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.
This week on The Wire, James is joined in studio by Marcus, Sam and Ilena to put together a jam packed show.
Marcus bring us information on black holes, CRISPR and the human family tree.
James talks to Brooke van Velden about the compensation for Waikeria prisoners and the proposed hate speech laws.
Sam talks to Amnesty International's Margret Taylor about academic freedom for Chinese international students, as well as wider issues diaspora groups face in New Zealand.
Ilena talks to Rick Zwann from Forest and Bird about RMA reform.
This week Dear Science ranges all the way from billions of light years away to right down to the microscopic.
Marcus explains to us how scientists are looking at black holes and neutron stars, and whether a black hole can swallow a neutron star whole.
Zooming right in, Marcus talks us through the CRISPR gene and how it is has been tested to treat deadly diseases within the body.
finally, Marcus explains all the controversies around the Dragon Man and other memebers of the human family tree, and whether we should see a restructure.
A couple of weeks ago, the New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey Cycle 3 was published by the Ministry of Justice. The data showed that disabled people are more likely to experience interpersonal violence and sexual assault than non-disabled people.
News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston talks to Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero about the significance of the data and how it might be acted upon by the central government.
Mates In Construction has set out to open the conversation surrounding mental health within the Construction industry.
Trishil Dahya spoke to Mates In Construction CEO Victoria McArthur about the work the organisation has done in New Zealand. Topics such the Covid-19 lockdown and funding affecting the organisation is discussed and more.
This week on the Tuesday Wire, Trishil Dahya had his first go at producing!
Jemima Huston has her regular catch up with Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. They discuss the progress of the party’s call for anti-Māori violence taskforce, the Dawn Raids apology and petition, as well as the number of prisoners no longer having access to alcohol and drug programmes.
Trishil chats with Victoria McArthur from MATES in Construction to discuss how the organisation has set out to open up the mental health conversation in the construction industry, with the goal of preventing suicide through a support network.
Jemima speaks to Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero about the Ministry of Justice’s latest statistics on violence against disabled people.
Finally, Jemima talks to University of Otago Faculty of Law Professor, Bridgette Toy-Cronin, about her call for New Zealand’s legal system to move to a more comprehensive online system.
A group of academics at the University of Otago Faculty of Law are advocating for New Zealand to build a successful online court system. News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to the lead author of the report, Bridgette Toy-Cronin, about what an online court system would look like in New Zealand. They discuss how online courts could make a difference to case back-up, how online courts pose problems for those without access to the internet and whether Bridgette could ever see New Zealand's court system being completely online.
Each week News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston's interviewsTe Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
This week Debbie updates Jemima on the progress of the party’s call for anti-Māori violence taskforce following the Police Commissioners 'no-show' to their meeting on the issue a few weeks ago. Then they discuss the significance of the Māori Party MPs accepting the Dawn Raids petition from Benji Timu and Josiah Tualamali'i. Finally, Jemima and Debbie touch on the Te Pāti Māori's concern over the huge drop in the number of prisoners able to access alcohol and drug programmes.
Felix turns a journalistic eye to the world's most mysterious stories. This week, he enters the world of fantasy to discover the truth behind modern sightings of Elves and Trolls.
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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