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.
Is there chaos in the coalition? Yesterday, NZ First ministers revealed they were planning to take the issue of abortion law reform to the public, with a referendum. And yet, NZ First Minister Tracey Martin said that this was never a discussion raised during conversations on the matter. Add to that Labour’s Andrew Little, who has been working on this Bill for around a year, says he was taken by surprise with the announcement that NZ First would push for a referendum. So, what does it all mean for the government? Commentator Ben Thomas is here to break it down. Host Stewart Sowman-Lund starts by asking him how serious this all is.
Sherry Zhang speaks with general manager of Para Kore, Jacquis Forbes. Para Kore is an organisation working toward education around how to best manage waste. They are also working especially with marae. This was part of Sherry’s investigation into waste, and is timely now because Para Kore are actually the ones monitoring all the waste at Ihumātao. Sherry started by asking what Para Kore is.
Joel Rindelaub is a research fellow at the University of Auckland, he’s currently studying applications of analytical chemistry, whether it’s environmental concerns or forensic science. Recently, he wrote a piece in Newsroom called Why Sources Matter in a Climate of Ignorance? It talked about a so-called climate expert who was not in fact a climate expert. An excerpt from the piece reads as follows: “Not only does he propagate material that misrepresents our current understanding of science, he has also displayed ethically dubious behaviour while doing so.” Lillian Hanly got Joel into the studio to have a chat and started by asking him why he wrote the piece.
This is topical because only this morning National MP Chris Penk tweeted in regards to the abortion reform legislation announcement, “Sure, we expected some changes but nothing so extreme (/cruel?) as liberalising abortion right up to birth.” Which is just blatantly incorrect.
When questioned on this, leader of the National Party Simon Bridges told Radio NZ, ‘one person’s misinformation is another person’s fact’.
On Dear Science with AUT’s Allan Blackman we talk about rogue molecules, less money for glyphosate cancer rulings and an allegedly boring element.
Justin gives us an update on the rally at uni yesterday in solidarity with Hong Kong.
Tuwhenuaroa was out at Ihumātao this morning, and is live in studio to give us a bit of an update.
Joel Rindelaub, a research fellow here at the university, talks to Lillian about the importance of naming your sources when it comes to climate crisis research.
And Sherry speaks to Jacqui Forbes, general manager of Para Kore about waste minimisation.
Last night, police presence at Ihumātao increased significantly and completely unexpectedly. The call was made for supporters to join those on the whenua. Things had escalated and one group of protestors had been isolated from the others. Lillian Hanly was there and put this report together so people can hear and feel some of what happened over the 5 hour stand off. Whakarongo mai.
To get some context and an update from the weekend, listen here.
Justin talks to Denis Leven, a student at the Moscow Higher School of Economics who attended protests in the Russian capital for the past two weeks, on what the protests are about and what happened. He also discussed with Dr Alexander Maxwell from Victoria University on how will the protests affect President Vladimir Putin's popularity in Russia.
First up Olivia Holdsworth talks to Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage about a new action plan for biodiversity in Aotearoa.
Next up Oscar Perress brings us up to speed with what’s going on at Ihumātao.
Following that, for The International Desk Justin Wong speaks to Russian student and protester Denis Leven and academic Dr Alexander Maxwell to find out more about what’s going on at the Moscow protests.
And finally Lillian Hanly, who was at Ihumātao last night when the standoff occurred, brings us a report of her experience there on site.
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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