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.
Last week, Fonterra announced it is returning a total dividend of 55 cents a share for the past financial year, off the back of a $1.1 billion net profit.
In response to Fonterra’s profit announcements, Greenpeace Aotearoa has called out Fonterra for ‘profiting from rainforest destruction’.
Since last week, Greenpeace has also announced the organisation are suing Fonterra, over allegations Fonterra are also misconstruing the claim that their dairy product is 100% New Zealand grass-fed, when findings show that a potential 20% of a cow’s diet could come from palm kernels importanted from rainforests in Southeast Asia.
On 26 September, Wire Producer Sofia spoke to Greenpeace Aotearoa Agriculture Campaigner, Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn, about this topic, asking her firstly about how concerning the profit announcement was to Greenpeace.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden speaks to Labour’s Mental Health spokesperson, Ingrid Leary, about Mental Health Awareness Week.
For State of the States, they speak to Andre Fa’oso from the Yale Daily News about recent presidential election polling numbers and the execution of Marcellus Williams.
And they speak to Daniel Benson-Guiu, Assistant National Secretary of the Tertiary Education Union about today’s strikes across four universities. I also speak to University of Auckland’s Queer Rights Officer Artie Ho about what the strike means for students.
For City Counselling this week, Sofia speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about Council’s working from home policies and a rubbish bin graveyard found near Auckland Domain following Council removing public rubbish bins as part of its cost-saving drive
She also speaks to UNICEF Aotearoa Communications Director Tania Sawicki Mead about an open letter launched with the Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health calling for a multi-sectoral approach to tackle the global mental health funding gap.
UNICEF and the Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health have launched an open letter calling for greater investment and action on child and youth mental health globally, urging a coordinated multi-sectoral response of at least $200 billion US dollars.
The letter has been signed by over 40 businesses and organisations including Jo Malone London, Les Mills, Pinterest, lululemon, and Spotify.
Sofia spoke with UNICEF Aotearoa’s Communications Director, Tania Sawicki Mead, about the letter and why mental health support needs more funding.
She began the interview asking her what the key demands of the letter were.
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News on the latest United States election polling numbers and the execution of Marcellus Williams for State of the States.
For our weekly catch-up the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden speaks to mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary on Mental Health Awareness Week and broader mental health policy in Aotearoa.
95bFM journalist, Oto, spoke to Dr Paula O’Kane, a senior lecturer from the University of Otago, regarding Public Service Minister and Minister of Finance Nicola Willis announcing clampdowns on work from home arrangements for public sector employees.
This comes a day after Nicola Willis announced she had instructed Public Service department heads to restrict the number of Work from Home days given to employees, to reduce them from a default entitlement to a special arrangement to be formally agreed upon by employers and requiring agencies to regularly report on the number of Work from Home days given to employees.
Recently, the United States Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by 50 basis points, citing signs of economic slowdown and lowering inflation rates. This decision, although overseas, is heavily connected to New Zealand as almost all state economies are tied to the United States. Following this decision, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand may choose to follow in the same footsteps.
This decision may reduce or slow the current recession, which New Zealand is already in the midst of, worse than the two-thousand and eight financial crisis. However, the odds of igniting consumer price may also increase leading to asset inflation additionally increasing.
Sasha spoke to professor of Business and Economics Robert MacCulloch from the University of Auckland about a deeply complicated issue, which affects all New Zealanders.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the party’s upcoming Special General Meeting to discuss using the Waka Jumping Legislation to remove former MP Darleen Tana from Parliament. They also spoke about Nicola Willis’s announcement to clamp down on public sector Work From Home Arrangements and Minister for Social Development Louise Upston rejecting suggestions for a $3 billion investment to fix child poverty
He spoke to Dr Paula O’Kane from the University of Otago for an expert’s perspective on Nicola Willis’s Work from Home proposals
He spoke to Shohil Kishore from the University of Auckland to discuss a study he conducted evaluating the role of social media in mental health discussions during the Pandemic.
And he spoke to Dr Chris Wilson, also from the University of Auckland, to discuss the release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens from captivity by the West Papuan Liberation Army, as well as the conflict itself in West Papua.
Sasha spoke to professor of Business and Economics Robert MacCulloch from the University of Auckland about the United State’s Federal Reserve rate cut putting pressure on RBNZ.
And for this week’s Get Action! Sasha spoke to Dave Macpherson from The Future is Rail about a petition he started to ensure replacement Cook Strait ferries can carry trains.
Discussions on mental health and wellbeing became a focal point during the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people around the world being confined to their homes during lockdown and having both their social lives and self-autonomy restricted and changed.
However, for many, the period of time in lockdown was an important period of introspection, and so the time spent at home allowed for key discussions about mental health to be held on social media platforms such as X, formerly twitter.
Forwarding to the present day, a team of researchers from the University of Auckland conducted a study evaluating how social media platforms were used during and how they played a key role in facilitating discussions on mental health.
In line with mental health awareness week, Oto spoke to Shohil Kishore, a researcher in the Business School of the University of Auckland who conducted the study, who I also spoke with about the role social media platforms played in facilitating mental health discussions.
Just this week, 38 year old pilot New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens was released from captivity after being held hostage for more than a year by milliants the West Papua Liberation Army, also known as TPNPB.
While many in Aotearoa are celebrating the safe release of Mehrtens and return to his family, discussions have also been started about the TPNPB and the struggle of the people in West Papua for independence from Indonesia.
West Papua is a province in Indonesia that was formerly ruled by the Dutch empire before being controlled by Indonesia in 1962. The calls for independence are mainly coming from West Papua’s native Melanesian people, who allege that the Indonesian government have committed human rights abuses against the native population and exploited the region’s natural resources.
Oto spoke to Dr Chris Wilson a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Auckland, to discuss the implications of Phillip Mehrtens release and the most recent developments of the conflict in West Papua.
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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