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.
A new initiative by Koi Tū, The Centre for Informed Futures, highlights the importance of play in the cognitive, physical, and mental wellbeing of children. Koi Tū are calling for the government to ease the burden of raising children and to make it easier for children to have access to play.
Not only is play important in honing motor skills, it also helps expand the brain and prepare it for things such as numeracy and literacy.
Arno spoke with Dr Felicia Low, a research fellow at Koi Tū, to find out more about the importance of children’s play. Arno started the interview by asking how the initiative came about.
Wire producer Rosetta spoke to Bill McKay, senior lecturer at the University of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning, regarding the Green Party's recently announced Pledge to Renters. They discussed what the pledge involves, gaps the policy is missing, and where the pledge leaves young voters in the upcoming election.
- Spike speaks to ACT MP Simon Court about ACT's opposition to the Let's Get Wellington Moving project
- Hanna speaks to Te Pati Maori candidate Takutai Kemp about the party's new 20 year old candidate for Hauraki-Waikato, and the new Ombudsman report on Aotearoa prisons
- Nicholas talks to Maritime Union national organiser Craig Harrison about the potential repercussions of a privatised Port of Auckland
- Jessica Hopkins speaks to sarcoma cancer survivor and member of a sarcoma advisory group Sara Chung for Sarcoma Awareness Month, about the group's recomendations for improving sarcoma patient outcomes
For their weekly catchup, Hanna spoke to Takutai Kemp about the party's 20-year old candidate for Hauraki-Waikato, Hana Maipi-Clarke. They discussed whether youth may bring insight rather than hindrance, rangatahi representing rangatahi on issues which affect them, and how future generations can bring tradition forward.
They then discussed the Chief Ombudsman's scathing review of Corrections, which showed no change since the 2020 Waikeria riot despite repeated recommendations. They covered resistance to change within Corrections, Māori mass incarceration, and changes Te Pāti Māori would make - both inside and outside the prison.
Auckland city council’s decision to sell a percentage of their shares in the Auckland Airport has placed a fresh spotlight on other Council owned assets.
No plans have been announced yet, but a review into Auckland’s ports could lead to the potential sale and privatisation of the currently council owned ports..
Nicholas spoke to Craig Harrison, The National Secretary of The Maritime Union of New Zealand, about the potential pitfalls of selling the ports of Auckland.
The Entrust dividend payment is a payout of Entrust’s dividends in Vector Limited, and is paid out to beneficiaries throughout Tamaki Makaurau who reside within the Entrust district. During the current cost of living crisis, the dividend payment is expected to be a welcome relief for Aucklanders eligible to receive it.
Last year Entrust paid out more than three-hundred dollars each to more than three-hundred-and-fifty-thousand Entrust beneficiaries throughout Auckland. To learn more about the Entrust Dividend payment, where the money comes from, and how many Aucklanders can expect to receive the payment this year, Andre Fa’aoso spoke to Denise Lee, Entrust’s Dividend Sub-Committee spokesperson and started off by asking her how much the 2023 dividend payment will be.
To learn more about Entrust’s operations, Andre asked Denise how Entrust operates, and also asked about a tax-reform campaign Entrust is fronting that aims to secure fourteen million dollars extra in dividends for Aucklanders.
A WW2 era shipwreck in the Hauraki Gulf has recently been brought back to attention as a potential environmental hazard due to the oil it contains.
Although the remains have been explored, there has been no survey of the risk and experts along with the Hauraki Gulf Forum are calling the government to invest in further assessment.
Rawan spoke with Kieth Gordon, a long term underwater explorer who was the first person to bring up these risks 33 years ago, about what this means now.
Spike speaks to Shane Henderson on City Counselling this week, covering the official passing of the Council budget, the Great North Road cycleway project finally being approved, and the Auditor-General report into Auckland Emergency Management. Spike also speaks to Tertiary Education Union national president Julie Douglas about the new university funding announcement, and Professor Paul Glue about a new trial into MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for cancer patients.
Rawan speaks to Taimi Allen about a recent Te Hiringa Mahara report on peer support in the mental health and addiction system, and Keith Gordon on the HMS Niagara shipwreck and the environmental risks it poses for the Hauraki Gulf.
The Wire is back with a stacked show for your Rāapa Wednesday! On today's show:
Our News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, speaks to Geoffrey Miller, a geopolitical analyst at the Democracy Project, about Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ visit to China this week.
She also talks to Sam Vincent from Uyghur Solidarity Aotearoa, a group focused on amplifying Uyghur voices and calling for action on the genocide of Uyghur people in China about Hipkins’ meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Andre speaks to Denise Lee, spokesperson for the Entrust Dividend Sub-committee about the Entrust Dividend Payment, and their recent tax-reform campaign that says Auckland beneficiaries are missing out on $14,000,000 in extra dividends.
Arno speaks to Rachel Jaros of the Liggins Institute on a new study showing the effects of long-haul Covid on a host of other health conditions.
And he also chats with Joe Gallagher about E Tu Union’s transition plan for 750 laid-off workers at New Zealand Post Auckland and Christchurch.
Producer Andre Fa'aoso speaks to Denise Lee, spokesperson for the Entrust Dividend Sub-committee about the Entrust Dividend Payment, and their recent tax-reform campaign that says Auckland beneficiaries are missing out on fourteen million dollars in extra dividends.
On Tuesday, Aucklanders checked the updated property valuations of their house, for many to find declines in value by 10s of thousands of dollars —- on average, by 9% from when they were last done in 2021.
According to the Council. rating valuations were based on market trends and recent sales activity, as of May 1 2024.
Wayne Brown said in response to the decreased values, “The economy's been faltering for a while, and It's really driven by government policies rather than Auckland's policies,”
Also, as we get closer to 2026 and the completion of the City Rail Link, Aucklanders have expressed various concerns about the standard of completion, including incorporation of public feedback.
I discuss the incorporation of the wider neighbourhood in Mt Eden at the Maungawhau station and the dismissal of public perspectives at the K Road station
New Zealand and key allies have imposed sanctions on two “extremist” Israeli politicians for their role in “inciting violence against Palestinians” in the West Bank.
However, opposition parties, including Labour as well as the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, are calling for further action to be taken against Israel.
It comes after Israel kidnapped 12 pro-Palestine activists on international waters, who were intending to break the aid blockade and reach Gaza.
And earlier this week, the National Business released their annual rich list.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, I spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about these topics.
Los Angeles is approaching a week of protests against ICE, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Over 200 protestors have been arrested since the protests began, and restrictions have been placed on protestors, including a curfew.
The White House has sent 2,000 members of the National Guard to the city already, and another 2,000 are expected to be deployed. This is despite California Governor Gavin Newsom attempting to stop their deployment.
For International Desk, I spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about the protests.
The Green party recently made renewed calls to the government to sanction Israel for its illegal occupation of Palestine following the seizure of the Madleen, a vessel that aimed to deliver food and medical aid to Gaza.
The vessel, which was en route to Gaza, was intercepted in the Mediterranean by the Israeli Defence Forces before being rerouted to Israel with all those on board, among whom was Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford recently announced the Parent Boost Visa, part of the government’s self-described commitment to supporting parents living overseas to visit and stay with their families here in Aotearoa.
And, over in the United States, 2000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles in response to protests opposing the city’s recent immigration raids.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about all of these issues
Currently, 19 out of 38 OECD countries use incineration as a form of waste management.
With the process leading to a range of negative impacts, such as air pollution, Co2 emissions and respiratory illnesses, Aotearoa has luckily remained incinerator free.
However, calls have been made by some activists to strengthen New Zealand’s legislation to ensure that incineration facilities are not opened up in Aotearoa.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Sue Coutts from Zero Waste Network New Zealand to discuss a petition calling on the government to keep New Zealand Incinerator-free.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
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.
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.
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.
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
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