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.
Yesterday, the Family Proceedings (Dissolution of Marriage or Civil Union for Family Violence) Amendment Bill, colloquially known as Ashley’s law, passed its third reading.
The Bill would allow family violence survivors with a protection order to dissolve their marriages immediately without going through a court process, reforming the Family Proceedings Act which has been in place since 1981.
Sofia spoke to Professor of Law at the University of Auckland, Mark Henaghan, about the Bill and what changes it would bring.
She started the interview asking him what the current law is for divorce.
Last week during student-led pro-Palestine protests a student at Otago University was arrested.
Footage later posted by Student Justice for Palestine Otago showed property damage occurred when excessive force was used by campus security, not pro-Palestine students.
The group says campus security ignored student safety in an attempt to block protestors from staging a peaceful sit-in at the University clocktower.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Student Justice for Palestine Otago spokesperson Liz about the footage of campus security using force against students, as well as why they were protesting in the first place.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka has made a last-minute amendment to the Tīkapa Moana Protection Bill that would create new “high protection” areas in the Hauraki Gulf.
The amendment would allow commercial fishing in these newly created protected areas.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Dr Simon Thrush, Professor of Marine Science at the University of Auckland, about what he thought of the latest amendment.
And they spoke to Forest and Bird Advocate Bianca Ranson about their opposition to the bill amendment.
The Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ just released Our Air 2024, a three yearly report featuring data on air pollution levels and its impacts.
The report found that, while concentrations of various particulates had reduced, and overall air quality in Aotearoa had improved, air pollution had a much greater contribution to diseases and birth defects across the country than previously expected.
Oto spoke to Dr Joel Rindelaub, a senior lecturer in Chemical sciences at the University of Auckland, to discuss the report and the impacts of air pollution on the human body.
Apathy, distress and hopelessness are common things to joke about among young people. Doomscrolling and bedrotting are among some of the terms used to describe general apathy and lack of motivation towards our current world.
New Zealand has one of the highest reported news avoidance rates in the world at sixty-percent choosing to not seek out news. New Zealanders are frustrated with the quality of news reporting and negative news stories, fuelling a worsening mental state. Social Media also has a part to play in how people receive news, now mainly focused on pop-culture icons rather than real journalism.
Sasha spoke to Doctor Alex Beattie, a lecturer in Media and Communication about why New Zealanders actively choose to ignore the news and apathy within the youngest generations. We also spoke about a new era of escapism versus a culture of overproduction in our society.
For their regular catch-up, Wire Host Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the recent amendments to the Hauraki Gulf protection bill and the impacts of commercial fishing, the recent 1news Verian poll showing that 40% of New Zealanders think Aotearoa is in a worse state today than it was last year, and the Samoan Citizenship Bill drafted by fellow Greens MP Teanau Tuiono getting getting passed in the select committee and moving on to it’s second reading.
He also spoke to Dr Joel Rindelaub, a senior lecturer in Chemical sciences at the University of Auckland, to discuss the recent report by the Ministry of Environment and Stats NZ analysing air pollution in Aotearoa and its Impacts.
Producer Sasha spoke to Doctor Alex Beattie, Lecturer in Media and Communication at the University of Victoria who is a lead author on a research discussing why New Zealanders avoid the news.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Professor in the Faculty of Law at the Auckland University of Technology, Paul Myburgh, and Lecturer in the Department of Marine Science at the University of Otago, Dr Bridie Allan, about an Court of Inquiry being called for the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa, and the subsequent oil spillage that has occurred due to the incident.
Recently, the HMNZS Manawanui sank off the coast of Samoa, after hitting a reef and catching fire.
Following the sinking, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) announced a Court of Inquiry, after being called on by a Samoan International Relations expert based in New Zealand.
Usually, similar incidents regarding major maritime vessels would be investigated by Maritime New Zealand, and may also be referred to the Transport Accident Investigation Commission. However, as the Manawanui was a naval vessel engaged in governmental activity, the NZDF is holding the inquiry.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to a Professor in the Faculty of Law at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Paul Myburgh, about what this inquiry could mean.
As well as this, an estimate of up to 200,000 litres of diesel has leaked into the ocean from the wreckage.
New Zealand's Deputy Chief of Navy, Commodore Andrew Brown, says that there is currently no evidence that the spillage has come from the main fuel tanks onboard, which appear to be intact.
This comes as the Chief of the Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding, told RNZ’s Morning Report that roughly 950 tonnes of diesel fuel was onboard when the HMNZS Manawanui sank.
They also spoke to a Lecturer in the Department of Marine Science at the University of Otago, Dr Bridie Allan, about how much of a concern the spillage is so far, and what the environmental implications of the spillage could look like.
The STAR community group covers an area in West Auckland mostly along the coastline, set up to respond to the large storm events at the start of last year for residents to support one another.
Wire host Castor spoke to Dorothy Wilson from the group about the impact on the ground, and what people want to see from the government in a new emergency management system.
They began by asking about the immediate fallout of the weather events last year.
Among the various inquiries into the government’s response to last year's Auckland Anniversary and Cyclone Gabrielle flooding was Te Weu me Te Wai, a report assessing the floods' impact on marginalised communities and identifying potential changes the government could make.
Wire host Castor spoke to Associate Professor George Laking, one of the report’s authors, about the issues with the current system and the report’s recommendations.
For Dear Science this week, our expert Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about the Nobel prize winners.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Katie Nimon about overhauling the emergency management system and the government’s climate targets.
They also spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, George Laking, one of the authors of Te Meu o Te Wai, a report looking into the outcomes of Cyclone Gabrielle and making recommendations to the government.
And they spoke to Dorothy Wilson from the Stickered Area Residents Group about how people on the ground are still responding to cyclone damage.
On the Green Desk this week we heard the second half of our reporter Jack Marshall’s chat with Spinoff Wellington editor Joel McManus about how things are going in the Big Apple of Aotearoa.
Since its inception in 2008, the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (or ETS) has been, according to the government, its primary tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle the climate crisis. As part of the scheme, the government sets a price for carbon units, which companies must pay to offset their emissions. The Climate Change Commission has recently highlighted that the scheme was not stable and susceptible to changes in the market, and did not have sufficient carbon units to last until 2030, requiring urgent reform.
For Green World, Wire producer Liam spoke with Scott Burnett, the Regional Conservation Manager for the top of the South Island and Forest and Bird’s climate spokesperson about why Forest and Bird has called the system broken, what impact this has on Aotearoa and what reforms should be implemented.
Last week, NZ First MP and Government Minister Shane Jones was criticised over using derogatory language towards Indian Immigrants. These comments were condemned by the National Party and Christopher Luxon, who labelled NZ First’s belief system as ‘anti-immigrant’, and saidd Jones was ‘scaremongering’.
That was not the extent of criticism between NZ First and National, however, with tensions between the two sparking after NZ First Leader Winston Peters calling out Luxon for not giving coalition partners prior notice of his confidence vote during a national party caucus meeting last week. In turn, these comments have been dismissed, and Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Luxon accused NZ First and Peters of putting Labour Governments, like Arderns, into power. Despite all of this, however, Peters has insisted the coalition is as stable as a ‘three-legged stool’.
Last week also saw the Treasury announce that they would revisit their forecasts for the economy ahead of the impending government budget. The Government also announced some changes to the way Infrastructure is run by the government, giving more power to the Independent Infrastructure Commission, increasing their oversight and changing the way that Ministers receive advice and information.
This week, Host Alex spoke with National MP Ryan Hamilton about these developments, beginning with Shane Jones’ comments.
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.
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