Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Dr Mike Lee, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Auckland Business School on the sustainability issues associated with Halloween and growing anti-consumerism movements.
Around the world countries are tackling climate change with net zero targets. This involves offsetting carbon emissions through other initiatives such as planting trees or using technology that pulls carbon dioxide out of the air.
Despite the drive to meet these targets, carbon in the atmosphere is continuing to rise, and even with the current efforts to offset them, they aren’t predicted to drop.
Climate scientist and honorary academic at the University of Auckland, Kevin Trenberth says that world leaders should scrap these net zero targets and instead focus on ‘real zero’, eliminating fossil fuels entirely.
Producer Evie spoke to Trenberth about what the ‘real zero’ initiative involves, how it differs from net zero, and how realistic it is for it to be adopted both in Aotearoa and globally.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party's Simon Court, producer Evie spoke to Simon about his members bill to change alcohol laws in West Auckland, Mike King’s controversial comments surrounding alcohol and mental health and the government’s funding of King’s Gumboot Friday initiative, as well as police pulling back from mental health call outs.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Population Health at the University of Otago, Dr Rose Crossin, about a briefing she co-authored regarding the correlation between suicide and alcohol, following controversial statements made by I Am Hope and Gumboot Friday campaigner, Mike King, in which he claimed alcohol is a solution for people with mental health problems.
They also spoke to Associate Professor in the School of Health at the University of Waikato, Sarah Gordon, about the police’s phased approach to attending fewer related mental health callouts that are not correlated with a level of high risk or crime.
And Evie spoke to climate scientist and honorary academic at the University of Auckland, Kevin Trenberth about calls for world leaders to scrap net zero targets that look to offset emissions, and instead endeavour to remove all emissions in a ‘real zero’ initiative.
The Police have announced a new phased approach to attending lesser mental health-related callouts, that are not of high risk or are related to crime, with the next phase aimed at handing over these responsibilities to health staff.
The first phase is beginning this month, with the fourth and final phase set to begin from July to September 2025.
Police Commissioner, Andrew Coster, in a statement, sez Police received one mental health callout every seven minutes, taking up half a million hours of Police frontline time per year, of which of these callouts, only 11% are given a priority response.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Associate Professor in the School of Health at the University of Waikato, Sarah Gordon, about what this phased approach will look like heading forward.
On Wednesday, the 30th of October, prominent mental health advocate, Mike King, during an interview with Newstalk ZB, claimed that alcohol is a solution for people with mental health problems.
The interview stems from a suicide prevention fundrasing event in Dunedin struggling to obtain a liquor license.
Following the statements and subsequent controversy, a briefing was released on the Public Health Communication Centre Aotearoa, providing the facts and evidence around the correlation alcohol can have with mental health concerns.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to co-author of the briefing and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Population Health at the University of Otago, Dr Rose Crossin, about the briefing, and Mike King’s claim.
Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111, go to your nearest emergency department, or phone your local DHB Mental Health Crisis Team (find your local number by ringing Healthline on 0800 611 116)
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News and political commentator Tom Unger about Trump’s Madison Square Garden Rally and the feeling on the ground ahead of next week’s United States election.
The Israeli parliament recently passed a law that would ban the United Nations Relief and Works agency, more commonly known as the UNRWA, from operating in Israel and East Jerusalem.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, Dr Ritesh Shah, about this ruling, and what this will mean for those relying on the services of the UNRWA amidst the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.
Sustainability, recycling, carbon emission etcetera are terms commonly overused by corporations and companies who engage in greenwashing to make consumers feel less guilt. However, new groups of architects are dedicated to creating homes which meet all the standards of style and comfort without compromising the environmental impact that comes with construction.
Through a newly developed carbon calculation technology, architects can integrate carbon offsets to prioritise sustainable housing, which can greatly reduce a project’s environmental footprint.
Sasha spoke to Dr Sarosh Mulla, senior lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning, about the new carbon calculation tech and the future of sustainable housing. Additionally we also discussed what generates the greatest amount of waste during a construction project and how carbon calculation aims to fix that.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s visit to Samoa for CHOGM, as well as a new partnership between Germany and New Zealand to combat agriculture emissions and the Green party’s call to close youth justice residences.
He spoke to Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata - The Human Rights Commission, to discuss the government’s recent changes to the Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa and its impact on Migrant workers in Aotearoa.
And he spoke to Airam Magpantay, a BA Honours student in Politics and International relations at the University of Auckland to talk about the limitations in housing options for Aotearoa’s disabled community.
Sasha spoke to Senior Lecturer Dr Sarosh Mulla, senior lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning about new carbon calculation techniques within construction and building planning.
About two weeks ago, the government announced a series of changes to the Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa.
Some of the changes included updating the definition of migrant exploitation to specify incidents occuring only under an official employment contract and excluding measures falling under lawful employment terminations.
Immigration minister Erica Stanford has said that the new changes would specify the terms of the visa and reduce the time migrants may be in vulnerable situations, however a number of human rights advocates have disagreed with this reasoning, saying the changes to the visa would reduce support for migrant workers and put more power in the hands of employers.
Oto spoke to Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata - The Human Rights Commission, to discuss the recent changes to the Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visas and how it’ll impact migrant workers.
The Healthcare exec Brian Thompson was shot dead by a masked assailant last week.
The crime has gained significant controversy and attention online, with many using it to restart the debate on the inequities of the United States healthcare system.
And this week Yale University was the latest college to commit to divesting from weapons manufacturing after a student vote.
For State of the States this week Wire Host Caeden speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about both of these topics.
The government as announced their plan for the Cook Strait ferry a year after they scrapped Labour’s plan, including cancelling the ferries the Labour government had ordered.
And a new report from the Ministry of Social Development has revealed nearly a quarter of beneficiaries are not receiving their correct entitlements.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
For City Counselling this week, producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Shane Henderson about proposed time-of-use charging to solve congestion problems in Tāmaki and Council selling their remaining Auckland Airport shares last week.
The Green party recently released He Ara Anamata - the Green party’s emissions reduction plan.
The document covers more than 10 areas of the economy and energy Sector that a Greens-led government would be looking to adapt to minimise carbon emissions and protect the natural landscapes of Aotearoa.
It also comes 5 months after the government released their own draft emissions plan. Numerous experts pointed out that the government is behind on their own plan’s targets to meet the crucial emissions budget for 2031-2035.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the party’s new emissions reduction plan and how they would address climate and the economy in a greens-led government.
Last election, one of the National Party’s main campaign promises was to be ‘tough on crime’, promising to increase police coverage and penalties for crimes. A target was set to increase the number of police officers by 500 by November 2025, however some police leaders today say this goal is unrealistic.
The government also announced this week some shakeups to insulation standards, which they say should make houses more affordable.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor spoke to him about police staffing targets and new insulation standards.
This week on Dear Science, our expert Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about what latrines teach us about people, climate variation affecting Chinese dynasties, and invasive species becoming threatened.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
Last week it was revealed that two of the ten participants in the government's pilot bootcamp programme were on the run.
The youth were two months into the community rehabilitation phase of the programme, following the three month youth justice residence phase. Both teens were found in the weekend, but had allegedly reoffended, and are now set to come before the court.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, who have been heavily advocating for this programme, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about this incident.
She also talks to him about proposed changes to employment law which would give employers the power to dismiss workers earning over $180,000 without the employee refuting the decision.
And finally, she talks to him about David Seymour’s incumbent run as Deputy Prime Minister, which is set to begin in May of next year.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about changes to Auckland Transport’s responsibilities, nationwide bus and train fare hikes, and concerns over the opening of the City Rail Link.
For State of the States this week, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'aoso from the Yale Daily News about President Biden's decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was due to be sentenced next week for three felony charges.
They also discuss Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, who is the latest in a long list of unorthodox picks for government positions from Trump
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