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.
With the new community outbreak of Covid-19 the government is strongly advising that everyone wears masks or face coverings when in public. However, there are hundreds of thousands of people with hearing loss that struggle to communicate without being able to lip read. Jemima Huston speaks to the Chief Executive of the National Foundation for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Natasha Gallardo about how the government's approach to combating Covid-19 is negatively impacting the deaf and hard of hearing community in Aotearoa
On Neighbourhood Watch today, Justin spoke with Radio Adelaide’s Zoe Kounadis about the latest news from Australia. They talk about TV network Ten has announcing it would cut jobs and newsrooms around the country and centralise the production of weekday bulletins in Sydney and Melbourne. They also discuss the Royal Commission criticism Australia’s Covid-19 response in aged care homes.
Justin spoke to Finance Minister Grant Robertson because Justice Minister Andrew Little was unavailable. They discussed extending the wage subsidy, testing in Auckland, and National leader Judith Collins and deputy leader Gerry Brownlee's recent comments around delaying the election and alledged the government withheld information on community transmission.
Justin spoke to Labour MP Grant Robertson about the party's housing policy for the upcoming election.
Justin then discussed with Grant Robertson as Finance Minister on wage subisides, testing in Auckland, comments made by National deputy leader Gerry Brownlee that the government withheld information on community transmition, and Opposition Leader Judith Collins' demands to delay the election.
On Neighbourhood Watch, Zoe Kounadais from Radio Adelaide caught up with Justin and updates on the coronavirus situation in Australia, TV Ten restructuring its news departments, and the Royal Commission into Aged Care criticizing the COVID-19 response in aged care homes.
Producer Conor Knell reports on the sectarian divisions in Lebanon on International Desk.
James Tapp talked to Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero about what support is there for people with disabilities during lockdown.
Lebanon’s government has resigned after days of protests following the explosion of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port last week. Conor Knell reports that any change regarding corruption in Lebanon would be difficult because of sectarian divisions between Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims.
With day 2 of level 3 in Auckland, we have once again seen the rise of some habits such as panic buying after the announcement was made. With this in mind, the disability rights commissioner has put out a call for members of the public to think before shopping, with online shopping highly important for those who can’t leave the home or manage to get to a supermarket. To understand more about what can be done and what support is there, producer James Tapp talks to the disability rights commissioner, Paula Tesoriero, and starts by asking who is considered to be a priority customer.
This week on the Wire, Bronnie opens with a COVID-19 update, as Auckland's move to alert level three coincided with the show's starting.
After is the weekly chat with NZ First’s Tracey Martin where they talked about the repealing of the Oranga Tamariki subsequent children provisions.
This week's election coverage topic is housing, so Bronnie contiues her conversation with Minister Martin to focus on how immigration, seniors and children tie into this issue.
She then speaks to Greg Street, an Eco Design Advisor from the Hutt City Council about how we can make new houses as well as the houses we already have, healthier, cheaper to run and more environmentally friendly.
Lastly, is an interview with Food Frontier Founder and CEO, Thomas King about their new report finding that plant-based meats are healthier for you than their conventional counterparts.
As part of our election coverage on housing, Bronwyn speaks to Greg Street, an Eco Design Advisor from the Hutt City Council about how we can make our houses more healthy, cheaper to heat and, as a result, more environmentally friendly. As well as talking about existing and potential government policy, the two pondered the question: why don't New Zealanders demand better?
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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