Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Justin spoke to Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall and Local Government New Zealand president Stuart Crosby about the government's decision to strip local authorities of their water fluoridation powers and give them to the Director-General of Health.
Justin spoke to Health and Pike River Re-entry Minister Andrew Little about the government's health reforms and his comments around going further into the Pike River Mine.
This week James and Aneeka put together a jam packed show for you, with Dear Science, Brooke van Velden and more.
On Dear Science, James, Aneeka and Marcus discuss COVID-19, finding new species, and a NASA helicopter on Mars.
James chats to Brooke van Velden about the newest housing reform and the impending trans-tasman bubble.
Aneeka talks to Paula Tesoriero, the disability rights commissioner about the lack of accessible housing in the government’s new housing plan.
James talks to Jessica Desmond, the oceans campaigner for Greenpeace about the report put out by the Prime Ministers Chief Science Advisor on fisheries and the ocean.
Following the announcement of the government's new housing plan, concerns have been raised regarded the little attention paid to accessibility issues in regard to housing for the disabled. Aneeka talks to Paula Tesoriero, the disability rights commissioner, about housing barriers faced by the disabled community and steps the government must take to remedy this.
Today the government announced a number of housing measures aimed at helping first-home buyers get on the property ladder. Some of these include, increasing the income cap for first home grants, expanding the rules around who can access 5% deposits and a $3.8 billion injection into the country's housing supply.
News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to Jarrod Kerr, the Chief Economist at Kiwibank, about what impact the government expects these measures to have and whether they will make a difference to New Zealand's exorbitant housing market.
Jemima then talks to Lesley Harris, Director and Representative of the First Home Buyers Club about the hurdles that exist for first-home buyers and whether the government's new policies will effectively mitigate them.
Netsafe NZ recently reported an increasing trend in people from the LGBTQIA+ community, sending and receiving harmful digital communications.
Jess Hopkins interviews Martin Cocker, the CEO of Netsafe NZ, about how the online safety organisation helps those experiencing harassment and bullying online.
They also discuss COVID-19 misinformation and whether Netsafe saw a surge in harmful online behaviour during lockdown periods.
Jade talked to Green Party Corrections Spokesperson Golriz Gharaman and Amnesty International's International Executive Director Meg de Ronde of their thoughts on Correction Minister Kelvin Davis' letter to the Chief Executive of corrections following abuse reports towards women's prisoners at the Auckland Women's Prison.
Today on the Tuesday Wire, Jess Hopkins speaks to Martin Cocker, CEO of Netsafe New Zealand, about an increasing trend in LGBTQIA+ community of harmful digital communications.
Jade Lewis looked into the Department of Corrections’ response to the accounts of inhumane treatment and abuse at Auckland Women’s Prison. She talks to Green Party Corrections Spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman and Amnesty International Executive Director Meg de Ronde about Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis' expectations for the Department to better treat those in prison.
Finally, Jemima Huston focuses on the first-home buyers housing announcement made today by the government. She speaks to Jarrod Kerr, the Chief Economist at Kiwibank, about what impact the government's initiatives are expected to have on the market. Jemima also chats to Lesley Harris from the First Home Buyers Club about the hurdles that exist for first-home buyers and whether these policies will effectively mitigate them.
Felix spoke to James Shaw about how fishing equipment is dangerous for sea birds, a new bill which aims to make it easier for trans people to change the sex on their birth certificate, and The Green Party's new plan to address the housing crisis.
Last week, the council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Committee said they would be seeking to implement a number of recommendations that improve emergency readiness for disabled populations.
Following a hui last year where community members were invited to bring forward issues relating to future planning for natural disasters, Sara was interested to hear about how the council is taking suggestions on board.
As well, Auckland Council has been considering proposals to mitigate flood risks around the Wairau catchment, including one which would see the reduction of the size of the Takapuna Golf Course, to convert the space into a flood catchment.
Producer Sara spoke to Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson on both of these topics, firstly by asking him to discuss the desired outcomes relating to emergency preparedness for disabled people, and the council’s first steps to implementation
Zohran Mamdani has all but won the Democratic Primary in New York City after key competitor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
Mamdani will now be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
His campaign was built on cost-of-living, where Mamdani presented himself as an authentic, Democratic Socialist, grassroots campaign leader.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to 95bFM reporter and South Asia correspondent Sanat Singh about Momdani’s win, what this means for the communities he represents, and where to from here.
A reported 131,000 submissions were made on the Regulatory Standards Bill.
The Bill, proposed by the ACT party, includes a set of principles outlining “responsible regulation.” Notably, it does not include any mention of either version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Last weekend, hundreds of Destiny Church members marched on Queen Street in a rally that they called “in defence of faith, flag, and family.”
And the Labour Party has criticised the framing of a poll question by the Taxpayers Union/Curia on whether or not Cook Islanders should retain automatic New Zealand citizenship.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Recently the Green Party commissioned independent legal advice to look into the government’s $200 million investment in new gas fields that was carried out last month and found out that the investment was in breach of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS).
NZ First MP Shane Jones recently announced that he’d be drafting a member's bill to force Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement, which would prevent hapū from negotiating separate commercial redresses and remove any reference to hapū sovereignty from the settlement terms.
And the Green party recently issued a call to the New Zealand government to condemn the US strikes on Iranian Nuclear facilities, almost a week after Iran and Israel had both been trading missile strikes between each other.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Hūhana Lyndon to get the party’s take on all of these issues
Last week, Statistics Minister Shane Reti announced plans to scrap the nationwide census moving forward. The census is the largest statistical survey done in Aotearoa, and provides the bulk of population data used in research and decision-making. Reti says the census is “no longer financially viable” and will be replaced with a combination of smaller annual surveys and administrative data.
While the change looks good on paper, there are concerns around how the change in data collection could affect representation of marginalised and minority groups. Census data tends to be more protected from bias than administrative data and smaller surveys, meaning there are more opportunities for misrepresentation. Some statisticians are particularly concerned about the potential exclusion of marginalised rural communities.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked him about the census decision and its implications on marginalised and minority groups.
Associate Health Minister, David Seymour, has recently announced changes to Psilocybin and Melatonin availability.
Psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms, will be available for certain patients suffering from poor mental health outcomes. Melatonin, which is used for insomnia and jetlag, is set to be available over the counter.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about this move, and the potential accessibility concerns with accessing these medications.
They also discussed taxpayers set to be funding newly-funded cancer medicines for private facilities.
Finally, they discuss opposition parties criticised Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, over a lack of transparency regarding the effectiveness of boot camps for youth offenders, especially as boot camps have received a boost of $30 million, despite the pilot programme still being ongoing.
But first, they discussed Psilocybin and Melatonin.
Last Saturday, over 2,000 protests took place across all 50 American States against President Donald Trump.
The protests coincided with Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the US Army, and they served as a direct response to the military parade in Washington, DC.
The organisers of the protests say they aimed to reject “authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarisation of our democracy.”
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Jeremy Pressman, Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut about the protests and the backlash towards them from the Trump administration.
Housing intensification is a key priority for Auckland Council as Auckland's population is forecast to reach 2.3 million by 2050.
But as planning for growth continues, some Auckland residents have expressed concern about the approval of developments in areas on flood plains or particularly prone to natural disasters.
With Kāinga Ora selling homes as ‘high risk investments’ in areas which were impacted by flooding in recent years, and 15 percent of all granted consents for new builds by Auckland Council being on floodplains, I spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about how the council is taking into account these issues for the coming years.
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