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.
Zoë Larsen Cumming has a report on Amnesty International’s call for the release of prisoners of conscience.
Sherry Zhang has her weekly chat with Green party co-leader James Shaw following up on budget announcements, 1.1 billion investment into nature based jobs, climate change, unemployment support and the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act.
Finally, Southern Cross with Pacific Media Centre contributing editor Sri Krishnamurthi on West Papua, media restrictions in the Phillipines and Hong Kong, and the state of NZ media.
Zoë Larsen Cumming interviews Deputy Director of Campaigns at Amnesty International about the NGO's call for the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience worldwide during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Tax expert, Terry Baucher and economist, Rod Oram joined Laura Kvigsrad to give us an overview of what the 2020 budget indicates. Baucher speaks from the tax perspective, as we have seen no changes to our tax system that were not announced prior to the budget being released. Oram gives us a general overview from his perspective as an economist and explains why he has called this budget the 'same old, same old'.
Tourism has received a 400 million dollar support package in the 2020 budget, prompting many in the tourism industry to feel disgruntled around the limited amount of financial support for the industry. Eve Lawrence of the Haka Tourism Group was a submitter for the most recent epidemic response committee on tourism. She said the industry needed to be saved before we could think about innovating it. Eve joined Laura Kvigstad to explain the frustration around this small lifeline of spending on tourism.
A Friday Wire dedicated exclusively to yesterday's Budget announcement for 2020!
First up Denise Lee fills us in on what the budget means in a National Party perspective.
Next, Terry Baucher and Rod Oram give a semi overview of what this budget means. Baucher speaks from the tax perspective while Oram gives us a general overview from his perspective as an economist…
After that, Tourism has received a 400 million dollar support package. Eve Lawrence of the Haka Tourism Group told us about the frustrations of this small lifeline to tourism.
Then, Brooke Fiafia of Auckland Action Against Poverty discussed welfare spending in this budget...
And then, Producer Louis Laws discusses the increase in defence spending as a result of this budget. He speaks with Minister for Defence, Ron Mark, about this investment.
Finally, we have a report on health spending in the budget from Producer Louis Laws. He particularly looks at the disability support spending, catching up on delays caused by Covid 19 and looks at the nuances of mental health spending.
The New Zealand Defence Force has been provided with a boost - $1.7 billion dollars have been allocated from the 2020 Budget to go towards Defence in Operational & Capital Funding. Producer Louis Laws got in touch with the Minister of Defence, Ron Mark to discuss this investment from the Government.
Lillian Hanly came across a statement by lawyer and tino rangatiratanga advocate Annette Sykes drawing attention to a specification made for entering houses and marae without a warrant. There was much outrage around this clause and Lillian reached out to a few legal minds to clarify what this meant, but given everything was still being debated in the house, nothing was entirely clear at that point.
The legislation has since been tweaked, references to police being able to enter marae without a warrant have been removed, and a requirement that only police operate roadblocks were also removed. A two-year limit on the enforcement law has been changed to three months - another key issue of controversy.
However, the process in which this occured, the questions it raises around the extension of powers, and the speed in which it came about, continues to see criticism. It has even instigated a movement online encouraging people to change their profile pictures on Facebook to an image designed by Ann-Olivia Wehipeihana-Wilson for Whakaaro Factory.
Listen in to find out the stages a Bill normally goes through, why this is going through under urgency, and concerns from legal and political minds Jane Kelsey, Julia Whaipooti and Morgan Godfrey.
Edit: Professor David Williams also responded to Lillian after the show with a written response touching on another aspect of the Bill, he had sent this to both MPs Willie Jackson and Marama Davidson:
“Tēnā kōrua. Ngā mihimihi o te wā ki a kōrua.
I write to you as Chair of the Māori caucus within the Labour Party and Co-Leader of the Green Party. Clearly the COVID-19 Public Health Response Bill will proceed through the House shortly. Nevertheless I find it most upsetting that the National Party is taking the high moral ground on the restrictions of tangihanga, funerals and other religious services to a maximum attendance of 10 people. This is the same National Party that viciously criticised the community checkpoints put in place by iwi/hapū in many parts of the motu recently.
It is hypocritical, to say the least, for Simon Bridges and others in the National Party now to show such concern for Māori wishing to farewell their departed at tangihanga. When the Bill is passed, I do urge both of you to move your parliamentary colleagues towards a modification as soon as possible of the Cabinet decision on the numbers able to attend tangihanga, funerals and other services during alert level 2.”
It does seem an incredible slap in the face for iwi/hapū to have such draconian restrictions imposed on them after all they have done to keep their communities safe during alert levels 4 and 3."
The Overseas Investment Act regulates foreign direct Investment into NZ. As the economy recovers from the fallout of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the government is amending this act to protect key assets from falling unnecessarily into foreign ownership. Today Olivia spoke to Associate Minister of Finance David Park about this legislative change and also touched on his response to the criticism regarding the Covid-19 Public Health Response Bill. She began by asking what amendments are being made to the Overseas Investment Act.
Over the course of the lockdown a lot has changed very quickly, Felix Walton looks back at some of the areas we’ve previously covered, including the election, our media and the trans-Tasman bubble, and sees what’s changed as we enter Level 2 tomorrow.
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
95bFM 
