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.
Care and Support workers, many of whom are working disability and elderly care, will be rallying across the Motu to call on the Government to fund a pay equity settlement for the sector.
Oto to Rachel Mackintosh from E Tu Union, representing care and support workers and organising the rally with PSA and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, to talk about the upcoming rallies and the demands of workers in the sector.
Driven by a need to ensure the world is better prepared for future pandemics, for the past two years the World Health Organization’s 194 member states have been negotiating an international accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
While it initially aimed to have reached an agreement by last month, talks have been extended.
Wire host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Professor Michael Baker from the department of Public Health at the University of Otago about what a global pandemic treaty might look like, as well as asking him about New Zealand’s current response systems to COVID-19.
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Labour Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about Three Strikes Laws and cuts to food banks
For City Counselling they speak to Councillor Shane Henderson about Matariki and local government crime prevention plans.
And they speak to Palestine Solidarity Network’s John Minto about their open letter warning the government that they will take action against their complicity in Gaza
Sofia speaks to CEO of SAFE, Debra Ashton, about a petition presented to parliament this week calling for the ban on live exports to be kept.
Castor speaks to spokesperson for Eczema Assocation New Zealand, Vanessa Jenkins, about the impacts of eczema on daily life.
The Palestine Solidarity Network has issued a letter of demand to the government for complicity in Israel’s siege on Gaza.
It comes as the death toll in Gaza reaches nearly 38,000 including 15,000 children. At least 10 countries, including Spain, Mexico and Ireland, have joined South Africa in their case against Israel for committing what they call a Genocide.
Wire Host Caeden speaks to PSN’s John Minto about how the Government’s been complicit, and what their impact could be on the international stage.
Eczema is a health issue that affects large groups of people across the country. The Eczema Association New Zealand, or EANZ, is a group that attempts to understand and address the impacts of eczema on both those who have it and those around them, such as families and friends.
Producer Castor spoke to spokesperson from EANZ, Vanessa Jenkins, about the impacts of eczema and what more the government can do to support those who are affected by it.
A ban on live animal exports was introduced last year by the previous Labour government. However, the coalition government has said it would like to reverse it.
This past week, a petition signed by over 57,000 people was handed to parliament, calling for the Government to keep its ban on live animal exports.
Producer Sofia spoke to CEO of SAFE Aotearoa, Debra Ashton, about the petition, the importance of keeping the ban, and what reversal could look like.
There are at least 150,000 children in Aotearoa living under the poverty line who come from households dependent on government assistance schemes like Working for Families.
However, as Susan St John, associate professor in economics at the University of Auckland Business School and spokesperson for Child Poverty Action group, said in a recent newsroom article, there are barriers in accessing support schemes for low-income families not found in those aimed at Kiwis over the age of 65, such as the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
Oto had a chat with Susan about the state of government assistance for low-income families in New Zealand, and why she believes it’s better to be old than young if you’re poor in New Zealand.
The government recently announced it would increase funding to the New Zealand Pharmaceutical agency, also known as Pharmac, by $604 Million over the next four years to fund the treatment of 54 new drugs, 13 of which are cancer treating medication.
The announcement comes after the government experienced widespread backlash when cancer treatment funding was left out of the annual budget announcement made last month, going against Nationals promise during the general elections to increase funding for cancer treatments.
For their weekly catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez-March to discuss the party’s take on the government’s recent announcement and decision.
They also talked about the government’s introduction of a new sentencing Category for Young Offenders and the implementation of check-in requirements for Jobseeker beneficiaries.
The environment committee has unanimously recommended that the Hauraki Gulf Protection Bill should be passed in its entirety.
This means that if parliament votes for this recommendation there will be 19 new protection areas in the Tīkapa Moana Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.
Many environmental organisations have welcomed this possibility and highlighted its importance.
Rawan spoke with Bianca Ranson from forest and bird about what this new bill would mean, why it is important and how it incorporates local iwi and hapu values.
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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