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 James joins the Wednesday wire for the first time, starting off with a show in level 3.
James talks ot Allan Blackman on Dear Science, where they discuss electric cars, caterpillars and mating birds.
James also talks to ACT party deputy leader, Brooke Van Velden, about Auckland's level 3 lockdown and ACT's position on the Māori Ward bill which passed through parliament recently.
Unfortunately Aneeka had problems with her piece, but she will hopefully have that piece for you next week and lots of other great content!
The show finishes off with a short update on the independent police report which looked into workplace bullying.
Join us next week where hopefully the whole team will be in studio!
Today on the Tuesday Wire, Lyric Waiwiri-Smith speaks to to Dr Sarah Cowie, a senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Auckland, about how community expectations impact our actions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jemima Huston talks to Dr Caroline Bell, a Canterbury District Health Board psychiatrist, about the impact of the Christchurch earthquakes on the Canterbury community following the 10 year anniversary of the fatal February 22nd earthquake last week.
Jade Lewis looks into the impact of intermittent lockdowns on music industry. She speaks to Jonathan Meyer, an Auckland based full-time freelance musician and University of Auckland Music Professor Stephen Matthews on what it means to be a musician in New Zealand right now.
Following the February lockdowns in Auckland, Lyric spoke with Dr Sarah Cowie, a senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Auckland about how a community's expectations can impact people's actions. They discuss what makes people defy social protocols during the pandemic and whether or not punishment for this behaviour is useful.
Felix spoke to the Green Party co-leader James Shaw on tax inequity, a petition for equitable vaccine distribution, community housing providers, and mistreatment in parliament.
Jess Hopkins interviews Ang Nayyar, CEO and Co-Founder of StrutFit about how he is revolutionising the footwear industry.
Lastly, Felix spoke to Richard Whitney of the NZ Private Surgical Hospitals Association about the relationship between private and public health.
The Government’s venture investment agency, New Zealand Growth Capital Partners, have announced they will support the University of Auckland’s student entrepreneurship development programme, Velocity.
One of the ventures to come out of the Universities programme is Strutfit, who uses computer vision and AI size recommendation technology to take the guesswork out of online footwear shopping.
Jess talked to Ang Nayyar, the CEO and Co-founder of StrutFit about how Strutfit works, and how it has developed since he went through Velocity’s development programme.
As COVID-19 has impacted how we do business as well as social inequality, the need to support indigenous business has risen to the forefront. To understand what work is being done in this area, James talks to Jarrad McKay from Auckland Unlimited about what work is being done ot support Māori business and innovation.
This week is James' last Friday wire, however Zoe from Mondays will be taking over, while James moves to Wednesdays.
James talks to Jarrod McKay from Auckland Unlimited about Māori businesses and innovation.
Lyric brings a report on Māori views on sexuality and gender and the impact of colonism has had on these views.
Karanama talks to Andree Freude, from the Problem Gambling Foundation, about a new community initiative that aims to pull away from particularly poorer communities reliance on pokie machines for funding
Karanama also brings us a report on Moriori anf their history, inlight of the settlement case occuring.
Justin spoke to Health Minister Andrew Little about the government's mental health policy, including his earlier comments that mental health services are improving despite criticisms on the progress of reforms, funding for teritary counselling services, and 'no surprsies' clause between the Ministry of Health and NGOs.
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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