Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Castor Chacko, Alex Fox, Emmanuel Orange, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
The 2023 Census severe housing deprivation estimates released on Wednesday are the first in the world to have all-of-population data on LGBTQIA+ homelessness.
The numbers collected show at that time, 261 per 10,000 LGBTQIA+ people aged 15 and over were estimated to be living in severe housing deprivation.
For those who don’t identify as LGBTQIA+, the rate was 212 per 10,000.
Senior Research Fellow with He Kāinga Orana at the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington, Dr Brodie Fraser’s research was the first in Aotearoa to look specifically at LGBTQIA+ and takatāpui experiences of homelessness.
Producer Sofia spoke to Fraser about these Census statistics and the significance of including takatāpui
Last week, the first phase of the royal commission of inquiry into New Zealand’s covid response was released to the public.
The report looked at the lockdowns, the border response and vaccine mandates and made 39 recommendations on how New Zealand could plan for future infectious disease outbreaks more effectively.
The inquiry concluded that New Zealand’s COVID-19 response began successfully, bringing our fatality rates to among the lowest in the world. However, the report also said that many amongst the general public had concerns regarding the lockdowns and vaccine safety, and that recent job cuts at Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand, would reduce New Zealand’s preparedness for future pandemics.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March about the party's thoughts on the COVID-19 Response Inquiry.
They also talked about a new initiative by the government to get people of the jobseeker benefit and into work, as well as a directive by Waka Kotahi - The New Zealand Transport Agency, to increase public transport fares.
A recent Vaping in New Zealand Youth Survey reveals that the vaping rates from school years 9-13 have dropped significantly to 12 percent - down from 27 percent in 2021.
Despite this, vaping has increased amongst older students, pointing to an ineffective and outdated system of education against vaping. The government's gradual implementation of a child-safety mechanism and lowering the nicotine strength indicates a serious problem which needs to be addressed.
Sasha spoke to Letitia Harding, CEO of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ about the survey findings and strategies to reduce harm.
Just less than two weeks ago, two new drug use surveys have been released, showing significant increases in drug use and availability, especially cocaine.
In the past five years, drug prices have continued to fall and in turn use for some substances have almost doubled. The nearly fifty-year-old drug law is outdated and has resulted in greater supply and addiction. The government’s current approach of infrequent drug busts and supply restrictions are ineffective at preventing that.
Sasha spoke to The New Zealand Drug Foundations Executive Director, Sarah Helm, about the new survey results and issues surrounding safe use.
Last week, the first phase of the royal commission of inquiry into New Zealand’s covid response was released to the public.
The report looked at the lockdowns, the border response and vaccine mandates and made 39 recommendations on how New Zealand could plan for future infectious disease outbreaks more effectively.
The report also made numerous references to the impacts of fake news and misinformation, regarding vaccines and the origins of COVID-19 which had impacts on the ability of medical staff to carry out their responsibilities and lead to unrest during New Zealand's second lockdown in 2021.
However, while addressing it earlier in the report, the recommendations made to the government in the inquiry had no references to the role of misinformation in the pandemic or how to address it in future infectious disease outbreaks.
Oto spoke to Helen Petousis-Harris, an associate professor at the University of Auckland, to discuss the prevalence of misinformation during the pandemic and how the inquiry report failed to address it in its 39 recommendations to the government.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March the recent COVID-19 Response Inquiry report, which was just released to the public, the government’s new initiative to get people on the jobseeker benefit into work and the New Zealand Transport Agency’s plan to increase public transport fares.
And he spoke to Associate Professor Helen Petousis-Harris, also about the COVID-19 Response Inquiry, with a specific focus on the role that misinformation played in shaping the government’s response and the public’s perception of lockdown measures.
Sasha spoke to Sarah Helm, Executive Director of The NZ Drug Foundation about a concerning increase in drug use and availability
And he spoke to Letitia Harding - CEO of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation about youth vaping rates
American singer, Katy Perry, recently had a court win in a long-running trademark dispute with Australian fashion designer, Katie Perry. The singer successfully appealed a 2023 Federal Court decision, resulting in the fashion designer having her trademark cancelled, and being ordered to pay costs.
Producer Athena spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Law, Rob Batty, about what gave rise to the case, how trademark law was applied, and what the recent decision might mean for smaller names.
The Getting to Smokefree 2025 Plan, launched last week by Associate Minister of Health, Casey Costello, is predicted by academics, and Health Coalition Aotearoa, to fail. Concerns have risen regarding the plan's focus, as many of the previous governments successful population-based strategies appear to be excluded.
Producer Athena spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, George Laking, about what the Smokefree 2025 plan is, who it is expected to fail, and where the focus should be to make the plan more effective.
For Dear Science this week, our expert Doctor Joel Rindelaub spoke to us about fungi recognising patterns, planting trees to reduce inflammation, and how to give the best gifts.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about several controversial National Party policies in light of the Labour Party’s annual conference and claims that the current government is ‘taking us backwards’.
Producer Athena spoke to The University of Auckland Law Faculty’s Rob Batty, about a trademark dispute between Australian fashion designer, Katie Perry, and US pop-star, Katy Perry.
And they spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, George Laking, about concerns regarding the Getting to Smokefree 2025 Plan.
The government plans to axe 1500 roles within public health care that would affect Data & Digital media groups responsible for managing outdated IT systems.
Producer Yesenia spoke to the PSA’s National Health Sector lead, Ashok Shankar regarding the upcoming fears that come with these roles no longer being available, how this massive cut will affect nurses and health care workers and the impact of this axing of 1500 roles will affect the general public.
Despite a tenuous ceasefire, the fuel crisis - resulting from the US and Israel bombing of Iran, and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz - drags on. Prices have remained high, hitting low-income households hard, and while fuel stocks in or on-the-way to the country sit comfortably above a month’s cover, approaches to conserving fuel remain front-of-mind for many.
One strategy that New Zealanders have been urged to adopt is switching to public transport, which would put fewer cars on the road. However, access is often dependent on location and affordability.
Over the past few years, the Ministry of Education has reviewed numerous rural school bus routes, cancelling some, cutting off students from ready access to their education.
For this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke to Alicia Hall from Parents for Climate Aotearoa, on their petition to restore rural school bus routes and make public transport free for children, and students under 25.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
Last week, the Green Party leaders, Marama Davidson and Chloe Swarbrick, hosted their state of the planet address, where they launched their call to electrify the nation.
On top of that, events this week have led the party to criticise the government. The first critique, instigated by the floods that swept the nation, hitting the Coromandel and causing a state of emergency in the Wellington Region, led the Greens to question the government's decreased funding of flood responses as harsh weather increases.
The second critique came with a cabinet paper this week that shows the government is planning on moving ahead with reforms to legislation that will see references to the Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti o Waitangi redefined, in what the government sez is about ‘standardisation’ but what the Green Party sees as dishonouring Te Tiriti.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, we discuss their criticisms of the government but start with a discussion of their electrification policy.
Last week, fuel stocks in the country went down by three or four days across each fuel type. The government recognised this as not enough to change to phase two in the national fuel plan, drawing some concerned comments from the political opposition around the state of our stocks, and when the government plans to actually move up phases.
Following a week that saw both Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon comment on the state of the Strait of Hormuz, and the way the United States has handled the ongoing conflict, Willis also travelled to the US to meet with White House advisors.
This week, Host Alex spoke with National MP Ryan Hamilton about these fuel crisis developments, and what the government’s approach going forward may look like.
To start our discussion, however, we spoke briefly about the confidence in Christopher Luxon’s Leadership.
Earlier this week, Councillor Julie Fairey moved a resolution to investigate Auckland Council’s involvement with companies that are complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
And this week, Auckland Council launched an AI virtual assistant to report issues such as graffiti, roaming dogs, and noise complaints.
For City Counselling, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown announced the signing of a new ‘City Deal’.
The deal will see closer partnership between the central government and Auckland Council, coordinating planning in areas such as infrastructure and transportation.
The deal will see a long-term partnership between the government and council, with regular meetings and cooperation on strategies for innovation and transportation, with reviews of sporting venues such as Eden Park and the Auckland Tennis Centre.
However, the deal has been critiqued by some as being a collection of promises without any new funding.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, he and producer Theo discussed the signing of the Auckland City Deal, and how the Green Party would work with Auckland Council on issues such as transportation and infrastructure.
Last week, the Ministry for the Environment together with Stats New Zealand released Our Freshwater 2026, a major report on the state of Aotearoa’s freshwater systems based on decades of data. The report highlights both long-term improvement and deterioration of waterways nationwide, with particular focus on groundwater sources and the impacts of agricultural land use and the climate crisis on water quality.
I spoke to Troy Baisden, co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists and Adjunct Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, about what the findings of this report mean and also about the strengths and limitations of freshwater reporting.
Last week, the Government and Auckland Council agreed on the ‘Auckland City Deal’, which seeks to enhance co-ordination between the two bodies to enable better investment in the city to get the most out of what Mayor Wayne Brown has called the ‘Engine’ of the economy. This will see better communication between the mayor and prime minister, co-operation on certain legislation, and funding.
The weekend also saw Cyclone Vaianu hit the country, with parts of the country facing damage and flooding. The government now has the job of responding to the damage, and deciding what needs to change, looking forward to future cyclones.
This week, Host Alex spoke with National Party MP Ryan Hamilton about each of these topics.
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