golriz talks about why better regulation is needed and what recommendations are in the report.
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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