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.
The Epidemic Response Committee was established in late March to consider and report to the House of Representatives on matters relating to the Government's management of Covid-19. The chairperson is Simon Bridges, leader of Opposition.
On Dear Science with Marcus Jones we hear about the origins of Covid19 and an ozone hole opeining up over the Arctic.
Felix looks at how Covid-19 could impact our upcoming election.
Lillian looks into the current situation on the Greek and Turkish border that puts a large number of refugees at risk, particularly with the possible spread of Covid19
And Lillian hasa piece on the NZ Symphony Orchestra live streaming their performances.
In 2016 there was a deal made between Turkey and Europe in an attempt to stem the flow of refugees into Europe. It would work by returning one Syrian refugee from the Greek islands to Turkey and in exchange, a Syrian asylum seeker in Turkey would be found a home in Europe. Early this year, after intense bombings in the Idlib province of Syria, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan encouraged a thousands of Refugees to move through Greece to Europe. He said he would ‘open the Greek and Turkish border’ which, under that 2016 EU-Turkey statement, he had been tasked to protect from irregular crossings. The resulting influx of asylum-seekers, migrants and refugees into Greece was met with violence at the borders, with Greek police using tear-gas, water cannons, and stun grenades. In response, and in an attempt to further halt that movement, Europe agreed to pay Turkey 6 billion Euros. Just over half of this has been paid out. By the beginning of March, renewed violence at the border was rife amid speculation the previous deal between the EU and Turkey had fallen through. LSE reports there were videos of Greek border guards shooting at a dinghy containing people seeking refuge in Greece – along with the 450 people trapped in a naval vessel in Lesbos forbidden to lodge asylum claims.Turkey also deployed 1000 police officers to its border to prevent Greece pushing migrants and refugees back. Thousands of people were stuck between the Turkish and Greek borders.
As this was happening, Covid19 was spreading through Europe. I wanted to understand how the spread of Covid19 was going to impact those currently stuck between each border and what measures were being taken to protect those people. My friend Milad is from Germany, a child of refugees. He knows many languages and went to volunteer on the Greek island of Samos last year to support those who needed support in both the Farsi and Dari languages. I asked Milad if he could put me in touch with anyone who was there currently to speak to this situation. He pointed me in the direction of a facebook group set up to coordinate volunteers heading to Greece. There I found a few people who wanted to speak to me, we will hear from them soon, and perhaps in the coming days as well as the situation develops. Natalie Gruber is from Austria, since 2015 she has been involved in the refugee crisis as a volunteer on different borders throughout Europe. She works as a volunteer for the organisation Josoor, which means Bridge in Arabic. It’s an association founded in 2015 by Syrian refugee Qutaiba Zarzour and Natalie with the goal of developing an online platform to connect everyone involved in the European refugee crisis.
So - Two weeks ago, Natalie travelled to Turkey with other volunteers given the huge number of refugees stuck between the border of Turkey and Greece forced there by authorities on either side. Natalie arrived in Erdina, a city close to the border with Greece, and it was too difficult to get into the camp. Natlie said police were discouraging people to help there. The group of volunteers split, some staying there and forming connections and others heading home to work from there. She’s working on a crowdfunding campaign where the money goes directly to purchasing supplies that can be distributed such as food medicine sanitary products blankets and plastic sheets for tents because real tents are not allowed. I spoke to Natalie while she was in Austria. I started by asking her what the situation is at the border.
Update: Lillian spoke to Natalie on the 27th March. The situation has changed a lot since then:
"Everyone has now been removed from the border and brought to detention camps in nine different places. The camps are all over Turkey, not Istanbul as promised - some even on the Syrian border. Police showed our Facebook profiles to the people on the busses, asking if they were in touch with us. Most people had their phones taken away right then and there, and those who managed to hide them have since been running out of battery so we have almost no contact anymore. The officials said that the people would be returned to the border after 2 weeks of quarantine, but we don't really believe that".
The cross party Epidemic Response Committee had its first meeting this morning. Lillian speaks about its function as a democratic mechanism to hold the government accountable, and concerns raised during the meeting, like the government's lack of urgency in procuring relevant technologies, and the public hospital capacity.
Next, Hanna gives us an update on the country’s healthcare capacity, looking at ICU beds and ventilators available, the advantages of going into lockdown early, and measures that will have to be taken if our hospitals reach capacity.
Justin spoke to Dr. Kenneth Kwong, a Hong Kong chemistry tutor, who is teaching people how to make their own reusable face mask and hand sanitizar on social media.
Sherry Zhang talks to James Fuller, CEO and Co-founder of HNRY (Henry), a tax agency specialising om supporting self-employers on how the wage subsidy for COVID-19 works, other external costs such as rent, and how tax, acc and kiwisaver payments are working during this time.
The Arts have been deeply affected by the Covid-19 Rāhui and are quickly coming up with ways to evolve and survive in this new virtual climate. Zoë Larsen Cumming talks to LA based musician Emily Edrosa about her experience with live streaming and how the music industry is placed to make the online shift. She also chats to actor, director, and theatre maker Freya Finch about live streaming in the theatre world, and what is lost and gained when theatre becomes virtual.
Prime minister Jacinda Arden recently announced that up to 10,000 New Zealanders will be quarantined after returning from overseas. Multiple police officers have been reported at airports ushering recent travelers to be quarantined at hotels and campervans. As of March 26th, the Ministry reported no campervans have yet to be used.
Jess Dellabarca is an Auckland university student who recently came back from the Netherlands on student exchange. She’s currently being quarantined at a hotel in Auckland, as she is unable to return home to Wellington with all domestic travel banned. Sherry Zhang begins by asking her on how the travel back home was.
We have the regular weekly chat with Green Party co-leader James Shaw
Zoe Larsen Cumming talks to musician Emily Edrosa and actor and director Freya Finch about moving their respective fields in the arts into virtual spaces.
James talks to Peter Fergusson, the CEO of Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ about the situation with cancer patients as well as non-for-profit organisations
Southern Cross segment as usual with the latest happenings in the Asia-Pacific region in regards to Covid19
And Sherry has a chat with someone who has returned from overseas and is in quarantine in a hotel
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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