Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Why don't the world's other humanitarian crises see the same response as Ukraine? As beautiful as the response has been, why is there a discrepancy with people from other countries seeking refuge?
Daniel asked this question to Ritesh Shah, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland. His research bridges several disciplines — including sociology, politics, international relations, and anthropology.
Kia Ora, and welcome to The Wire for Rāpare Thursday!
This week on the show, Spike speaks to:
- Andrew Little on ongoing support from NZDF for regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, and the recent controversy surrounding public servants and their political neutrality code of conduct
- Associate Professor Kelly Burrowes on health inequities for women in regards to research, clinical trials and disease screening
- and Gresham Bradley from Rainbow New Zealand about Georgina Beyer and her legacy as a campaigner, politician and landmark figure
And Simon speaks to:
- Professor John Morgan about the future of Auckland
- Dr. Ayesha Scott on investing with a gender lens
- and Dr. Ulrich Speidel on his thoughts around the communication outages after Cyclone Gabrielle, and how to make infrastructure more resilient
The future of Auckland is a debate that many individuals are engaging in after the weather events of the past few months. Professor John Morgan outlines his vision for what a liveable Auckland looks like and how we go about transitioning to a city that works for all Aucklanders in the face of the climate crisis. Simon started by asking Professor Morgan if we need to rethink what is normal after the recent weather events.
Cyclone Gabrielle knocked out communication networks across parts of the North island and there have been calls that the communication network across Aotearoa is not up to standard to deal with disasters of this scale. Dr. Ulrich Speidel is a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and he shares his thoughts on the current state of communication networks across Aotearoa. Simon started by asking him why cyclone Gabrielle knocked out so many communication networks.
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, and a continued cause of inequity for women is differences in healthcare and medical research. I spoke to Associate Professor Kelly Burrowes about this inequity, its causes, and how it can be resolved going forward.
By investing with a gender lens investors can send a clear message to companies that female representation in boardrooms is an important issue. Dr. Ayesha Scott is a senior lecturer at AUT and she shares how this can help with gender equity. Simon began by asking Dr. Scott what investing with a gender lens is?
For their weekly interview, News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ACT’s Karen Chhour about the Health NZ chair being sacked, the government's tourism workforce plans, and School Strike 4 Climate.
Drag Queens Erika and CoCo Flash from Rainbow Storytime NZ discuss the importance of drag storytime events in Aotearoa.
For Action Station, Producer Daniel Teunissen speaks to the Area Manager of the Citizens Advice Bureau Auckland City, Kate Anderson, about Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposal to cut its funding for the service.
Our Europe correspondent Cameron Adams reported on the 'Art is a Weapon' festival in Berlin.
And Daniel interviewed Paul Callister, from the Institute of Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, about why restoring long-distance passenger rail should be a part of Aotearoa's strategy to lower its climate emissions.
The NZ Drug foundation will be on the University of Auckland campus tomorrow between 3pm-7pm, offering their free and confidential drug checking service.
Drug checking can help reduce risk by providing people with information about what they’re really taking so they can make more informed, and often safer, decisions about their drug use.
95bFM News Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Harm Reduction Manager, Phil Glaser, who will be running the clinic about the importance of their service, and some concerns they have after their recent clinics during O-Week.
The Healthcare exec Brian Thompson was shot dead by a masked assailant last week.
The crime has gained significant controversy and attention online, with many using it to restart the debate on the inequities of the United States healthcare system.
And this week Yale University was the latest college to commit to divesting from weapons manufacturing after a student vote.
For State of the States this week Wire Host Caeden speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about both of these topics.
The government as announced their plan for the Cook Strait ferry a year after they scrapped Labour’s plan, including cancelling the ferries the Labour government had ordered.
And a new report from the Ministry of Social Development has revealed nearly a quarter of beneficiaries are not receiving their correct entitlements.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
For City Counselling this week, producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Shane Henderson about proposed time-of-use charging to solve congestion problems in Tāmaki and Council selling their remaining Auckland Airport shares last week.
The Green party recently released He Ara Anamata - the Green party’s emissions reduction plan.
The document covers more than 10 areas of the economy and energy Sector that a Greens-led government would be looking to adapt to minimise carbon emissions and protect the natural landscapes of Aotearoa.
It also comes 5 months after the government released their own draft emissions plan. Numerous experts pointed out that the government is behind on their own plan’s targets to meet the crucial emissions budget for 2031-2035.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the party’s new emissions reduction plan and how they would address climate and the economy in a greens-led government.
Last election, one of the National Party’s main campaign promises was to be ‘tough on crime’, promising to increase police coverage and penalties for crimes. A target was set to increase the number of police officers by 500 by November 2025, however some police leaders today say this goal is unrealistic.
The government also announced this week some shakeups to insulation standards, which they say should make houses more affordable.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor spoke to him about police staffing targets and new insulation standards.
This week on Dear Science, our expert Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about what latrines teach us about people, climate variation affecting Chinese dynasties, and invasive species becoming threatened.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
Last week it was revealed that two of the ten participants in the government's pilot bootcamp programme were on the run.
The youth were two months into the community rehabilitation phase of the programme, following the three month youth justice residence phase. Both teens were found in the weekend, but had allegedly reoffended, and are now set to come before the court.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, who have been heavily advocating for this programme, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about this incident.
She also talks to him about proposed changes to employment law which would give employers the power to dismiss workers earning over $180,000 without the employee refuting the decision.
And finally, she talks to him about David Seymour’s incumbent run as Deputy Prime Minister, which is set to begin in May of next year.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about changes to Auckland Transport’s responsibilities, nationwide bus and train fare hikes, and concerns over the opening of the City Rail Link.
For State of the States this week, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'aoso from the Yale Daily News about President Biden's decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was due to be sentenced next week for three felony charges.
They also discuss Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, who is the latest in a long list of unorthodox picks for government positions from Trump