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.
ActionStation Aotearoa, KickBack, and over 40 opposition leaders, community leaders, and organisations, launched an open letter on Monday regarding the government’s potential policy to ban rough sleeping in Auckland’s CBD.
The proposed ban, despite the proposal being in its early stages of discussions, has been heavily condemned across the sector, and has raised the question of where those rough sleeping would go?
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Aaron Hendry, the General Manager and Co-Founder of KickBack, a youth development organisation responding to homelessness, about this open letter.
On Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a new National Party Kiwisaver policy, where they’re looking to further increase the default Kiwisaver contribution rate. Luxon said, if re-elected, National would continue to gradually increase the default contribution rates by 0.5% per year until 2032, when both employees and employers would pay 6% each.
The Government also announced that New Zealand would become the latest country to halt new prescriptions for puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria. In response to this, Ricardo Menendez March told RNZ that the government was “buying into imported culture wars”.
And last week saw the end of the COP30 climate summit. One of the major outcomes of the summit was that more than 80 countries, including the United Kingdom and Pacific Island Nations, signed a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, but New Zealand chose not to.
For our Weekly Catchup with The Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez March about The Green Party’s reaction to the COP30 summit, as well as their thoughts on the Government’s decision to halt new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria.
But first, we started with National’s new Kiwisaver policy.
Following our previous discussion with The Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez March, Wednesday Wire Host Max decided to further break down The National Party’s new Kiwisaver Policy with Robert MacCulloch, the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics, and Professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Auckland.
Here’s what he thought about the newly announced policy by National, and why he's disturbed by it.
Last week, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced plans to add feral cats to the government’s list of pests to be eradicated by 2050. The decision follows a campaign promise from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon made in a debate in 2023.
Feral cats pose numerous wildlife risks when compared to other predators such as rats or stoats. In addition, their larger size makes trapping more difficult, meaning new techniques will need to be developed. To discuss the change, why it’s important, and how it fits in with the larger predator free 2050 mission, producer Castor spoke to Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Auckland, James Russell.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max, spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about The National Party’s newly announced Kiwisaver policy, The Green Party’s reaction to the COP30 Climate Summit, as well as their reaction to the Government choosing to halt new prescriptions for puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria.
Following this, Max also spoke with Robert MacCulloch, the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics, and Professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Auckland, to discuss The National Party’s new Kiwisaver policy.
Producer Castor spoke to James Russel, a Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Auckland, about the government considering adding feral cats to the Predator Free 2050 list.
And News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Aaron Hendry, the General Manager and Co-Founder of KickBack, about an open letter they have signed over the government’s proposed policy to ban rough sleeping in Auckland’s CBD.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin chats with us about moss in space, a use for mosquitos, and how turtles detect magnetic fields
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Sara spoke to MP Carl Bates about the recently updated Social Housing Plan, and the government’s decision to “pause” access to puberty blockers.
For Green World, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Sebastian Gehreke, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Climate and Energy Finance Group at the University of Otago, about COP30, and New Zealand not joining over 80 other countries in agreeing to a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels.
Last week, US President Donald Trump put forward a 28 point peace plan as a proposed resolution to the war between Ukraine and Russia — with an initial expectation of response by the 27th of November.
The initial plan included an agreement by NATO to hold dialogue with Russia, to refuse current and future Ukrainian access to NATO, and not station troops in Ukraine, and Europe commit $100 billion to the investment into Ukrainian construction; also providing “financial compensation” for the role of the United States in mediation.
Following backlash from European leaders as well as negotiations between Trump and Zelenskyy, the plan has been refined, with further discussions to take place over the coming week.
Wire Host Sara spoke to University of Otago professor Robert Patman about Trump’s peace plan and the wider impact on international diplomacy
At COP30, New Zealand has not joined over 80 countries in signing a global plan to phase out fossil fuels.
Climate Minister Mark Mitchell has defended this move, saying that the government was already committed to “transition away” from fossil fuels, as of two years ago.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Sebastian Gehreke, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Climate and Energy Finance Group at the University of Otago, about COP30 and whether New Zealand’s climate policies are enough to justify not signing this roadmap
Recently, ACT MP Laura McClure has launched a member’s bill, proposing the disestablishment of the BSA, or Broadcasting Standards Authority.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to The Victoria University of Wellington’s Peter Thompson last week on the bill, who said this bill would “enable private media corporations to operate with impunity in pumping out propaganda and disinformation and the cost of that would be a further erosion of our democracy."
As well as this, Recently, the government has announced it will be halting new prescriptions for puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria pending a clinical trial in the UK, with the outcome of this trial set for 2031.
This move has seen backlash from a variety of LGBTQIA+ organisations and health experts working in gender-affirming care, who believe the move goes against the best interests of transgender youth.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about both of these topics, starting with Laura McClure’s member’s bill.
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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