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.
Following my chat with Simon, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke more about the amendments to the Policing Act with Gehan Gunasekara - the Convenor of the Surveillance Group within the Privacy Foundation and an Associate Commercial Law Professor at the University of Auckland, about concerns these changes will create a “surveillance state”.
Last week, the government passed a New Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection act. The Act includes a new organisation of marine protected areas, and new rules for fishing, in the hopes that they will address environmental issues in the gulf. Concerns, however, remain over the wellbeing of marine life, both now and going forward, and particularly that of larger marine life like whales and dolphins.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Professor of Marine Ecology and Conservation Biology at the University of Auckland, Rochelle Constantine, about the welfare of these larger marine animals, how this bill will help them, and what work there remains to be done.
Despite the government imposing regulations that restrict the advertisement of vaping, international campaigns are still reaching young New Zealanders through influencer marketing and sponsorship of popular overseas sporting events.
In a recently published paper, University of Auckland School of Population Health Research Fellow Dr Lucy Hardie examined how e-cigarette companies can target young New Zealanders through social media marketing and legal loopholes.
95bFM Intern Zanoor spoke with Hardie about this research and her concerns about the harm these campaigns can cause.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Shanan Halbert about benefits changes for 18 and 19-year-olds, the Reserve Bank cutting the official cash rate, and the recent protests outside Winston Peters home.
For International Desk, they spoke to Acacia O’Connor from the Global Movement to Gaza about the experiences of activists detained by Israel.
And they speak to 95bFM reporter Castor Chacko who is on the ground at the protest against RocketLab outside the University of Auckland engineering building.
On City Counselling this week, Producer Sanat spoke to Councilor Julie Fairey about Auckland’s voter turnout and the importance of casting your vote by the 11th of October
He also spoke to the Executive Officer for the Child Poverty Action Group Sarita Divis about changes to the JobSeeker Benefit for 18-19 year olds.
With 2 days to go before voting closes, the voter turnout throughout Tamaki Makarau still remains low, with around 20 percent of eligible voters having cast their vote throughout the city.
According to these statistics, voter turnout is tracking to be lower than 2022’s local elections which had a final turnout of 35.4 percent.
Thursday Wire Producer Sanat talked to Julie Fairey today to give our listeners (and prospective voters) a final elevator pitch as to why they should vote in their local elections.
They also talked about why it is that the design and structure of these elections are not conducive to higher voter participation and the change necessary to make civic participation cool again.
Recently the Government announced a new policy that would means test the Jobseeker benefit for 18-19 year olds.
This new means testing would disqualify those 18-19 year olds who have a combined parental income above $65,000.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaking directly to those young people receiving a benefit said that “I make no apologies, if you want a job, you go to where jobs are”
The official unemployment rate is 5.2% with 158,000 people unemployed. In June, young people from 15-24 years olds had an unemployment rate of 12.9% with Maori and Pasifika young people more acutely affected.
According to experts there are very few pathways left that actively support young people to get employment in our current job market. Current cost of living payments from Studylink amount to $9.50 per hour of full time study.
Aaron Hendry, founder of youth organisation Kick Back says that this change would increase the risk of homelessness for young people and put some of our most vulnerable young people in potentially dangerous situations.
Furthermore hundreds of teenagers with disabilities and chronic health issues, who currently live in a state of poverty, would be disqualified from accessing this benefit as well.
Thursday Wire Producer Sanat spoke to Sarita Divis, Executive Officer at the Child Poverty Action Group, about the implications of these changes.
New Zealanders Rana Hamida, Youseff Sammour and Sam Leason have been deported from Israel after being taken and detained from the Freedom Flotilla.
Another New Zealander, Will Alexander and his partner, German Citizen Ava Mulla, have also been detained from the second wave of Flotilla boats.
The activists are attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and carry humanitarian aid.
Flotilla activists who have been detained and then deported from Israel have been mistreated by the Israeli military, including being abused and denied food and water.
Wire Host Caeden spoke with Acacia O’Connor, an actor and spokesperson for the Global Movement to Gaza, about the Freedom Flotilla and the experiences of detained activists.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has moved to send federal troops into American cities — a decision many legal experts and political leaders argue is unconstitutional. Earlier this week, an Oregon judge blocked the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops into Portland, ruling that the move overstepped presidential authority. The judge was originally appointed by President Trump, who now said the judge had “lost their way”. It’s the latest pushback against federal forces being deployed into U.S. cities.
The ruling by U.S district judge Karen Immergut, was made on the basis that the President’s actions were unconstitutional and that Trump did not have a valid reason for deploying the National Guard.
Paul Taillon is a Chicago, Illinois, native and currently a Senior Lecturer in The Faculty of History, Arts and Education at the University of Auckland. Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to Paul to ask whether there had been any similar situations to this in American history, and what the implications of these actions could mean for the future of American democracy.
Almost three years ago, we entered a summer of devastating floods that have altered the landscape of our neighbourhoods and the demands placed upon our government, both local and national.
To track the dangers of a changing environment, the Ministry for the Environment releases its Our Environment report every three years, which accumulates and analyses environmental monitoring done around the country.
Producer Manny spoke to Craig Stevens, Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Auckland, on the report and its implications for all of us.
The government announced two new initiatives aimed at moving young people out of benefit dependency, and are looking to motivate them to stay in work by providing a $1000 incentive if they are able to keep stable work for more than 12 months. In the same announcement, they stated that young adults, aged 18 and 19, will no longer be eligible for Jobseeker payments if their parents can support them, for which they set the bar as an annual household income of just over $65,000.
In addition to this, The Green Party conducted a public interview on Monday, with the families of the three New Zealanders who were detained by Israel aboard the Sumud flotilla. The goal of the flotilla was to break through Israel’s illegal blockade that has existed since 2007, and provide aid to those suffering in Gaza.
As a result of rising tensions towards the Government’s stance on Gaza, Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ Auckland home was vandalised on Tuesday, the day after the press conference where Chloe Swarbrick urged the Government to act against Israel. Peters then quickly blamed the vandilisation – where a protestor broke his window and left a note saying “welcome to the real world” – on what he described as the “radical left”.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Wednesday Wire Host Max speaks to him about the vandalisation of Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ Auckland home, what the Green Party is asking of the government as a next step in Aotearoa’s stance on Gaza. As well as the Government’s initiatives aimed at moving young adults towards independence.
We also spoke about Associate Education Minister David Seymour’s announcing a change to how the government contracts school attendance services.
Tāmaki Makaurau’s council budget is among those impacted by the proposal of a rates cap, considering Tāmaki’s average 5.8% annual rates increase across the 25/26 financial year.
Youth homelessness is a growing concern as discussions continue around “move on” orders for those without housing in Auckland’s CBD.
And the Skycity Convention Centre is set to open in 2026, with high hopes for what it may bring for Tāmaki Makaurau after its prolonged development.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Counsellor Fairey about these topics.
The Trump administration has caused issues of significant food waste due to a range of its policies, including immigration raids, tariffs, cuts to food assistance programmes, and the destruction of food for programmes like USAID.
This has had huge consequences, including environmental impacts, as well as impacts on the estimated more than 47 million people in the US who don’t have enough food to eat, and those who have relied on US foreign aid that has been cut.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, Provost Associate Professor in Environment, Development & Health at American University, about these issues.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
Christmas Lights at MOTAT - experience Auckland’s most magical Christmas lights - heritage trams, festive music, Santa visits, and thousands of sparkling lights Tickets at motat.nz
Recently, the government has announced some major reforms to how regional councils operate, with regional councillors proposed to be replaced by boards made up of city and regional mayors, and potentially even Crown-appointed representatives, called combined territories boards, or CTBs.
As well as this, Health Minister, Simeon Brown, has called for the decentralisation of Health New Zealand, with the expectation that the entity focuses on deliveries closer to the front-line, additionally expecting a plan to do so by the end of the year.
For our weekly catch up with the National Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to MP Stuart Smith about these topics, starting with the regional council.
From today until the 4th of December, a conference will be held in Queenstown that will look into pest management and how best to protect native species.
The event not only brings experts in the sector from Aotearoa, but will also involve Australian experts as well.
Tuesday Wire Host Sara spoke to Dr Sze-Wing Yiu, a Wildlife Ecologist at the Bioeconomy Science Institute, about this week’s conference, and what to expect.
The government has recently announced some major reforms to how regional councils operate, with regional councillors proposed to be replaced by boards made up of city and regional mayors, and potentially even Crown-appointed representatives, called combined territories boards, or CTBs.
The ‘shake-up’ of regional councils has left concerns that the move would water down environmental regulations at a local level, reduce Māori and iwi voices in decision making, and would result in central government overreaching into local politics.
As well as this, Parliament’s Justice Committee has recommended passing the Electoral Amendment Bill, albeit with some amendments
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about both of these topics, starting with the changes to regional councils.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka announced the government’s release of the new social housing investment plan which aims to shift to a “needs-based, data driven approach”.
The new flexible fund includes $41 million dollars in operating funding over the next four years, and the government have stated they expect to support up to 770 social homes and affordable rentals in the initial phase.
As well, Health Minister Simeon Brown last week announced a Cabinet decision to stop new prescriptions for puberty blockers for young people identifying as trans or experiencing gender dysphoria.
The rule, in effect from 19th of December, is based on recommendations from a UK National Health Service review which determined that the evidence to the benefits or risks of the treatment was “remarkably weak”.
The government is expected to pause new prescriptions until the outcome of a clinical trial being conducted in the UK, expected to be completed in 2031.
Wire Host Sara spoke with MP Carl Bates about all of these topics, firstly by asking about the flexible fund which will replace the so-called ‘patchwork of programmes’ in place for social housing.
Christmas Lights at MOTAT - experience Auckland’s most magical Christmas lights - heritage trams, festive music, Santa visits, and thousands of sparkling lights Tickets at MOTAT.NZ.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
95bFM 
