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.
Loneliness is an epidemic that is affecting more and more people every day. Some demographics are more affected than others. Loneliness can have physical health effects, as well as mental.
Professor in Psychological Medicine from the University of Auckland Elizabeth Broadbent is researching how robots and other AI tools such as ChatGPT can aid people in reducing their social isolation and improving their wellbeing.
Arno spoke to her to find out more about her research into companion robots and for a background on the health impacts of loneliness.
Arno started the interview by asking Elizabeth how loneliness affects people’s wellbeing.
In her weekly catchup with Dr Shane Reti, Milly speaks to Dr Shane Reti surrounding the Pothole repair fund which is sitting at a proposed 500 million dollars. as well as Te Whatu Ora's incorrect and insuffcient data reporting.
Last week, the Smithsonian abruptly cancelled the Asian American Literary Festival, which writers from around the world were set to attend. A delegation of writers from Australia and New Zealand were preparing to travel and had spent public funding on the event, when they received an announcement the festival had been cancelled. No reasoning or plans for postponement have been given, and members of the Australia/New Zealand delegation are left outraged.
Wire producer Rosetta spoke to New Zealand writers Chris Tse and Saraid de Silva, who were set to attend the festival in the United States, about their plans for the festival and what the cancellation means.
Last week, Chris Hipkins announced that the Labour Party is pledging to rule out any sort of capital gains tax or wealth tax if re-elected. Hipkins has stated that it is simple mot the time for big changes to the tax system given how much Kiwis are struggling with the cost of living. The pledge has received backlash and contrasts starkly with policies of Te Pati Māori and The Green Party, leaving a potential future coalition uncertain.
Wire producer Rosetta spoke to to Child Poverty Action Group's convenor Alan Johnson about the policy, and what the decision will mean for the wealth gap and child poverty in Aotearoa.
- Spike speaks to ACT MP Simon Court about ACT's youth justice policy announcements, and water researcher Marnie Prickett about Auckland Council's flood mitigation plan, along with new nitrate readings from South Auckland.
- Rawan speaks to Ben Schmidt from the Tertiary Education Union about voluntary redundancies at Massey University, and Auckland University Professor of Physics Richard Easther about the recent discovery of gravitational waves for Tomorrow's World.
- and Nicholas speaks to the newly appointed Grocery Commissioner Pierre Van Heerden about the role, and his focuses going in.
The Grocery sector has been in the spotlight since it was reported that food prices increased 12.5 percent from last year.
This increase in food prices matched with a cost of living crisis has left many New Zealanders choosing between which of their basic needs is most important.
However, the cause of the cost of living crisis has had little effect on supermarket profits, with the two biggest supermarket retailers in New Zealand recording a combined profit of 430 million dollars last year.
In an unprecedented move, the Labour government has chosen to create a new commission to look at measures needed to regulate the supermarket industry in order to get fairer prices for ordinary Kiwis
Nicholas spoke to newly appointed grocery commissioner Pierre Van Heerden about his experience and his ideas on what needs to change in the grocery sector.
This week on the Thursday Wire, Milly spoke to Dan Hikuroa from the University of Auckland about the very exciting first Matariki public holiday that will take place on the 14th July 2023.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins speaks to Labour's Andrew Little about the government's response to recent dawn raids and their announcement that they would not introduce a wealth tax after the election.
She also speaks to Action Station Director Kassie Hartendorp (Ngāti Rau-kawa and Ngāti Pare-rau-kawa) about the government ruling out taxing the super-rich.
And she chats to undergraduate student at the University of Auckland Vaitoa Mallon about Kiribati language week.
Host Milly Smyth speaks with Daniel Hikuroa from the University of Auckland about Matariki.
Producer Rawan Saadi speaks with University of Auckland Doctoral candidate Ashlea Gibbons about the 250,000 dollar grant she has received to continue her research on the impact of fat bias on Maori in healthcare.
She also speaks to Australian-Jewish author and independent journalist Antony Lowenstein about his new book "The Palestinian Laboratory" which exposes and discusses how the Israeli occupation has been testing technology and military equipment on Palestinians.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has ruled out introducing a wealth or capital gains tax if Labour is re-elected this year.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Action Station Director Kassie Hartendorp, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Pareraukawa, about why they believe a wealth tax and capital is needed in Aotearoa.
She started off their interview asking about their reaction to the Prime Minister's decision.
This week is Te Taetae ni Kiribati Te Taetae ni Kiribati — Kiribati language week.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to undergraduate student at the University of Auckland Vaitoa Mallon about connecting with his Kiribati heritage growing up in Aotearoa.
These past few weeks in politics have seen various issues that we spoke about in our weekly catchup with the National Party.
First up, at the Aotearoa Music Awards, National MP Chris Bishop was heard making disdainful remarks such as “what a load of crap” during a performance by singer Stan Walker.
Second, Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngārewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi were recently suspended from parliament for 21 days for their haka protesting the Treaty Principles Bill. The penalty is far harsher than any previous penalty for an MP, raising questions about whether it is justified or sets a dangerous precedent.
Finally, the government recently announced a new visa for parents of migrants, allowing them to come to New Zealand for a longer period of time than traditional visitors without having to acquire residency.
Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues in our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, starting with Chris Bishop’s comments at the AMAs.
The recommended suspension for Te Pāti Māori MPs, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, over the MP’s haka in Parliament during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill last year.
Co-leaders Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi will be suspended from the House for 21-days, with Maipi-Clarke facing a seven day suspension. This is Parliament's harshest sanctions in the country’s history. Prior to this, the longest suspension an MP had faced in Parliament was three days.
The debate had previously been delayed so that the MPs could participate in the Budget debate — however, both co-leaders were not present at the debate.
During the debate MP Tākuta Ferris said that the debate was not about the haka, but at the heart, it was the House continuing to ignore Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori sovereignty, and that the “racism” in the House is hardly being hidden.
For our weekly catch-up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the suspension, and what’s next for the party.
They also discussed NZ First Party Leader Winston Peters’ comments regarding Waititi’s moko, referring to the MPs moko kanohi as “scribbles”. He was asked to apologise by the Speaker, which he did.
But first, they discussed the suspension of the MPs.
As per coalition agreements, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, has been sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, taking over from NZ First Leader, Winston Peters.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about Seymour’s new position, and what this means for the party.
They also discussed accusations Seymour made regarding submissions to the Regulatory Standards Bill.
In an interview with Guyon Espiner, Seymour claimed that 99.5% of the submissions against the Regulatory Standards Bill were driven by ‘bots’ and were ‘fake’ submissions.
Seymour later clarified to RNZ that by bots, he was meaning “online campaigns” creating “non-representative samples” that do not represent the public’s opinion.
The Ministry of Regulations received roughly 23,000 submissions on the bill. Of the submissions. Of the submissions, 0.33% were fully or partially supporting the bill, with 88% being against the bill.
Finally, they discussed the recommended suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs’ Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke standing.
But they, we discussed David Seymour as Deputy Prime Minister.
Auckland Transport are seeking community feedback on a proposal for a new T3 transit lane on Mount Smart Road to relieve congestion during peak times heading towards the Royal Oak roundabout.
Between better public transport systems, a ‘time of use’ charge, and different ways of managing Auckland traffic, Producer Sara asks Councillor Julie Fairey about how Auckland Council hopes to reduce peak-time congestion as the city’s population grows.
She also talk to Julie Fairey about the recent allocation of funds to community-led projects through Ngā Hapori Momoho. This year, the grant which aims to “improve financial security, improve health outcomes, and grow community and intercultural connection” has approved funding for eleven community groups, six of which are either Māori organisations or delivering ‘strong Māori outcomes’.
Sara begins with questions about Auckland central congestion.
*unfortunately the audio quality on Julie's end is poor
Last week the government announced a series of changes to 16 national direction instruments under the Resource Management Act that would change the way councils implement local plans and rules.
Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, described the changes as removing ‘unnecessary regulations’ for primary industries and investment, with the main changes being: removing freshwater management regulations for councils, removing regulations for the construction of mines and quarries and removing restrictions on non-intensive grazing of beef, cattle and deer in wetlands.
In that same week, Associate Education Minister, David Seymour made a series of changes to the pay parity scheme impacting primary school teachers, where education centres would not need to factor additional and higher qualifications when working out teacher’s starting salaries.
And, just recently, Workplace Relations and Safety minister Brooke van Velden recently announced that she’d be making a series of changes to WorkSafe in order to shift regulators priorities from enforcement to advice.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
The Budget for 2025 came out two weeks ago, with news for the nation on how funds will be allocated over the coming year. The budget held big news for defence spending, $12 billion over the next four years, including $9 billion of new spending.
The funding is planned to go towards various technologies and equipment for different branches of the military, including replacements for two Air Force Boeing 757 planes and new helicopters to be operated from Navy ships. Defence Minister Judith Collins also announced plans to acquire new killer drones with increased lethality, raising some human rights concerns.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the defence spending announcements, concerns over killer drones, and if this money is best spent on more military equipment.
After years of discussion, Auckland Council’s Planning and Policy Committee have approved zoning changes for the city centre, which will see taller buildings and increased development capacity within the Central Business District.
Plan Change 78 sought to increase density and will see double height limits for most of the city centre, up to twenty storeys, unlimited building height for a small section, and the removal of limitations on floor plans to attract investment into a wider variety of building types.
With notification of this decision made tomorrow, the changes are expected to be included in the Auckland Unitary Plan to become operative in June this year.
As well, consultation is currently open in relation to the Western Springs speedway, of which Auckland Council voted in favour of last year based on financial underperformance.
The decision to keep the speedway, develop a new stadium or explore new opportunities for the space has been a hot topic in public debate, with figures like former All Black Sir Bryan Williams, Rich lister Anna Mowbray and her husband, former All Black Ali Williams chiming into the discussion.
Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson this week about both of these topics, starting with the future of development in Auckland’s central city.
From 9th June, the United Nations Ocean Conference is being held in France, which is co-hosting the event with Costa Rica.
More than 50 world leaders are expected to attend, with 1500 delegates from almost 200 countries.
The conference follows the world’s first deep-sea mining application for the international seabed, which was submitted to the United States government as opposed to the United Nations regulator.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Juressa Lee (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Rarotonga), seabed mining campaigner at Greenpeace, about the conference.
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