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 week on the Friday show, Amanda and Tess hear from Watercare about their perspective on the controversial development of a new water plant in West Auckland, reveal an update about Niki's eviction from her Glen Innes home, and also look at recent updates around the Dakota Access Pipeline. National's Jami-Lee Ross and Radio Adelaide's Nicole Wedding also make appearances for their weekly features.
Since the cancellation of Campbell Live in 2015, THREE has produced short-lived current affairs projects, none of which managed to wow viewers. bFM reporter Jogai Bhatt speaks to Spinoff editor and television critic Duncan Greive about what The Project means for the current state of journalism in New Zealand.
Auckland collective FAFSWAG is conducting series of projects as part of Pride Festival. The projects aim to highlight and celebrate the local Pacific LGBTQ community. Artist Jaycee Tanuvasa's work tackles issues of media coverage around transgender hate crimes around the world, such as the shootings of Kandice Capri in Arizona and Amber Monroe in Detroit. In particular, she focuses on the problem of misrepresentation and misgendering in news coverage. News director Ximena speaks to Tanuvasa about her work.
Council-owned company Ports of Auckland has a firm focus on becoming New Zealand’s most sustainable port, with the goal of being carbon neutral by 2025. The company has come a step closer to this by introducing LED flood lights on site. bFM reporter Dylan Kelly speaks Ports of Auckland spokesperon Matt Ball about the initiative.
A NZ Herald article has copped flak for publishing what some are deeming a transphobic article, in which a Kiwi teen spoke out about her school’s decision to allow a transgender student to use the girl’s bathroom. The piece has come under fire for promoting harmful speech. bFM reporter Jogai Bhatt speaks to Megan Bowra-Dean about the issue.
This week on the Thursday show, Pearl and Jogai look at a transphobic Herald article, the state of current affairs in New Zealand, have their weekly chat with Andrew Little and more.
Minister for the Environment, Nick Smith, is set to release a statement this week on the state of New Zealand’s fresh waterways. Currently, the standard for New Zealand freshwater systems states that they must at least be wadeable. But more than 12,000 kiwis have signed a Green Party petition that calls for the government to up their game and make the country's waters swimmable. 95bFM reporter Adel Abied speaks to Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty about the issue.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has an upcoming announcement in March around digital rights management (DRM). The W3C, led by Tim Berners-Lee, looks set to standardise DRM-enabling Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) in browsers. This all sounds a bit jargony and esoteric, but some are saying this threatens the fundamental free and open principles of the web, and opens users up to security threats. Ximena speaks to Internet NZ CEO Jordan Carter to find out more.
Yesterday the Resident Doctor’s Association announced that they'd come to an agreement with the District Health Boards over safer rosters. The deal guarantees doctors safe working hours with no more than 10 consecutive rostered days, and also they will not be rostered on for more than 4 consecutive night shifts of up to 10 hours. 95bFM's Dylan Kelly speaks to resident doctor Catherine Foster about her interpretation of the deal and whether the changes are adequate.
This week on the Wednesday show, Ximena and Dylan talk about the new agreement DHBs and junior doctors have come to around safer hours, a proposal to build a new water-treatment plant out in Oratia, an upcoming decision in March by the World Wide Web Consortium that might affect the safety and security of the internet and more. AUT's Allan Blackman also makes a welcome return this week for Dear Science.
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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