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.
Grace speaks with Minister for revenue, Stuart Nash, about changes to secondary tax. The new legislation means New Zealanders working more than one job will no longer be overcharged on tax and have to apply for a tax refund at the end of the year. Tax will be deducted automatically at the correct rate instead.
Operation Burnham was a mission undertaken in Afghanistan by New Zealand Special Air Service troops in 2010. An inquiry into this mission was launched following allegations made in the book Hit & Run, by the journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson. The book alleged that members of the Defence Force killed six and injured fifteen Afghan civilians and the events were later covered up by the military. The inquiry was launched in April last year, however the lawyers representing the Afghan villagers have launched legal proceedings for a judicial review in the investigation as they do not think the inquiry is being carried out the way it should be. Olivia spoke to lawyer Deborah Manning who is representing the villagers about the judicial review.
Producer Sherry talks to Alesha Ahdar on her theatre show My Kuia, and on the representation of LGBTQ+ Māori and Polynesian creatives, bridging the intergenerational gap, and current struggles within the community.
The School Strike 4 Climate Action NZ is happening this Friday in Aotea Square, and throughout the rest of the country. This day has been organised by students and helpers for school children to strike from school to show politicians they are taking their futures seriously, and treating climate change for what it is - a crisis. These kids are between 8-18 and their demands include:
Passing an ambitious and effective Zero Carbon Act that gives New Zealand a coherent long term plan to get to carbon neutrality by 2050;
Keeping the effect of global warming and its consequences for all living things on this planet in mind when making decisions for the future;
The paths to reaching our emission targets being fast tracked, well planned and transparent so the New Zealand public is aware that progress is being made and can hold the Government to account;
Ceasing all exploration and extraction of more fossil fuels immediately. We already have more in our reserves than we can afford to burn to avoid catastrophic climate change. We need to invest in renewable energy alternatives now;
Regulating emissions from agriculture, which account for almost half of our emissions, and for which there is currently no plan.
Sophie Handford is one of the young people organising the strike and Lillian Hanly spoke with her to find out more about how these strikes came about given the current Fridays for Future movement in Sweden that was started by Greta Thunberg (and the same in Belgium, just on Thursdays). Thunberg decided she would strike every Friday until the Swedish policies provided a safe pathway well under 2-degrees Celcius, in line with the Paris Agreement. The point behind it is that students are asking what the point is of studying for a future that may not even exist at this point, and why spend a lot of effort to become educated, when our governments are not listening to the educated?
But back to Aotearoa. Sophie was catching a train at the time and during the interview hopped off the train and onto a bus which you’ll hear, Lillian decided to leave this in as a testament to the actioning of alternatives to carbon use.
On Dear Science today with Marcus Jones we talk about not being exposed to enough germs, woolly mammoths and an all female space walk.
The School Strike 4 Climate NZ is coming up on Friday and we speak with Sophie Handford, one of the organisers, about how this all started.
Sherry talks to Alesha Ahdar about the show My Kuia and they discuss the space for Queer Māori and Polynesian people in creative arts.
We have a report from Louis Laws about the Reclamation Festival at Ihumātao to give some context to the delivery of their petition to parliament yesterday.
And lastly, our Economic Anxiety with Rod Oram feature is back with part 4 - where might another crisis come from?
Yesterday, a petition was delivered to parliament by Save Our Unique Landscape, the group occupying the land at Ihumātao and opposing the sale of the land to Fletcher. The petition demands the government take action to stop the development of the land and return it to mana whenua. A couple of Saturdays ago, there was a Reclamation Festival at Ihumātao hosted by mana whenua as a way of bringing people together to understand and celebrate the kaupapa behind the occupation. Louis Laws went along and made this report.
The full show podcast for Tuesday the 12th of March, 2019. Featuring segments with Author and Policy analyst Owen Gill, Head of the Local Board, Pippa Coom and Dr. Huhana Smith. The International desk also delves into the condition of Burkina Faso.
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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