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.
Spike speaks to Professor of Conservation Biology James Russell about the kiwi Paora in Miami Zoo, and the right and wrong conditions for kiwi in captivity.
E tū Union members working at the New Zealand Steel mill in Glenbrook have welcomed the Government’s offer to contribute funding for new electric furnaces to halve coal use at the site. The $140 million dollar investment will require upskilling for workers to use.
Arno spoke with Joe Gallagher of E tū about the challenges involved in the transition, the benefits, and what workers would need to do to.
Arno started by asking for an overview of E tū Union.
Andre Fa’aoso speaks to Associate Professor Susan St John about the 2023 Budget and how it falls short in addressing family poverty, hardship and food insecurity.
Emilia chats to James Shaw in our weekly chat with the Green Party co-leader, this week they chat about the 140 million dollar subsidy for NZ Steel, they reflect on last week’s budget, and they chat about the Green Party’s candidate list ahead of the general election.
On the Green Desk Jack Marshall talks to Tai Lohrer from the University of Auckland about marine conservation areas.
Arno spoke to two E Tu union representatives, firstly Joe Gallagher about new funding to reduce carbon emissions at Glenbrook steel mill
And then Rachel Mackintosh about E Tu’s view on the 2023/2024 budget.
Alex, spoke to Pam Ford from Tataki Auckland Unlimited about the role the economic agency plays in the region.
Auckland Council's Economic Development Agency and Regional Facilities arm Tataki Auckland Unlimited has just announced the loss of 200 full time roles after being asked by the Mayor to find budget cuts of between $27.5m and $44.5m. In 2021 the Economic Development agency attracted nearly $440m of attributable direct private sector investment across all sectors. So far this financial year the agency has attracted nearly $305m into the screen sector alone. Alex spoke to Pam Ford, Director Investment and Industry at Tataki Auckland Unlimited about what a well-functioning economic development agency means for Auckland.
The 2023 Budget aimed to do many things, including easing pressure on inflation and assisting vulnerable communities with rising costs.
Susan St John Honorary Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Auckland and spokesperson to the Child Poverty Action Group says that the government needs to allocate more support to lift children out of poverty, address food insecurity, and support those in hardship. To receive more analysis on what Budget 2023 fell short on, Andre Fa'aoso spoke to Susan on The Wire.
Last week, the Government released its 2023 budget, which saw 20 hours free early childhood education expanded to include two-year-olds, the removal of the $5 prescription fee, and half price public transport for under 25s and free for under 13s.
The opposition has labelled the budget a ‘blow out budget’, and accused the government of overspending.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to National’s Dr Shane Reti about whether he believes the budget will help families with the cost of living.
On Dear Science, Dr Alan Blackman discussed wavy wounds healing faster than straight wounds, Saturn regaining its status as the planet with the most moons in the solar system, and more.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins covered the weekly interview with National’s Dr Shane Reti. This week they discussed the National Party’s response to the Government’s 2023 Budget.
She also spoke to Tony Sriamporn, a PhD student from the school of population health and medicine at the University of Auckland, who is investigating attitudes and behaviours towards blood donation amongst gay and bisexual men.
Beth Torrance-Hetherington asked Julie Anne Genter about the Greens' stance on public transport in the 2023 budget.
And Ah-Leen Rayner, CEO of the Breast Cancer Foundation, about women’s health in the budget.
And Jack Cormack-Neto interviewed Dr Paul Heyward, Associate Dean and Head of Initial Teacher Education, at the University of Auckland about what the budget means for the education sector.
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration recently expanded its blood donation eligibility criteria for men who have sex with men (MSM).
The FDA said it will now recommend "individual risk-based questions" be asked to every blood donor, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, or sex.
Restrictions on blood donation for MSM have been in place since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. But many now view these restrictions as discriminatory, unnecessarily restrictive, and inconsistent with modern, HIV prevention approaches.
The UK and Canada similarly lifted some restrictions on MSM donating blood. But Aotearoa has not followed.
The NZ Blood Service would not be interviewed but did provide a statement to 95bFM.
They said they recognise this is an important issue for many New Zealanders. And as more countries move to a deferral criteria based on individual behaviours it will increase the body of evidence necessary for New Zealand Blood Service to make an informed recommendation to Medsafe about changes to our own donor behaviour deferral criteria.
They said they have been working with the University of Auckland on its Sex and Prevention of Transmission study and hope the results of this study will provide vital evidence-based New Zealand data that will also help inform our future recommendations.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Tony Scriamporn, a PhD student from the school of population health and medicine at the University of Auckland, who is investigating attitudes and behaviours towards blood donation amongst gay and bisexual men. Scriamporn is also a part of the SPOTS study.
She started off the interview by asking Scriamporn what these changes in the US mean for the country's blood supply.
Last week Justice for Palestine handed over a petition to Parliament calling for Aotearoa New Zealand to recognise the state of Palestine. This would bring us in line with over 150 other UN member states. Caeden had a kōrero with Kate Stone, Co-Director of Justice for Palestine, an organisation dedicated to advocating for Palestine, about the petition.
Caeden also spoke to Tameem Shaltoni, Palestinian New Zealander and descendent of Palestinian refugees on his perspective on this petition.
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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