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 government recently announced increases to visa application fees across several groups, in some cases more than doubling the cost to applicants. These changes are due to increase revenue for Immigration NZ, and are said to make the organisation 100% self-sufficient.
On the 12th of August, the New Zealand Police Association released an open letter to the government calling out their exclusion from discussions around firearms legislation reform. The letter spoke to the necessity of existing legislation, and criticised the involvement of former and present gun lobbyists in the process, including the minister in charge Nicole McKee. According to the ACT party website, McKee was formerly the spokesperson for The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners, a gun lobbyist group.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Katie Nimon, Wire host Castor asked about the changes to visa application fees and the involvement of police and gun lobbyists in firearms legislation reform.
The New Zealand Police Association yesterday released an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon discussing firearms legislation reform. In the letter, the association called out the government for their exclusion from the policy making process, as the Police Association has been a key group calling for the introduction and continuation of a firearms registry.
The Police Association also called into question the involvement of gun lobby groups in discussions of reform, particularly the history of Associate Minister and minister in charge of the reforms, Nicole McKee. Before becoming an MP, McKee had been the spokesperson for the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners, a gun lobby group. This has led some to call into question her impartiality and ability to assess evidence regarding firearms legislation reform.
Wire host Castor spoke to President of the New Zealand Police Association, Chris Cahill, about the letter, the firearms registry, and involvement of gun lobbyists in firearms legislation decision making.
For Dear Science this week, we chatted with our expert Dr Cushla McGoverin about a parasite carrying drugs to the brain, tarantulas with lots of friends, and lions changing social groups with age.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Katie Nimon about changes to visa fees and police involvement in firearms law reform.
They also talked to president of the New Zealand Police Association Chris Cahill about the association’s open letter to the government about firearms legislation reform.
And they spoked to CEO of immigration advice organisation Aims Global and chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment, Arunima Dhingra, about the visa fee changes and how they’ll impact immigration to Aotearoa.
The government also announced increased visa application fees, some of them now more than double the previous cost. The government says this change will make Immigration NZ entirely self-sufficient, no longer at any cost to the taxpayer.
However, the projected gain from this fee increase is four times as much as Immigration NZ currently spends annually. While the increased funding is expected to be reinvested in improving services, the actual impact or allocation is currently unknown.
Additionally, increased fees may deter potential applicants and increase costs to businesses looking to hire employees from overseas. The change may therefore reduce the number of overseas teachers and healthcare professionals, among other jobs.
Wire host Castor spoke to CEO of immigration advisory group Aims and chair of the New Zealand Association of Migration and Investment, Arunima Dhingra, about the changes and their impact on immigration.
For their weekly catchup, Wire Host and News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to the ACT Party's Simon Court, about calls from the New Zealand police association for ACT MP, Nicole McKee, to step down from her responsibilities in the firearms reform.
Also for our week catchup, they speak to Te Pāti Māori's Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, around local council's voting on the future of Māori wards in their constituencies, the Ngāpuhi hīkoi over the government's plans to reverse section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act, and Te Pāti Māori's calls to boycott the newspaper, The Herald.
They spoke to Professor at the University of Auckland Faculty of Law, Claire Charters, around the controversial decision to include an advertisement by right-wing lobby group, Hobson's Pledge, in The Herald.
The also spoke to Professional Teaching Fellow in Social Sciences at the University of Auckland, Chris McMillan, about whether the Olympics, as well as team New Zealand, are doing enough to lower their carbon footprint.
Finally, they spoke to youth worker and co-founder of Kick Back, Aaron Hendry, about the Ministry of Social Development changing their eligability for Emergency Housing, and what this means for vulnerable youth.
Last week, the newspaper, The Herald, showcased an advertisement by right-wing lobby group, Hobson’s Pledge, on the front of their August 7 issue.
The advertisement calls to “restore the foreshore and seabed to public ownership,” insinuating that Māori own pretty much all coastal areas in Aotearoa.
NZME, who owns The Herald’s choice to include the advertisement has faced significant backlash, notably by Te Pāti Māori, and Kawea Te Rongo - The Māori Journalists Association.
Joel spoke to Professor at the University of Auckland Faculty of Law, Claire Charters (Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāpuhi, Tūwharetoa, Tainui) about the advertisement and the backlash it has received.
Recently, the Ministry of Social Development changed its eligibility for those trying to access Emergency Housing.
On top of having tougher eligibility, the policy also means that those caught breaking the rules of their Emergency Housing needs will have a stand-down period of 13 weeks for a housing grant.
Kick Back, a youth development organisation, has condemned the government’s move, and is calling for the government to reassess the criteria, due to how the new criteria will significantly displace young people requiring access to Emergency Housing.
Joel spoke to youth worker and co-founder of the organisation, Aaron Hendry, about the shift of eligibility, and what this will mean for vulnerable young people
The Paris 2024 Olympics games, which are set to end, have aimed to be the “greenest games in history,” implementing a lot of measures to attempt to decrease their carbon footprint.
Despite clear aims to be more environmentally-friendly, the games are predicted to emit 1.5 billion tons of carbon, similar to the amount Fiji emits annually.
Alongside this, only two sporting bodies that make up the New Zealand Olympic Committee have developed their own sustainability strategies.
Joel spoke to Professional Teaching Fellow in Social Sciences at the University of Auckland, Chris McMillan, about the Olympics, and team New Zealand’s aims to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, and whether this is enough.
Earlier this week, Aotearoa Justice Watch released a report detailing numerous testimonies of abuse, discrimination and alleged violations of human rights within New Zealand’s criminal justice system.
Of the 62 submissions made between June 2022 and March 2024, 36 testimonies related to prisons, 20 to policing and 6 to both policing and prisons.
Aotearoa Justice Watch is made up of People Against Prisons Aotearoa, Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, JustSpeak and the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties.
Producer Sofia spoke to Senior Campaigner at Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, David Vega, about the report and identifying areas for improvement in our criminal justice system.
Wire host Caeden speaks to Labour’s Shanan Halbert about Labour’s new policy to sanction Israel and the Ngāpuhi led protests against 7AA repeal this week.
State of the States makes a return! They speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about the newly announced Harris/Walz ticket this election campaign.
And they speak to Dr Kevin Trenberth from the University of Auckland on the record levels of carbon in our atmosphere.
Producer Sofia speaks to Councillor Shane Henderson about rates in Auckland and Council investing $47 million in parks and community facilities over the next three years.
She also speaks to Senior Campaigner at Amnesty International Aotearoa, David Vega, about a recent report from Aotearoa Justice Watch.
Last week, the Green Party released a statement highlighting the recently released Dental For All report, which they say confirms that New Zealand can afford a free, universal public dental service.
And the recently signed Free Trade Agreement between India and New Zealand is being touted as a pivotal moment, garnering support from both Labour and National parties, however, NZFirst MP and coalition minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, expressed his opposition to the agreement with derogatory comments against potential indian immigrants that have drawn the ire of other parliamentary parties.
So for our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, I spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Green Party’s Dental policy and their stance on the Free trade agreement with India.
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.
95bFM 
