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.
Today on the Wednesday Wire Jemima covers for host Bronnie and producer Felix is in studio again!
On Dear Science, Bronnie and Allan Blackman discuss the largest source ever detected of gravitational waves, rust on the moon, and liquid that defies gravity.
Jemima speaks with NZ First’s Tracey Martin about new relationship and sexuality guidelines for schools and where NZ First stands on Rainbow policies.
Felix chats to Unite Union about workers in managed isolation and quarantine facilities.
We share part two of a chat that former Monday Wire host Sherry Zhang had with sex educator Sarita Das about healthy, safe sex.
And lastly, another sequel, Bronnie brings you part two of her conversation with Jess and Noor from Rainbow Election 2020 about their LGBTQI+ policy tool for this year’s election.
With plans underway to scrap the Winter Energy Payment, low-income households are facing cuts of up to $63 a week. In response, Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP) and the Child Poverty Action Group are calling for payments to be raised rather than cut.
Hanna spoke to AAAP Co-Chair Kathleen Paraha about the issue.
On the Wire today we are looking at housing issues for our election coverage. Jemima speaks with Māori Party co-leader John Tamihere about the party's housing policies.
Jemima talks to Local Government New Zealand President Stuart Crosby about their bid to extend the central and local electoral term from three years to four.
Hanna discusses the plans to end the winter energy payment with Auckland Action Against Poverty co-chair Kathleen Paraha.
Then, to wrap up the show with some more election coverage, Hanna and Jemima look into whether New Zealander's need heat pumps in their rental homes. They speak to Manawatū Tenants Union, Renters United and the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ about the benefits of heating a rental property.
Local Government NZ is calling for both the central and local government terms to be extended to four years. Jemima Huston speaks to their President Stuart Crosby about why both government terms need to be extended, what support exists for this proposal and how the councils plan to get the bid over the line.
Jessica Hopkins spoke to Chief Executive of Keep New Zealand Beautiful, Heather Saunderson about the correct disposal of masks and funding for their organisation.
Statistics New Zealand revealed a huge 90.91% disparity in the number of women affected by Covid-19 unemployment compared to men. Aneeka talks to Lisa Lawrence, president of the National Council of Women in New Zealand about what this illustrates and what needs to be addressed to activate change.
Today on the Wire with Zoë:
Zoë has her weekly chat with Green Party co-leader James Shaw regarding new environmental projects and an update on the Green School controversy.
95bFM's Election Coverage is back, and this week's theme is housing.
Producer Aneeka Moheed interviews the National Council of Women in New Zealand's Lisa Lawrence on statistics showing 90.91% of people who lost their job in New Zealand due to Covid 19 were women.
Zoë Larsen Cumming interviews natural language processor and Artificial Intelligence programmer Alistair Landels on conversational interactions with bots and AI.
Aneeka Moheed interviews Gina Dellabarca from the Show Me Short's Film Festival on how it plan to operate due to Covid 19 changes.
This week in her chat with the Green Party co-leader James Shaw, Zoë Larsen Cumming asks about the Jobs for Nature program, new conservation land, and an update on the Green School controversy.
Zoë Larsen Cumming interviews Alistair Landels on natural language processing in Artificial Intelligence, which helps bots understand and interact with humans on a more casual and conversational level.
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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