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.
Today for education week on The Wire, we look into some of the current challenges students and teachers face within secondary school education, particularly in relation to NCEA. We speak to the PPTA’s Jack Boyle, the NZ Institute’s Eric Crampton, as well as a teacher of 40-years (who also turns out to be Ximena’s mum) to try answer questions about how education policy has shaped the secondary school sector over the years, and about what measures can be taken to improve it.
On today's Wire we continue the focus on education policy ahead of September's election.
We chat to the deputy leader of The Opportunities Party Geoff Simmons about the member who’s joined him as a co-deputy and their views on the education system.
We speak to the New Zealand Education Institute’s ECE spokesperson Virginia Oakley about the issues facing Early Childhood Education and Rikki Sheterline about Primary Schools.
We speak to language experts about National’s policy to offer a second language to all primary school students, and also the growing demand for English support for speakers of other languages.
The education policies outlined by The Opportunities Party include free Early Childhood Education for all, a reduction in the amount of testing and administration performed by schools and creating a less competitive environment for schools to operate in.
This morning I spoke to The Opportunities Party deputy leader Geoff Simmons about their approach to education policy, but first I asked him about the party’s decision to have two deputy leaders.
For our week looking at education policy, India speaks to Virginia Oakley, NZEI's spokesperson for Early Childhood Education, who highlights a seven-year freeze in funding as the key issue facing the sector.
To look at primary school education, Mack spoke with NZEI National Executive Vice President Rikki Sheterline, who says there’s three core issues facing students, parents and teachers right now.
What is the state of our education sector as we head into the election? Reporter Sam Smith spoke to the New Zealand Council of Education Research's Cathy Wylie about education and where it is heading.
It is no secret that the National party has had many run ins with music copyright concerning their campaign music, most famously of course with Eminem during the last election. Reporter Sam Smith takes a look back at these episodes, the latest which concerns their new campaign song.
In the ramp up for the 2017 election, reporters Jack and Sam spoke with Derek Wenmoth the Director of e-Learning and Cathy Wylie from the New Zealand Council of Education Research. The two give us a rundown of the parties, policies and how we head forward after the election.
The first show in our election coverage focusing on education. This week Joel, Sam, and Jack, got an overview of New Zealand's current education system by talking to the general population on the streets, Derek Wenmoth from Core Education, and Cathy Wylie from the NZ Council of Education Research. Joel also spoke to the Green Party's Education Spokesperson Catherine Delahunty about education policy. On top of this we had the Southern Cross segment with the latest in Pacific news, and Sam did a report on the National Party's campaign music.
Continuing on our environment policy coverage in the lead up to the election Laura speaks with the Director of the Energy at Auckland University, about the state of sustainable energy in New Zealand
The chair of the Blue Greens Committee, Andrew Bayly, wraps up our week of election coverage interviews on the environmental issues facing New Zealand. Kelly asked Andrew about the freshwater policies National has announced to make a wider amount of New Zealand rivers and lakes swimmable again. They also chatted about climate change and National's commitment to the Paris agreement.
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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