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.
National’s Denise Lee joins Laura Kvigstad for their weekly chat. This week they chat about National MP David Bennet's comments concerning covid 19 and the criticism the party has had from New Zealand's leading microbiologist, Souxsie Wiles. Then they chat about the National Party's calls for a tax cut for middle-income earners to address economic concerns around the coronavirus. Finally, they chat about the protests at National's 22nd Bluegreen conference...
Then, producer, Louis Laws speaks with Emilie Rakete from People Against Prisons Aotearoa on the Arms down Coalition & the national day of action against the police...
And finally, Sam Denne, speak with Terry Bellamak from Abortion Law Reform Association NZ about the Abortion Legislation Bill that has just passed it’s second reading. They talk about the ways in which the public conversation around law reform puts extra demands onto pregnant people to speak about highly emotional experiences they have when accessing reproductive healthcare.
For the police, their mission statement on their website is for "New Zealand to be the safest country it can possibly be". However, for many New Zealanders, their view on the police isn’t quite as positive. Our justice system has been called “systematically racist” - with profiled discrimination against both Maori & Pasifika communities.
The police themselves admit to these unconscious biases, so the announcement of arming the police, & releasing squads of armed officers onto the streets of Manukau, Waikato, & Canterbury, came with some controversy.
These teams have been deployed since late October last year, & already they’re being sent out, on average, seventy-five times a day. Militarised patrols of the police, routine traffic stops & high-risk situations. As you can imagine, Not everyone’s happy about this…
So I got in touch with Emilie Rākete, a spokesperson for People Against Prisons Aotearoa & a member of the Arms Down Coalition, a collective of organisations & experts affected by police violence. The group's organising a national day of action - The first event Against Police Militarisation in Aotearoa.
Rachel Simpson speaks to the Migrant Workers Association President about xenophobia and Shane Jones; Politics lecturer Maria Armoudian recaps Super Tuesday in the US; Mary-Margaret has another weekly catch up with Andrew Little and they discuss multiple reform developments; and Radio Adelaide’s Zoe Kounadis reports on the closure Australian Associated Press in Neighbourhood Watch
Super Tuesday has brought an acknowledgement by Bernie Sanders that his campaign hasn’t been as successful as he hoped in galvanising young voters. Mary-Margaret spoke to Maria Armoudian for a recap on the developments
Zoe ponders the impact of Australian Associated Press closing its doors come June and the trials for Security Guards at Manus Island seeking compensation.
In light of Cabinet Minister Shane Jones's most recent comments about Indian students "ruining academic institutions" because of "unfettered immigration", Rachel Simpson speaks to Anu Kaloti, President of the Migrant Workers Association, about what the reality is for migrants in New Zealand. Kaloti offers facts that correct the minister's comments, and explains what can be done about xenophobia when it comes from a government figure.
On Dear Science with AUT’s Marcus Jones we have a coronavirus update, a brightening star and a genome study about rats in New York.
And Lillian has a (lengthy) piece on Iran and US relations. Now this was something that was all happening at the start of this year (back when the newsroom was still closed for the break) and we have touched on it a little since we’ve been back but Lillian thought she'd conduct a very in depth interview on the matter and go a bit more into the history of the two countries. This is fairly timely with the Iranian elections as well as the spread of the coronavirus there.
So, the US and Iran. Often two countries referred to as being in tension. At the beginning of this year there were some major instances in the heightening of tensions between Iran and the United States. On the 3rd January the US ordered the assassination by drone strike of Major General Qasem Soleimani - the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. He was considered the second most powerful person in Iran. Following this, there was relief as well as anger at his death. There was also shock around the world for what this would mean for Iran US relations which have been considerably rocky since President Trump removed the US from the Nuclear Deal signed in 2015 with Iran and a number of other countries. In removing themselves from the deal they also reapplied sanctions on Iran that had been removed as part of the 2015 agreement. The sanctions, along with mismanagement and a shock rise in fuel prices led to nationwide protests last year in Iran. More than 1000 people are believed to have been killed. After the assassination both countries were on high alert and this led to the shooting down of a civilian plane by the Revolutionary Guard who mistook it for a cruise missile. 176 people were on board and all were killed. As the Iranian elections are upon us, as well as the American elections later this year, Lillian thought it could be good to have a big conversation about what this all means. Negar Mortazavi is an Iranian American journalist and media analyst based in Washington DC. She has been following Iran news and US Iran relations for a decade. I reached out to her to provide a bit more context about the history between these two countries and to understand more about how this political warfare, which could lead to actual warfare, is affecting the everyday lives of people.
It would be remiss of me not to mention what is happening in Iran right now with the coronavirus. On instagram this morning a post came up by the user See you in Iran - this is an account for the Hostel and Public Cafe of the same name situated in Tehran, however the bio also states ‘voices from within Iran to avoid others speaking on our behalf’. The post they made reads as follows:
“A new phase of disaster and isolation has hit Iran after the frightful news of Iran becoming a new epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak; another critical point we are facing along the recurring crisis during the past few months. Firstly, authorities took no measurement to keep Covid19 from entering the country, and further on had no plans to quarantine virus-hit cities. False medical advice, avoiding reliable statistics release, and shortage on health services are causing social chaos. Many countries have closed their air and land borders with Iran and lots of businesses are on the verge of collapse. Low-paid workers have no choice but to use public transportation, vulnerable women and children are working on the street and subways, with poor sanitizing conditions; and yet there is no sign of the officials’ support. The private sector, conforming to the rule of capital, have mostly found their business more valuable than their workers health conditions and did not shut down their workspace as well. For most of us there is no excitement about our new year celebration, Nowrus, with no family or friend gatherings this year. It is hard not to lose hope and fight for the good, though we do not stop to depict our global audience the challenge people inside Iran are coping with these days: health insecurity, unstable career, political disappointment, and an unknown future.”
Justin talked to Michael Gilchrist of the Tertiary Education Union about the University of Auckland's hiring freeze due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Bronnie talked to Rebecca Diederichson from Kotahi Aviary talking about some of the challenges of breeding the critically endangered Shore Plover bird.
International Desk explains the Super Tuesday of the Democratic presidential nomination race..
Rachel Simpon speaks with Director of JustSpeak, Tania Sawicki Mead, about Maori and justice proceedings.
The University of Auckland has implemented a hiring freeze to cut costs, after it predicted losses of $30 million dollars as the government's travel ban against mainland Chinese students caused around 2,000 students unable to return to New Zealand for the semester.
Justin talked to the Tertiary Education Union's National President Michael Gilchrist about this.
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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