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 self-proclaimed “first McKenzie Friend Specialist” in New Zealand, Vinay Deobhakta is a former lawyer setting up a training programme aimed at producing professional McKenzie Friends. McKenzie Friends are support people for self-represented litigants in court - they are not lawyers, but can sit with litigants in court to support them. However, Deobhakta did not leave the law profession out of choice - he was in fact struck off for misconduct in 2014. 95bFM journalist Caitlin McIlhagga speaks to Deobhakta to try understand how he is reconciling his past with his current work setting up the McKenzie Friends training programme.
To learn more about the relationship McKenzie Friends have with the Family Court, check out the other interviews Caitlin did with two experts in family law here.
Former Wire host, Caitlin McIlhagga, makes a special return to the show this week for an investigation she's been working on around the Family Court system & the place of McKenzie Friends within this framework. AUT's Allan Blackman also joins us for a wee Chemistry-related interlude in the middle of the show, where he chats to Ximena & Adam about the legacy of Ernest Rutherford.
Earlier this month saw the release of the People's Review of Mental Health, an intiative to gather qualitative data about what life is like for people involved in the mental health system. The review then used the data to make a number of recommendations for the Ministry of Health.
Two groups involved in the People's Review were advocacy group Action Station and the Public Service Assocation, producer Ben speaks to spokespeople from each.
Earlier this year, Revenue Minister Judith Collins announced a planned crackdown on tax-dodging by multinational corporations. Under the plan, various loopholes are to be closed, in order to make it harder for untaxed money to be moved outside of New Zealand. However, there are plenty of other ways for people to reduce their tax bill, such as negative gearing, which went unmentioned by Minister Collins. To gain a greater understanding of what negative gearing is, producer Ben spoke to Deborah Russel, a senior lecturer on taxation for Massey University and electoral candidate for the Labour party.
95bFM reporter Amanda Jane Robinson speaks with Windham-Campbell prize winning writer Ashleigh Young ahead of next month’s Ockham book awards about her essay collection, Can You Tolerate This?
Representatives from the group opposing housing development on sacred land Ihumatao are off to a United Nations summit in New York. Save Our Unique Landscape (SOUL) - the group behind the current occupation of the land - are sending two members to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues next week. Pania Newton and Delwyn Roberts will attend, and have applied o speak at the event. 95bFM reporter Mack Smith spoke to Newton about the issue.
This week, producer Ben Goldson speaks to representatives of the People's Review of Mental Health and we chat to Green Party co-leader James Shaw about the PACER Plus agreement, the pay equity bill, and spy agency Five Eyes meeting in New Zealand this week. We have AUT Pacific Media Centre Director David Robie as well as AUT PhD student Stephanie Sageo-Tupungu and her husband Kenneth for regular Pacific news segment Southern Cross. We have bFM reporter Mack Smith speaks to SOUL spokesperson Pania Newton about Ihumatao and the upcoming UN summit, producer Ben Goldson speaks to taxation expert and Labour party candidate Deborah Russell and Wire host Amanda Jane Robinson speaks to Windham-Campbell prize winning writer Ashleigh Young ahead of next month's Ockham book awards about her essay collection, Can You Tolerate This?
A new brain scanning technique is being developed which could hold potential for crime stopping. Forensics investigators call this Forensic brainwave analysis – or ‘brain fingerprinting” the technology could allow for sci-fi-esque mind reading.
Adam Jacobson spoke to Associate Professor and project researcher Dr Debra Wilson about how exactly brain fingerprinting works
The Burgerie is quickly becoming a vegan staple on Karangahape road. Reporter Joel Thomas talked to Tony Tay, the owner and operator of the Burgerie, about the kindness of the vegan community and the difficulties of juggling business aspirations and family commitments.
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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