Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Governments all over the world are paying more and more attention to the financial activities of digital giants such as Google, Facebook and Uber. And New Zealand isn’t being left out of the picture - our government has just announced plans to impose a new digital services tax on multinational corporations operating in New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson sez highly digitalised companies currently earn a significant income from New Zealand consumers without being liable for income tax. He adds the current tax rules also provide a competitive advantage to foreign companies in the digital services field compared to local companies offering similar online services. So will this proposed digital tax affect the operating activities of these online global giants in New Zealand? Olivia Holdsworth spoke to economic and political journalist Rod Oram about the new tax. Olivia also asked him about his thoughts on the upcoming tax working group report and specifically the capital gains tax which would see profits from the sale of assets and investments such as rental properties and shares being taxed at people's marginal income tax rate. Olivia began by asking how the digital services tax will affect multinational corporations.
Why have 7 UK Labour MPs resigned overnight? I talk to our correspondant in Europe, Justin Wong.
The Green Desk is back for another week: Today, Mitchell talks to the executive director of Greenpeace Russel Norman about the state of New Zealand’s fishing industry
Then, Liv talks to economic and political journalist Rod Oram about the government’s plans to impose a new digital services tax (DST) on multinational companies operating in New Zealand and briefly discusses the capital gains tax.
Finally, for our international segment, Lisa looks at the developments in the China / New Zealand relationship
Since late 2018, organisers have occupied Ihumātao, a patch of land near The Auckland Airport that Fletchers plan to develop. The groups are fighting to see the land returned to mana whenua due to its deep signifigance. On Friday, Save our Unique Landscape, or SOUL, held a National Day of Action at Fletchers offices around the country to raise awareness for their plight and gain support for their petition. Lachlan spoke with Te Pora Stephens from SOUL about the history of the land and the fight to save it from development.
Stuff recently released an article warning of sex-for-rent advertisments appearing on Craigslist for rooms in New Zealand cities. The article talks about how sex-for-rent arrangements pose a serious risk to women. Jemima speaks to Dame Catherine Healy, the National Coordinator for the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, about sex-for-rent arrangements and whether they are safe.
Action Station commissioned a report on online harassment in New Zealand. The results were disheartening, showing high levels of abuse aimed at minorities in Aotearoa. They argue current legislation has not kept up with the internet and how abuse is now happening online. Lachlan spoke with Leroy Beckett from Action station about the report.
Today on the Monday Wire, Jemima speaks to Green Party co-leader James Shaw about the possibility of a blue-green political party emerging before the next election. Lachlan talks to Leroy Beckett from Action Station about online harassment. Lachlan also spoke to Te Pora Stephens from Save Our Unique Landscape about Ihumatao and the national day of action held last Friday. Jemima wraps up with National Coordinator for the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, Catherine Healy, about sex-for-rent advertisements and arrangements.
It was announced this week that the government has a new initiative to reinvigorate all of the polytechnic institutions around the country. As of recently, many polytechs have been struggling financially & failing to make their student quota.
The Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins, wants to change this, and has proposed to unify all sixteen polytechnic, as well as to combine all the funding for these institutions across the board.
I also got in touch with James Ranstead, President of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations.
He shared with me his thoughts on the progress which is taking a step in the right direction, as well as the consultation needed by students themselves.
Protect Ihumātao, the National Day of Action was a protest that took place this morning on Great South Road. We talk with Pania Newton about what happened on the day.
On the show today we have Louis talking to Chris Hipkins about the governments plans to unite the sixteen polytechnics around New Zealand.
Then, Te Roopu Nahinara, National Party Member, Denise Lee is back with Laura. She’s keeping us all in the loop about everything happening in the National Party.
Afterwards, Laura spoke with Marketing Lecture from The University of Auckland, Gavin Northey about corporate participation in pride.
Next, Neighbourhood Watch is back for the first time this year. Zoe Kounadis from Radio Adelaide joins Laura to talk all the Aussie News.
And Finally, Protect Ihumātao, the National Day of Action - A protest in Auckland which took place this morning on Great South Road. Louis talks with Pania Newton about what happened on the monumental day.
Last week, the council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Committee said they would be seeking to implement a number of recommendations that improve emergency readiness for disabled populations.
Following a hui last year where community members were invited to bring forward issues relating to future planning for natural disasters, Sara was interested to hear about how the council is taking suggestions on board.
As well, Auckland Council has been considering proposals to mitigate flood risks around the Wairau catchment, including one which would see the reduction of the size of the Takapuna Golf Course, to convert the space into a flood catchment.
Producer Sara spoke to Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson on both of these topics, firstly by asking him to discuss the desired outcomes relating to emergency preparedness for disabled people, and the council’s first steps to implementation
Zohran Mamdani has all but won the Democratic Primary in New York City after key competitor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
Mamdani will now be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
His campaign was built on cost-of-living, where Mamdani presented himself as an authentic, Democratic Socialist, grassroots campaign leader.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to 95bFM reporter and South Asia correspondent Sanat Singh about Momdani’s win, what this means for the communities he represents, and where to from here.
A reported 131,000 submissions were made on the Regulatory Standards Bill.
The Bill, proposed by the ACT party, includes a set of principles outlining “responsible regulation.” Notably, it does not include any mention of either version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Last weekend, hundreds of Destiny Church members marched on Queen Street in a rally that they called “in defence of faith, flag, and family.”
And the Labour Party has criticised the framing of a poll question by the Taxpayers Union/Curia on whether or not Cook Islanders should retain automatic New Zealand citizenship.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Recently the Green Party commissioned independent legal advice to look into the government’s $200 million investment in new gas fields that was carried out last month and found out that the investment was in breach of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS).
NZ First MP Shane Jones recently announced that he’d be drafting a member's bill to force Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement, which would prevent hapū from negotiating separate commercial redresses and remove any reference to hapū sovereignty from the settlement terms.
And the Green party recently issued a call to the New Zealand government to condemn the US strikes on Iranian Nuclear facilities, almost a week after Iran and Israel had both been trading missile strikes between each other.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Hūhana Lyndon to get the party’s take on all of these issues
Last week, Statistics Minister Shane Reti announced plans to scrap the nationwide census moving forward. The census is the largest statistical survey done in Aotearoa, and provides the bulk of population data used in research and decision-making. Reti says the census is “no longer financially viable” and will be replaced with a combination of smaller annual surveys and administrative data.
While the change looks good on paper, there are concerns around how the change in data collection could affect representation of marginalised and minority groups. Census data tends to be more protected from bias than administrative data and smaller surveys, meaning there are more opportunities for misrepresentation. Some statisticians are particularly concerned about the potential exclusion of marginalised rural communities.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked him about the census decision and its implications on marginalised and minority groups.
Associate Health Minister, David Seymour, has recently announced changes to Psilocybin and Melatonin availability.
Psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms, will be available for certain patients suffering from poor mental health outcomes. Melatonin, which is used for insomnia and jetlag, is set to be available over the counter.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about this move, and the potential accessibility concerns with accessing these medications.
They also discussed taxpayers set to be funding newly-funded cancer medicines for private facilities.
Finally, they discuss opposition parties criticised Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, over a lack of transparency regarding the effectiveness of boot camps for youth offenders, especially as boot camps have received a boost of $30 million, despite the pilot programme still being ongoing.
But first, they discussed Psilocybin and Melatonin.
Last Saturday, over 2,000 protests took place across all 50 American States against President Donald Trump.
The protests coincided with Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the US Army, and they served as a direct response to the military parade in Washington, DC.
The organisers of the protests say they aimed to reject “authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarisation of our democracy.”
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Jeremy Pressman, Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut about the protests and the backlash towards them from the Trump administration.
Housing intensification is a key priority for Auckland Council as Auckland's population is forecast to reach 2.3 million by 2050.
But as planning for growth continues, some Auckland residents have expressed concern about the approval of developments in areas on flood plains or particularly prone to natural disasters.
With Kāinga Ora selling homes as ‘high risk investments’ in areas which were impacted by flooding in recent years, and 15 percent of all granted consents for new builds by Auckland Council being on floodplains, I spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about how the council is taking into account these issues for the coming years.
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