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 United Nations hosted Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) 2024 is taking place in Geneva this week, with Aotearoa’s Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission in attendance.
Particularly, the commission will be commenting on Aotearoa’s historical approach to indigenous rights in Aotearoa as well as the approach of the current government.
Wire host Castor spoke to Te Kāhui Tika Tangata’s indigenous rights governance partner, Dayle Takitimu, about the EMRIP assessment and what it could mean for our current and future governments.
The government’s plan to introduce boot camps for youth offenders and other more punitive law and order reforms have come under fire by experts for failing to address the root causes of crime and antisocial behaviour in Aotearoa.
The recently implemented measures and rhetoric from the government have prompted a variety of discussions about how Aotearoa can properly tackle youth crime, the resources public agencies have to address and the measures that have worked so far.
Oto spoke to Aaron Hendry, a youth worker and co-founder of Kickback, to discuss the government’s recent youth crime reforms, and the measures that have worked in the past that the government should be looking into instead.
This story mentions eating disorders and disordered eating.
A new study from researchers at the University of Auckland has found that there was an increase in hospital admissions for eating disorders during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The study found that 10-19 year old girls with diagnoses of anorexia nervosa had the most significant increase; and that Māori had proportionately more hospital admissions for eating disorders than others.
Admissions for other mental health disorders mostly stayed the same or decreased during the pandemic.
Josef spoke to Dr David Menkes, an Academic Psychiatrist at the University of Auckland and co-author of the study, about the study’s findings and what can be done to avoid similar spikes in the future.
If you need support, talking to someone you know or contacting formal support services can be helpful. For support, call the Eating Disorder Association New Zealand 0800 2 EDANZ or (09) 5222 679. Or you can free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason
Children in New Zealand have among the highest rates of screen use in the world, with Māori and low socioeconomic-background young people over-represented.
A group of researchers have come up with advice on children’s screen use to better assist educators in Aotearoa to balance health risks of digital technologies with educational benefits.
Wire host Sofia spoke to the lead author, masters researcher at the University of Auckland and paediatric physiotherapist, Julie Cullen, about this advice, starting the interview asking her about the main risks this research identified that are of concern when it comes to digital technology use by children and young people.
Last week, Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced six key changes to housing policy to "flood" the country with new homes. These include freeing up land for development, removing unnecessary planning barriers and relaxing standards.
Wire host Sofia spoke to University of Auckland senior lecturer of Architecture and Planning, Dr Elizabeth Aitken Rose, about the government’s plans to address the housing crisis in light of Bishop’s announcements last week.
She started the interview asking her what the key changes Bishop announced were.
For their weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, Wire host Sofia speaks to ACT MP Cameron Luxton about ACT invoking the ‘agree to disagree’ provision over the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, the government’s plans to ‘flood’ the country with more housing, and the Easter Trading Bill.
She also speaks to University of Auckland senior lecturer of Architecture and Planning, Dr Elizabeth Aitken Rose, about the government’s plans to address the housing crisis
And she speaks to masters researcher at the University of Auckland and paediatric physiotherapist, Julie Cullen, about advice for children’s digital technology use in kura.
Producer Oto speaks to youth worker Aaron Hendry from Kickback to discuss the best approaches to tackling youth offending.
Producer Josef speaks to Academic Psychiatrist, David Menkes about the rise in hospital admissions for eating disorders during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Supreme Court of the United States has reached international news for recent, controversial judgements. This includes for granting Trump immunity for his role in the January 6th insurrection, and the overturning of Chevron which could have huge consequences for things like environmental protection laws.
These decisions are part of a recent series of Supreme Court decisions that overturn decades of judicial and legislative progress from the 20th Century, infamously including Roe v Wade in 2022.
Wire Host Caeden speaks about these recent, and longer-term decisions, from SCOTUS with University of Auckland History Professor Jennifer Frost.
They started by asking why the recent SCOTUS rulings are so significant.
The World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference is taking place in New York later this month, hosted by Seneca Nation.
The conference was started by Ngāti Pikiao in 2016 and invites community organisations, advocates, and leaders to come together to discuss the challenges and solutions of suicide prevention for indigenous communities.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Quack Pirihi (Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai), founder of Mana Āniwaniwa, about why they’re fundraising to go to the conference.
You can tautoko their mahi on their instagrams @quackpirihi and @manaaniwaniwa
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Labour Leader Carmel Sepuloni about the government’s quarter three action and plan and Labour’s renewed Auckland strategy.
They speak to Quack Pirihi from Mana Āniwaniwa about the upcoming World Suicide Prevention conference.
And they speak to Councillor Shane Henderson about Long Term Plan passing and the end of the Auckland regional fuel tax.
And for The Wire's special 4th of July edition...
Caeden speaks to the University of Auckland Professor of History Jennifer Frost about recent high-profile decisions from the United States Supreme Court.
And Wednesday Wire Host Oto speaks to Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland Stephen Hoadley about replacing President Biden with another candidate, such as Governor of California Gavin Newsom.
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.
95bFM 
