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.
This day in history takes us back to 1993 for the conclusion of the Russian Constitutional Crisis, which saw the country's military fire on the parliament building, then known as the White House.
Oscar Perress talks to Julie Chapman, of KidsCan, about poverty, in particular period poverty and access to sanitary products in Aotearoa. We also discuss the importance of ending the socio-economic causes that enable and breed period poverty rather than just providing temporary solutions.
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions is hosting a roundtable on a Just Transition to a zero emissions economy. The roundtable will include representatives from business, unions, environmental groups and government. They will try to figure out how New Zealand can prepare and secure a fair and democratic transition away from fossil fuels.
Our producer Ella talks to Sam Huggard the National Secretary at the Council of Trade Unions about the very current necessity of this roundtable.
The Post Primary Teachers' Association has rejected an offer from the government to, amongst other things, increase the pay of secondary teachers by roughly 9% over three years. Some delegates, who voted against the offer, have called it "insulting".
On the other side, Ministry for Education Christ Hipkins considers the union's claim of a 15% pay rise to be "out of the ballpark".
While the negotiations are still underway, the shortage of teachers and their increasing workload is destabilising a vital profession.
Host Lisa Boudet talks to the union's president, Jack Boyle, about the current and looming challenges the secondary teaching field faces.
This week, Conor talks about the recent earthquake and tsunami on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. We talk about where the island is, who lives there, how it makes its money and why Indonesia's disaster recovery process is not fulfilling the needs of survivors
This week is the Tuvalu Language Week and the theme this year is “Tuvalu faka’na ki te atua. Fakatumau au tu mo faifaiga. Tautua mo Aotearoa” (Tuvalu. Trust in God. Nurture your cultural values and heritage. Serve Aotearoa). Justin talked to Sagaa Malua, the secretary for the Tuvalu Auckland Community Trust about it. But first, we talked about Tuvaluans in New Zealand.
The FBI’s investigation of sexual assault allegations laid against Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh has begun, and will continue until the end of this week. Mary-Margaret spoke to political commentator Tracey Barnett about the importance of paying attention to attacks that take place during people’s high school experiences. We do not detail assault in this story, but we do bring into question the rhetoric of victim blaming, so as a warning: to anyone who may find that language distressing - it is explicitly referenced at one point.
The Green Party launched a social support campaign on Sunday, and Ben is talking to co-leader Marama Davidson about what this entails.
In America, the FBI has until Friday to investigate Dr Christine Ford’s sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh - Mary-Margaret talks to commentator Tracey Barnett about the importance of MeToo extending to cases that happened in high school.
An earthquake hit Indonesia yesterday and Conor is giving us a report on the situation.
It’s Tuvalu Language Week and Justin is speaking to Sagaan Malua, the Secretary of the Tuvalu Auckland Community Trust
And finally, for the Green Desk this week, we have a chat with Forest and Bird about saving Russell State Forest.
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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