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.
Mary-Margaret speaks to Amy Klitscher, who started New Zealand’s first zero waste catering business. They discuss the logistics of zero waste catering, and learning about the history of food production.
Ollie speaks to an Auckland University professor who is conducting research into the mental benefits of microdosing LSD.
In a new Friday segment, The Week That Was, Ollie and Mary-Margaret break down the week that’s been in headlines.
And finally, Jay brings us an interview with the Disability Commissioner about yesterday’s repealing of a National-era law that prevented family caregivers of the disabled from taking court action when necessary.
The Sustainable Food Co is Aotearoa’s first ever zero waste catering business. Run by Amy Klitscher, who has been dismayed by the degree of waste since her first part time hospo jobs. Amy studied environmental management at university, and learnt about sustainable eating with leaders in the movement across the Pacific. She joined Mary-Margaret Slack to discuss access to knowledge about the history of food production. Mary-Margaret started by asking Amy how the Sustainable Food Co prepares and transports their product.
Northern Ireland politician John Hume passed away earlier this week, aged 83. His leadership and his faith in the power of negotiations were influential in enabling the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and the peace in the Irish Isles.
Justin and Conor reports on the life of Northern Ireland politician John Hume who passed away earlier this week.
James spoke to Plastics NZ CEO Rachel Barker about priority products when it comes to waste minimization.
Justin caught with Zoe on Neighbourhood Watch to talk about a new coronavirus outbreak in Victoria and the federal government renewing failed targets to improve the lives of Aboriginal Australians.
James reports on the passing of a bill reforming the Tenancies Act.
Last week the government announced that a series of products are to be placed on a priority list as part of the waste minimization act, which includes e-waste, which Hannah covered yesterday, as well as a range of plastics. By doing so, levvys will be put in place and requirements to create more integration into the circular economy. The circular economy is an idea which revolves around the fact that many of the products do not go in a full circular fashion as materials do in nature, instead ending up in places such as landfills. While the intention is positive, there is potential for unintended consequences as voiced by the plastic industry. To understand more of their concerns, James talks to Rachel Barker, the CEO of Plastics NZ, about what this will mean for the future.
On August 5th the government passed the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill 2020, which bought in a number of changes to help support tenants as well as landlords. James looks at some of the changes as well as what some of the stakeholders think about it.
Justin caught up with Zoe and talked about the renewal of eight 2008 Close the Gap targets to improve the lives of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, after reviews found most have failed. They also talked about the coronavirus outbreak in Victoria, as more than 700 cases are confirmed in one day.
This week on the wire is the weekly Dear Science segment, where Marcus Jones discussed the curious case of a man who can read letters but not numbers, the effect of vitamin D deficiency on COVID-19 mortality rates, and NASA’s most ambitious Mars rover yet.
Bronwyn speaks to NZ First’s Tracey Martin about funding for counselling in primary schools, more funding for ORS for students with higher learning needs, and the historic amendment to the Crimes Act definition of female genital mutilation.
Producer Felix Walton speaks to Dr Stephen Child from Southern Cross about their national health and wellbeing survey.
Shane Heremaia, the Chief Executive of the Tuwharetoa Māori Trust Board tells Bronwyn about the iwi reaction to being the first use of a Section 33 transfer under the RMA, allowing the board to take over the Waikato Regional Council's water quality monitoring in Lake Taupō.
Lastly there is time for a small report about the Government’s allocations of the Three Waters Fund for councils, where Jessica Hopkins spoke to Alex Walker, the mayor of the Central Hawke’s bay District Council.
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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