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.
It was announced over the weekend that a new government investment of four hundred million dollars into schools for property upgrades & maintenance & this would go into effect as of tomorrow.
The announcement was made by the Prime Minister Jacinda Adern during the closing moments of her speech at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Wanganui on Sunday.
Two thousand & fifty schools will be eligible to receive a minimum of $50,000 with a maximum of $400,000, depending on roll size.
That’s six hundred & ninety three dollars per student! The one-off cash injection is the biggest investment in school maintenance in at least 25 years. To talk further about this investment is Education Minister Chris Hipkins who spoke to me this morning about the governments school infrastructure plan in full.
Then, to talk further through the initiative & the investment, Louis spoke with Lynda Stuart, president of the New Zealand Educational Institution - an organisation who are employers, as well as the union representing all teachers, who lead and advocate for quality public education. Here is Lynda Stuart with N.Z.E.I.’s response.
On Monday wire, we have our weekly chat with Green party Co-leader James Shaw on the Landfill Levy and Suicide prevention office. Louis speaks to Education Minister Chris Hipkins and NZEI president on the $400 mil increase to school infrastructure. Deb reports on the living wage increase for teacher aids and support staff.
The recent heist at the Green Vault within the Dresden Castle in Germany has been speculated to be one of the largest art heists in history. City officials and experts consider the loss to be "priceless" and a "cultural loss", while the media considers the Baroque-era jewellery that was stolen to be worth one billion dollars.
The entire heist took about five minutes in total, and it may be possible that the jewels are already melted down or have been sold on the black market.
Rachel Simpson spoke to Dr Ngarino Ellis from the University of Auckland's art history department. Dr Ellis has a history in the law profession and is a member of the Art Crime Research Trust. Rachel and Dr Ellis spoke about the nature of art crime, why stealing art has historically been an assertion of power, and how exactly the Dresden thieves might have done it.
The National Party’s, Denise Lee joins Laura Kvigstad to chat about the National Party advocating for an elite police force to target gangs. After that, they chat about Andrew Little's announcement to restore voting rights to former convicts who served three years or less in prison. Finally, they chat about the National's latest Palmerston North MP candidate, a 17-year-old youth MP, William Woods. If elected woods would be the youngest MP by three years.
After that, Laura speaks with Emmy Rakete from People Against Prisons Aotearoa about the recent report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority that ruled it was justifiable for police to shoot an armed man 12 times and why People Against Prisons Aotearoa believes the facts don’t support that conclusion.
Then, Rachel Simpson speaks with Dr. Ngarino Ellis from the University of Auckland's Art History Department about the most recent and the largest art heist in history at the Green Vault in Dresden Castle.
And Finally, Ben Goldson gives us a segment of neutral corner as he covers the recent protests in Iraq.
Emillie Rakete from People Against Prisons Aotearoa joins producer Laura Kvigstad about the recent report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority that ruled it was justifiable for police to shoot an armed man 12 times. Rakete goes on to explain why PAPA believes the evidence does not stack up to the conclusion.
Last week Aramco, Saudi Arabia's oil company, was listed on the Riyadh exchange. The move has been many years in the making, but has not come without its fair share of changes. Exclusively listing on their national exchange, unmet valuation targets and a smaller amount of shares available have all changed how the company will now perform, as well as global pressures surrounding the climate emergency. James talked to Rod Oram, a business and political commentator, about what this could mean not only for Saudi Arabia, but how they and their economy is viewed by the rest of the world.
This week, Mary-Margaret spoke to Zoe about Northern Territory’s recent decriminalisation of sex work, Malcolm Turnbull having spoken up again about Australia becoming a republic, and an exciting new recycling initiative
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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