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.
The government has announced the establishment of a new department to evaluate the prospects for re-entry of the Pike River mine drift. Up to $23 million dollars over three years has been budgeted to the new department which was announced on the seventh anniversary of the disaster which killed 29 people.
Lucy Austin spoke to the minister responsible for the effort, Andrew Little, and asked him to elaborate on the details of the recovery project and agency.
Awareness of HIV has been on the decline in the last few years despite the numbers of cases actually being on the rise.One woman who is seeking to change that is Lyn Parent who is hosting a seris of events across Auckland in a bid to raise awareness again.
I spoke with Lyn and Steven Petch, an opera singer performing at a couple of her events, about the campaign and started by asking why they felt the issue was so important.
The situation on Manus Island is worsening by the week. The detainees have locked themselves in the center and are refusing to leave, while food and medicine are being denied to them by authorities. Many are calling the situation a humanitarian crisis, with the UN and other international NGOs, shocked at the treatment of the detainees by the Australian Government. The New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is offering to take 150 of the detainees, however, the Australian Government has turned down the offer. Sam Smith spoke to commentator Tracey Barnett about the situation as it stands.
The Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards took place last Thursday, and a bunch of really great things happened. SWIDT mesmerized the crowds, TEEKS accepted his award in Te Reo, and Jacinda and Lorde made for what’s being called the defining moment of 2017. A couple of us were lucky enough to witness the whole beautiful mess, because what’s NZ music without bFM? Here’re Jogai and Amanda who were lucky enough to catch up with the most electrifying rap group in the game today, Stoneyhunga’s finest: SWIDT, and New Zealand Music Hall of Fame inductee Sharon O'Neill.
Producer Leonard Powell spoke to Kristina Cavit from The Kindness Institute to discuss how it began and operates. Kristina discusses mental health in Aotearoa, and in particular the work that The Kindness Institute does with Rangatahi to enhance wellbeing and mindfulness.
Joel, Sam, and Leonard took on The Wire on Monday the 20th of November. In the show, Sam had a chat about latest new on Manus island with commentator Tracey Barnett. Joel talked to Green Party member James Shaw about his time at the COP23 Conference, and why the party is abstaining from commenting on Manus Island.For the Pacific News segment Southern Cross, Leonard talked to Kendall Hutt about COP23 as well as the outcome of the elections in the Solomon Islands and Tonga. Producer Leonard also spoke with Kristina Cavit from the Kindness Institute about the work they do with Rangatahi in Aotearoa. Finally, we recapped the NZ Music Awards as we looked at interviews by Jogai, Amanda, and Sarah.
Yesterday's Tongan election saw a decisive victory, for the previously governing Democratic Party. Professor at Massey University, Malakai Kaloamatangi, joins us on the phone from Tonga where he has been working as an international observer. He shares his thoughts on the election, and what we might expect to see once the new Parliament has formed.
Producer Conor talks to Green Party Leader James Shaw about what he's currently doing in Germany at the COP3 event, and why he believes New Zealand has something to offer to the fight against climate change as a small but developed country.
Yesterday was an historic day for Australia. The postal survey vote for marriage equality returned an overwhelming 61% yes vote, so now a bill can make its way through the senate and Australia can experience marriage reform, something new Zealand achieved four years ago. I spoke earlier with Labour MP Louisa Wall who wrote the New Zealand bill, about marriage equality, and the road thus far in both New Zealand and Australia.
Labour has announced it will be pushing through its Healthy Homes Bill to put stricter regulations on landlords. Lachlan spoke with National's Housing Spokesperson Michael Woodhouse about the bill and why his party won't be supporting it.
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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