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.
Age Concern NZ is a charitable organisation dedicated to the wellbeing and dignity and respect of elderly people. They exist to help older people get what they need. Stephanie Clare is the Chief Executive overseeing the organisation throughout the whole country. Lillian got in touch with them last week as they were urging people to continue to support our elderly communities at this time...
Age Concern Auckland is concerned that vulnerable older people living alone are putting themselves at risk by venturing out during the Covid-19 lockdown to get groceries, visit the bank or to collect medications. Please remember not to do this. Please where you can, ring someone and ask them to go instead. Or, if you can’t, ring Age Concern and they will organise this for you. Numbers for Auckland are:
Central & West Auckland – 820 0184
South Auckland - 279 4331
North Shore – 489 4975
You can also email Age Concern Auckland on ageconcern@ageconak.org.nz
Bauer media's 237 staff were informed yesterday that the magazine publisher was shutting down. A report from Laura Kvigstad explores how this happened and why Bauer media refused the supports offered to it by the government in order to stay afloat.
Asylum Seekers Support Trust provides practical support for refugees arriving in Aotearoa. This ranges from providing accommodation, food and advocacy with WINZ to banking, enrolling in schools or clothing donations. Lillian Hanly spoke to General Manager of the Trust, Tim Maurice, to hear refugees are faring in Aotearoa at this time.
Te Kuru Dewes is from Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Rangitihi. He is a multi-media journalist and regional reporter for Te Ao Māori news at Whakaata Māori. Te Kuru lives in Tūranga nui a Kiwa, Gisborne, with his partner Nikau Hindin, an artist. Nikau returned from Hawai’i before the level 4 rāhui was in place but after the measures from the government were in place instructing those returning from overseas to go immediately into isolation. So they have been in isolation for about two weeks now. Te Kuru has been communicating over instagram and other social media platforms the core information about everything going on with Covid19 in Aotearoa right now. Lillian had been following it and what she found useful was the breakdown of all the news going on elsewhere. This can be dangerous of course when there is misinformation circling out there too. But, as a journalist, Te Kuru understands that. He’s trying to do it so people have an effective and consistent source of info. Lillian spoke to Te Kuru and asked why he’s been doing this.
Mary-Margaret speaks to the Drug Foundation’s Ben Birk about drug safety during the rāhui.
We will hear from Labour’s Andrew Little once again about price gouging, police dispersals and those in their twenties that seem to be the most likely to spread the virus.
Rachel reports on the Covid-19 situation in the United States.
Mary-Margaret will have her weekly catch up with Radio Adelaide’s Zoe Kounadis.
Lillian speaks with Action Station about a housing petition being delivered to Parliament tonight via zoom.
Izzy speaks to Jane Wrightson about withdrawing your kiwisaver at this time.
Action Station will be delivering a 95,000 signature strong petition to parliament tonight via Zoom.
Kassie Hartendorp is a community organiser at Action Station, Lillian Hanly spoke with her this morning and asked her to give us an idea of the current situation around access to housing.
Mary-Margaret wanted to find out what cannabis safety during rāhui looks like. Despite cannabis use being common across Aotearoa, clarity around safe use is often lacking. She speaks to Ben Birks of the Drug Foundation, about usage amid a pandemic.
How can we make sense of America above the noise? Rachel Simpson reports on how the US is tackling Covid-19.
With accounts from LA and New York, we look at increased security presence to handle possible civil unrest, strike action and sick-outs amongst essential workers, how the privatised medical system is handling the pandemic, and whether democracy will be available since the future of the presidential election is unclear due to lockdown.
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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