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.
Climate change is real, and if we don’t act now then we’re going to be in a lot of trouble. With the earths surface temperature getting hotter, the global sea levels rising, the issue is simply being accelerated day by day. So what are we going to do about it?
The school strike for climate is a movement solely supported by high school students & university students alike, looking to tackle this issue in Aotearoa head on.
Already the group has been campaigning for recognition from the government, with the strikes happening nationwide on the 15th of March. Raven Maeder, one of the organisers of the group, talked to me about how the movement started, and the impact that it is having across the country...
The full show podcast of The Wire for February 21st, 2019. We are joined for conversations with Minister Andrew Little, Ricardo Menéndez March of Auckland Action Against Poverty and Gerry Devlin of The Heart Foundation as well as a slightly janky return of This Day in History.
Grace speaks to Gerry Devlin, medical director at the Heart Foundation and cardiologist at Gisbourne Hospital about New Zealand's biggest killer, heart disease.
On Dear Science today we talk about the end of the Opportunity Rover on Mars, push ups and heart disease, and the best order to drink wine and beer together as well as a profile of the element Americium from the Periodic Table.
Fletcher Tabuteau is with us this week and Lillian Hanly spoke with him about the Digital Services Tax and the possible shift away from the use of 1080.
Finally, Lillian has something special in store for Wednesday listeners over the next month or so, and that is A Seven Part Chat with Rod Oram. This will be explained later in the show but basically there were some articles around the possibility of another global financial crisis and Lillian wanted to know more about that, and whether we should be keeping money out of the bank...
Heaps of great interaction from listeners today too with lots of good points about alcohol poisoning and tax and fairness.
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.
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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