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.
Oscar Perress was able to talk to Samuel Miller McDonald, a journalist, writer and student currently based in the UK for his studies at Oxford. Though talking for over an hour, their discussion around Covid-19 can be understood as a discussion on a need for systems change.
When Covid-19 arrived on the shores of the UK, Miller McDonald wrote an op-ed for The Guardian detailing common patterns that emerge from national emergencies and how these could possibly occur again with Covid-19. Oscar started by asking Miller McDonald to explain those patterns and whether they were likely to emerge, if they hadn't already, with Covid-19?
As we step into level three this week, today’s Epidemic Response Committee looks into medical and health industries. On the agenda we hear from a range of voices from Des Gorman who is a professor at the University of Auckland's School of Medicine, the College of Midwives, and Community Support Workers Network as well as Medical specialist, Sarah Dolton and Chair of General Practice Owner Advocates, GenPro, Tim Molloy. Molloy in particular has discussed in recent weeks the rise in demand, and expectations for general practice owners over the last few years. The rise in demands has not seen a rise in funding for the industry. We can expect this to be a focal point in today’s discussions.
On Dear Science with Marcus Jones we talk about low oxygen levels in Covid19 affected patients, and how hype around a certain drug is derailing other trials for a cure.
With that context on drug research, I speak to Russell Brown about reporting on a possible effective treatment for Covid19 that’s been found in Iran and the process in which this should be reported on.
We hear briefly from the Deputy Prime Minister Winson Peters on the announcement that the Ministry of Health had advised the government early on to close the borders even to NZ citizens.
We have our regular Epidemic Response Committee notes and today the committee is hearing from medical professionals and the severe underfunding of the health sector.
We take a look back at the refugee camps in Greece speaking to another NGO on how mothers and babies fair in the camps, along with the increased risk of Covid19.
The Wire team gives a quick reminder on how does level 3 look like.
Monday Wire's Sherry Zhang has her weekly chat with Green Party co-leader James Shaw.
International Desk reports on Muslims celebrating Ramadan home and abroad.
Laura Kvigstad and Jessica Hopkins have notes from today's parliamentary Epidemic Response Committee.
On Greendesk, Bronwyn Wilde spoke to Xcraft's Philip Solaris about their unmanned sea vessel to police illegal overfishing in New Zealand and the Pacific.
Phoebe Balle is of Norwegian and Pākehā descent, growing up in Auckland she now lives in Wellington working as a researcher. She recently spent 3 months at the Koanga Institute based near Wairoa, which is a centre for regenerative living founded by Kay Baxter and Bob Corker about 30 years ago. Over that time they’ve collected heritage seeds from fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. They now have over 800 varieties of seeds. We have actually had Kay on the show before when Lillian was looking into alternatives for overusing phosphate in our fertilisers as part of my Western Sahara investigation, so it’s great to hear a bit more about her mahi. Lillian saw a post from Phoebe on facebook about her time at the Koanga Institute and the importance of our relationships to our grown kai, so she reached out for a chat about this, particularly in the context of Covid19. In all honesty, Lillian had to start by asking what a heritage seed was.
On today's show of the Friday Wire, Laura reports on how unemployment will affect women in the workforce
Laura also brings us the regular chat with the National Party’s Denise Lea - today they discuss mostly the criticism that Simon Bridges has received for his position on leaving level 4 lockdown
We hear part two of Louis Laws' report on the Welfare system; he spoke today with Carmel Sepuloni who is the Minister for Social Development.
We have a quick poll position touching on whether you think changes must be made to the welfare system to better support those in need,
& Lillian speaks to Phoebe Balle who has recently returned from an internship at the Koanga Institute and we discuss food sovereignty in the context of covid19.
Last week producer Louis Laws reached out to three organisations; all advocating for changes to be implemented in our current welfare system.
He spoke with Brooke Fiafia from Auckland Action Against Poverty, Justin Latiff from The Child Poverty Action Group, & Andrea Black policy director at the Council of Trade Unions.
They were all critical of the increase to benefit levels, the wage subsidy, & the status of relationships in our current system, all calling for more work to be done.
Louis got in touch with Carmel Sepuloni, the Minister for Social Development in Aotearoa, to hear her response to these criticisms.
Globally there are mounting concerns around female employment in the wake of a covid 19 recession. While typically recessions most impact men as a result of the gendered labour divide in the job market, covid 19 has dealt major blows to employment sectors dominated by women. Global leaders, as a result, have expressed concerns that the limited progress women have made in achieving equity will be lost. Laura Kvigstad writes a report diving into what this means for the women of Aotearoa...
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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