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.
With an increase of 8.1% in the nation's unemployment rate, there are now at least 82,000 young New Zealanders, aged between 15 and 24 years, who are currently unemployed, not in education or in training. These individuals are grouped into a category known as NEETs.
The national unemployment rate is the highest it has been since the impact of COVID 19 in mid 2021 and it is expected to increase beyond 5% by next year.
Rachel spoke to Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston about the current measures and future plans the government has to slow down the increasing rates of NEETs.
The Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 is the first legal major reform to implement the Waitangi Tribunal's recommendations in response to Wai 262: Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, or more commonly known as the indigenous flora and fauna claim.
Senior Lecturer Above the Bar at the University of Canterbury Faculty of Law and legal anthropologist, Dr David Jefferson, is researching the Act, as well as other legal frameworks, focussing on the impacts and potential for mana whenua in biodiversity management to protect taonga plants and mātauranga Māori.
Producer Sofia spoke to Jefferson about his research, and whether the Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 fulfils the Crown's treaty obligations.
Health outcome gaps for Māori and Pasifika suffering from cardiovascular conditions have been apparent for quite some time.
In order to address this ongoing problem, a group of researchers involved in Manawataki Fatu Fatu for ACCESS conducted a qualitative study, where they interviewed Māori and Pasifika patients in cardiovascular care to uncover the causes behind these health gaps, as well as potential solutions.
To discuss the study and its findings, Oto spoke to Senior Research fellow Karen Brewer from the University of Auckland, of Whakatōhea and Ngaiterangi descent, who conducted the study and had some insights to offer on Māori and Pasifika cardiovascular health gaps.
This weekend, People Against Prisons Aotearoa organised a protest against the planned development at Waikeria Prison, calling out existing space in prisons, excessive spending on prisons during cuts across government departments, and the ineffectiveness of prisons broadly.
Wire host Castor spoke to People Against Prisons Aotearoa’s Press Spokesperson, Emmy Rākete about the development and the government’s approach to crime and punishment.
The United States and New Zealand are the only high-income countries that allow unrestricted direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines, which directs advertising towards consumers rather than medical professionals.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Associate Professor of Medical Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland, David Menkes, about concerns researchers have raised about direct-to-consumer advertising and how to address them.
She started the interview asking him how direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines operates in Aotearoa New Zealand.
An urgent open letter has called on the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Paul Goldsmith, to amend the Crimes act to include the act of stalking.
Producer Ezra spoke to co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law Practice and Policy at the University of Auckland, Carrie Leonetti, about why criminalising stalking will help prevent innocent people from living in fear.
Earlier this May the government announced plans to revisit a development at Waikeria Prison in Waikato. Originally proposed under the 2017 Labour government, the plan to add new beds was delayed due to COVID 19 complications.
Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell sez the development will continue past Labour’s initial plan, with an overwhelming message from the National party that the prison population should and will increase. In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Katie Nimon, Wire host Castor asked about the prison development and Corrections funding in advance of this week’s budget announcements.
For Dear Science this week, Professor Allan Blackman chatted to us about reconstructing the genomes of extinct moa, a protein folding prediction programme, and a discovery forcing us to rewrite chemistry textbooks.
Wire host Castor spoke to the National Party’s Katie Nimon about the Waikeria prison development and funding for corrections in advance of this week’s budget announcements.
He also spoke to People Against Prisons’ Emmy Rākete about these developments and the government’s approach to crime more broadly.
Producer Sofia spoke to Associate Professor of Medical Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland, David Menkes, about concerns over direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicine in Aotearoa.
And Producer Ezra spoke to co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law Practice and Policy at the University of Auckland, Carrie Leonetti, about how Aotearoa needs to criminalise stalking.
Over $20 million in Pokie machine profits were recorded last December in the Ōtara-Papatoetoe, Manurewa and Mangere-Ōtāhuhu local board areas of Auckland.
Producer Ezra spoke to Senior Lecturer of Education at the University of Auckland, Dr Analosa Veukiso-Ulugia, about the impact these figures highlighted of gaming machines in South Auckland.
Recently, a University of Canterbury study, ‘investigating the spatial and temporal variation of vape retailer provision in New Zealand: A cross-sectional and nationwide study,’ published in the peer-reviewed journal, Social Science and Medicine, shows that most vape retailers reside in the country’s most deprived areas.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Canterbury, and head of the study, Matthew Hobbs, about the findings of this study, and what this means for these communities.
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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