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.
An Official Information Act request reported on last week by Newsroom revealed Minister for Resources Shane Jones obscured the nature of an undeclared meeting with multiple mining companies about the Fast-Track Approvals process in February.
Initially, Jones told Newsroom the dinner was a “last minute thing”, however he corrected the record the following day saying the dinner was arranged in advance with two other participants.
In response, Communities Against the Fast-Track, a coalition of communities, groups and other individual community organisers, have called for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to remove Jones from his portfolio.
Wire host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to spokesperson for Communities Against the Fast-Track, Augusta Macassey-Pickard, about this, starting the interview asking her how concerned she and the Communities Against the Fast-Track groups were about this behaviour.
In 2022, the Supreme Court used the idea of damage to a person’s mana to overturn Peter Ellis’ historic convictions for child sexual abuse.
In two more recent cases – Green v Police, and Sweeney v Prison Manager of Spring Hill Corrections Facility – the courts too engaged with the concept of mana.
Wire host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to lecturer at the University of Canterbury’s Faculty of Law, Rachael Evans (Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Pamoana), about the significance of the precedents they set and how the courts have measured mana.
She began the interview asking her about these cases and how each of them engaged with the concept of mana.
In breaking news early this morning, President Joe Biden stepped down as the democratic candidate in the election race. It comes following mounting concern around Biden’s age and competence to serve another term as President, as well as a campaign from the party itself for the President to step back.
Now, only three and half months out from election day the democrats must pick a new candidate, likely to be Vice-President, Kamala Harris.
Producer Evie spoke to Geopolitical Analyst from the University of Otago, Geoffrey Miller, about what happens next and what effect this will have on the democrats chances of staying in office. We also talk about what impact the result of the election will have here in Aotearoa, as well as on the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.
It has been two years since the Supreme Court of the United States decision to overturn Roe v Wade. This effectively reversed a recognised constitutional right for Abortion in the United States, paving the way for states to set up bans.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to the University of Auckland’s Liz Beddoe about what the impact in the United States has been, and if there still could be potential ramifications here in Aotearoa.
Wire host Caeden speaks to Labour’s Willow-Jean Prime about the beginning of boot camps for youth offenders at the end of this month and funding cuts at Oranga Tamariki.
They speak to Dr Simone Watkins from the University of Auckland about the importance of equitable approaches for Māori, Pacific, and Indian communities in our health system.
And they speak to the University of Auckland’s Liz Beddoe about the state of reproductive justice in the United States two years on from the overturning of Roe v Wade.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about flood prevention work in Māngere and Muriwai as well as increasing public safety in Auckland’s CBD.
Tuesday Wire host Castor spoke to Professor of business at the University of Auckland, Alex Sims, about the history and impact of planned obsolescence.
A recent report by the UK medical journal - The Lancet, estimated that the actual number of casualties in the Gaza strip is above 186,000. This number was estimated based on the percentage of infrastructure in Gaza destroyed by Israeli missiles, as well as the impacts of famine and communicable disease caused by Israel’s war on the Gaza strip.
Oto spoke to John Minto from Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa to discuss the figures published in the Lancet and what it means for the war in Gaza.
They also spoke about New Zealand’s involvement in RIMPAC, as well as Christopher Luxon’s increased support to Ukraine.
Along with wind energy and electric vehicles, the growth of solar power is expected to have one of the largest contributions to reducing global carbon emissions.
According to statistics from Climate Analytics, 2024 is likely to be the year that carbon dioxide emissions peak and start to fall, in part thanks to innovations that have allowed the growth of renewable energy sources.
Sasha spoke to Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney in the department of chemical sciences at the university of Auckland to discuss the evolution of solar power and its contribution to reducing global emissions.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the new climate strategy announced by Climate Change Minister Simon Watts.
He spoke to John Minto from Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa about the updated death toll in Gaza published by UK Medical Journal - The Lancet, as well as New Zealand’s participation in RIMPAC and the government’s increased support for Ukraine.
For this week’s Get Action! He spoke to Ayah Kayed from Students for Justice in Palestine Pōneke to talk about a petition calling for Victoria University of Wellington to divest from the state of Israel.
And he spoke to Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney from the University of Auckland about advancements in solar and wind power and the contribution to our net zero emissions goals.
Sasha spoke to Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney from the University of Auckland about advancements in solar and wind power and it's contribution to our net zero emissions goals.
Last week, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts outlined the government's latest climate strategy; a three-page document narrowing the government’s pathway to reducing emissions and decarbonising our industries into five core strategic pillars.
For their weekly catch-up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez-March to discuss the climate strategy, and went through the plan by addressing each of the strategy's core pillars.
For Dear Science this week, we chatted to Doctor Cushla McGoverin about giving an old antibiotic a makeover, frozen woolly mammoth DNA, and a mummified crocodile’s final snack .
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the government’s climate strategy 2024.
He also spoke to Senior history lecturer at the University of Auckland Paul Taillon, about the attempted assassination of former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and its potential social impacts.
And he spoke Sarah Bickerton from the University of Auckland about risks of using generative AI in education.
The government is reviewing Treaty of Waitangi references across 28 pieces of legislation, with concerns that stronger obligations could be reduced to simply “taking into account” Treaty principles.
At the same time, New Zealand has signed a new Free Trade Agreement with India, while incidents of anti-Indian graffiti and political comments about Indian communities have raised concerns about rising anti-Indian sentiment in Aotearoa.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about proposed changes to Te Tiriti, the NZ–India Free Trade Agreement, and rising anti-Indian sentiment in New Zealand.
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.
The Prime Minister has survived the recent confidence vote, but questions remain about the stability of Christopher Luxon’s leadership and what that means for the government going forward. At the same time, inflation has come in higher than expected, rising 3.1 percent annually and 0.9 percent in the March quarter, adding to ongoing concerns about the cost of living. And in Wellington, severe flash flooding has once again raised questions about whether our cities are prepared for increasingly extreme weather.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke to Shanan Halbert about all of these issues.
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.
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