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.
The Auckland DHB is calling for more people to be immunised against the mumps disease after a spike in cases this year. More than 130 instances have been reported so far, compared with only 35 in 2016. 95bFM reporter Adam Jacobson speaks with Auckland DHB Clinical Director, Dr Julia Peters, about why the disease has spread across Auckland so quickly.
The 2017 Parliamentary Drug Law Symposium kicked off today in Wellington, bringing together a range of international and domestic speakers to talk about how better drug laws can be developed for the 21st Century. An increasing number of countries around the world are shifting their stance towards controlling drugs, away from a prohibitive approach and towards law & policy that promotes health and wellbeing. One of the speakers at the Symposium is Professor of Criminology at Durham University, Fiona Measham, who is also the Director of a non-profit in the UK that provides drug safety testing, as well as welfare and harm reduction services at nightclubs and festivals. 95bFM reporter Pearl Little catches up with Fiona to find out a little more about her work.
Check out the full podcast for this week's Tuesday show, where we speak to Marama Fox about the Māori Party's partnership with the One Pacific party, Assistant Health Minister Peter Dunne about getting drug testing legalised in music festivals, and more. We also have a full report on the implications for Al Jazeera being caught up in the Qatar Crisis, a falling out between the Arab states.
Reporters Sam Smith and Mack Smith look into the possibility of Qatari news network Al Jazeera closing in the wake of the ongoing Gulf states diplomatic crisis.
Auckland Lives two bee colonies have died. The hives were found after a routine inspection a fortnight ago. The cause of death is believed to be death by poisoning due to insecticide spraying. Prior to the tragedy, the two hives had a combined bee population of around 30,000 which last summer produced a whopping 75kg of honey. Reporter Sam Smith spoke to "For the Love of Bees" member Sarah Smuts-Kennedy about the deaths.
The Labour party has announced new workplace policies ahead of this year's general election. Among them were Fair Pay Agreements (FPA), which would see workers and employers in a given industry agree on a national standards for conditions.
To get both sides of the story, producer Ben speaks with Chief Executive of Business New Zealand, Kirk Hope, as well as industry co-ordinator for E Tu, Jill Ovens.
The Opportunities Party says the current legal approach to cannabis does more harm than actually smoking it, with the government dealing with it through the courts, police and forcing people to interact with gangs. Producer Reuben McLaren spoke to Geoff Simmons, the deputy leader of The Opportunities Party about their proposed cannabis policy.
On the show today we have producer Ben Goldson speaking with Business New Zealand Chief Executive Kirk Hope and E Tu Industry Co-ordinator Jill Ovens about Labour's Fair Pay Agreements. We have AUT Pacific Media Centre Director David Robie live in studio for all the latest in Pacific News for Southern Cross. We also have Green Party co-leader James Shaw live talking about the Green Party's campaign launch, CCAPP, and his comments on immigration. We talk to Yi Wen Hsia, the exhibitions manager and curator for World Press Photo. And finally, producer Reuben McLaren talks to Geoff Simmons of The Opportunities Party about their cannabis reform policy.
The World Press Photo Exhibition is currently on at Smith and Caughey’s in Auckland. Wire host Amanda Jane Robinson speaks with the curator of this year’s exhibition, Yi Wen Hsia, about the photographs and the show.
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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