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.
This week the Thursday Wire's usual host Caeden was away, so Tuesday Wire host Castor filled in.
For City Counselling this week, Castor spoke to Shane Henderson about the draft regional land transport plan for Auckland and the council’s hopes for budget announcements later today.
Producer Jasmine spoke with Dr. Hiran Thabrew about mental health funding following the Government’s budget announcement regarding investment in the I Am Hope Foundation.
She also spoke PSA Delegate Sian Dalaway about pay parity negotiations for NZ Blood Service workers ahead of tomorrow’s strike.
She also spoke with Ella Sargison from the Burnett Foundation about June’s Sweat With Pride initiative.
The Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 is the first legal major reform to implement the Waitangi Tribunal's recommendations in response to Wai 262: Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, or more commonly known as the indigenous flora and fauna claim.
Senior Lecturer Above the Bar at the University of Canterbury Faculty of Law and legal anthropologist, Dr David Jefferson, is researching the Act, as well as other legal frameworks, focussing on the impacts and potential for mana whenua in biodiversity management to protect taonga plants and mātauranga Māori.
Producer Sofia spoke to Jefferson about his research, and whether the Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 fulfils the Crown's treaty obligations.
Health outcome gaps for Māori and Pasifika suffering from cardiovascular conditions have been apparent for quite some time.
In order to address this ongoing problem, a group of researchers involved in Manawataki Fatu Fatu for ACCESS conducted a qualitative study, where they interviewed Māori and Pasifika patients in cardiovascular care to uncover the causes behind these health gaps, as well as potential solutions.
To discuss the study and its findings, Oto spoke to Senior Research fellow Karen Brewer from the University of Auckland, of Whakatōhea and Ngaiterangi descent, who conducted the study and had some insights to offer on Māori and Pasifika cardiovascular health gaps.
Last week, resources Minister Shane Jones released a draft strategy for mineral mining, aiming to double the amount of exports in the sector.
The strategy also mentioned "significant amounts of different types and grades of coal deposits" in Aotearoa, and aimed to align consents for coal to other minerals in order to increase coal extraction.
In response, the Green party has created a petition, calling on the government to completely roll back on its coal mining initiatives and to protect the natural ecosystems of Aotearoa.
For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP, Ricardo Menendez-March, to discuss the petition. We also had a conversation about the Defence Minister Judith Collins decision to extend New Zealand Defence Force deployments to the Middle East and Africa
With an increase of 8.1% in the nation's unemployment rate, there are now at least 82,000 young New Zealanders, aged between 15 and 24 years, who are currently unemployed, not in education or in training. These individuals are grouped into a category known as NEETs.
The national unemployment rate is the highest it has been since the impact of COVID 19 in mid 2021 and it is expected to increase beyond 5% by next year.
Rachel spoke to Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston about the current measures and future plans the government has to slow down the increasing rates of NEETs.
An urgent open letter has called on the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Paul Goldsmith, to amend the Crimes act to include the act of stalking.
Producer Ezra spoke to co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law Practice and Policy at the University of Auckland, Carrie Leonetti, about why criminalising stalking will help prevent innocent people from living in fear.
The United States and New Zealand are the only high-income countries that allow unrestricted direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines, which directs advertising towards consumers rather than medical professionals.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Associate Professor of Medical Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland, David Menkes, about concerns researchers have raised about direct-to-consumer advertising and how to address them.
She started the interview asking him how direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines operates in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Earlier this May the government announced plans to revisit a development at Waikeria Prison in Waikato. Originally proposed under the 2017 Labour government, the plan to add new beds was delayed due to COVID 19 complications.
Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell sez the development will continue past Labour’s initial plan, with an overwhelming message from the National party that the prison population should and will increase. In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Katie Nimon, Wire host Castor asked about the prison development and Corrections funding in advance of this week’s budget announcements.
For Dear Science this week, Professor Allan Blackman chatted to us about reconstructing the genomes of extinct moa, a protein folding prediction programme, and a discovery forcing us to rewrite chemistry textbooks.
Wire host Castor spoke to the National Party’s Katie Nimon about the Waikeria prison development and funding for corrections in advance of this week’s budget announcements.
He also spoke to People Against Prisons’ Emmy Rākete about these developments and the government’s approach to crime more broadly.
Producer Sofia spoke to Associate Professor of Medical Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland, David Menkes, about concerns over direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicine in Aotearoa.
And Producer Ezra spoke to co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law Practice and Policy at the University of Auckland, Carrie Leonetti, about how Aotearoa needs to criminalise stalking.
This weekend, People Against Prisons Aotearoa organised a protest against the planned development at Waikeria Prison, calling out existing space in prisons, excessive spending on prisons during cuts across government departments, and the ineffectiveness of prisons broadly.
Wire host Castor spoke to People Against Prisons Aotearoa’s Press Spokesperson, Emmy Rākete about the development and the government’s approach to crime and punishment.
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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