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 we have Dear Science where Marcus Jones takes us through developments about Dark Matter, an LHC upgrade and the saddest two weeks on Twitter.
Felix Walton gives us an overview of National Party leader Todd Muller's first month in the role.
NZ First's Tracey Martin joins us again this week discussing Covid-19 quarantine mishaps and a delay to the Sexual Violence Legislation Bill.
Lillian looks further into this Bill, speaking to Paulette Benton-Greig of the University of Waikato's Faculty of Law about rape myths and 'fair trials'.
Minister Tracey Martin joins us again this week and we spoke for a long time again, touching on new entrenched support for the teaching of the health and sexuality curriculum in schools, which basically secures funding for a number of people to go in and do this, to ensure consistency across the curriculum and throughout all schools. We didn’t have the time to play that today, but there are more announcements in the wings so we can try cover that again later perhaps. Today though, we talk about Covid-19 quarantine mishaps and also the delay in the Sexual Violence Legislation Bill. Lillian started by Asking the Minister if the quarantine mishaps could have been avoided.
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Lillian also asked the Minister when she does think she is going to get this done so it can go ahead, and she’s saying she’s trying to do it as quickly as possible.
Following from the discussion with NZ First's Tracey Martin, Lillian looks further into what defines a 'fair trial' and why the changes proposed in this Bill are necessary to create a safer environment for survivors to testify. Speaking to Paulette Benton-Greig from the University of Waikato's Faculty of Law, they discuss rape myths and the concerns raised about the Bill from the Defence Lawyers Association.
This week on City Counselling, Oscar Perress spoke to Councillor Richard Hills about where Tāmaki Makaurau is at with its water crisis and the return to regular programming in Auckland Council.
Last month the government proposed a set of new freshwater reforms with the aim of restoring Aotearoa’s waterways within a generation. However, the reforms have come without a set limit on freshwater nitrogen levels. Forest and Bird is calling for a nitrogen limit to be introduced as part of the government’s waterways reforms to hold regional council’s accountable for the nitrogen pollution in their drinking water supplies. 95bFM News Director Jemima Huston spoke to Forest and Bird Freshwater Spokesperson, Tom Kay, about why it is important to limit the nitrogen in our water and why some regions in New Zealand are experiencing higher levels of pollution than others. Here is Jemima speaking to Tom.
Mary-Margaret speaks to Low Carbon Specialist Robbie Sutherland about the extent to which responsibility for climate issues lies with the public versus government, and about which initiatives are available for volunteering this winter
Oscar speaks to Richard Hills in this week’s instalment of city counselling and we hear about the logistics of council’s operations now we’re back at level 1
Jemima speaks to Tom Kay of Forest & Bird about water pollution risks and lack of government action
And in Green Desk this week, Bronnie learns about the UNESCO commission for culture in New Zealand, where a new commissioner has just been appointed
Ports of Auckland has applied for consent from Auckland council to deepen the city's shipping channel so larger ships can come to the port. With the population expected to continue to grow, this means more demand from online shopping, commercial goods and general goods which come via container ships. Currently ships entering the harbor can hold up to 5,000 containers, with gradual deepening then allowing ships with up to 12,000 containers in the future. In an effort to understand why this is necessary and to understand the potential affects this move may have, James talked to Matt Ball from Ports of Auckland, and started off by asking why they applied for consent.
Weekly chat with Green party co-leader James Shaw on NZGIF investing into wellington ports and ACC Zero carbon plans.
Southern Cross: Pacific Media Centre Contributing editor Sri Krishnamurthi on the University of South Pacific and tourism in Fiji. Polynesian panthers Will 'Ilolahia also joins us, and we talk about overstayers, and keeping activism going for the next generation.
Finally, producer James Tapp talks to Ports of Auckland spokesperson Matt Ball on deepening the shipping channel at Auckland Ports.
Sam speaks with Associate Professor Yoram Barak about how to traverse the healthspan of life in good stead. Turns out the secret to aging well is staying social... Listen and learn!
Sam speaks with professor Elaine Rush from Child Poverty Action Group aboout growing food insecurity within Aotearoa and how that is impacting our young people.
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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