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.
Last Thursday, parliament agreed on a motion to establish a cross-party inquiry on how Aotearoa can better adapt to more frequent and severe weather events, continuing from an inquiry launched by former Green Party co-Leader James Shaw under the previous labour government.
For their weekly chat, Oto spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez March to discuss the party’s thoughts on the launch of the inquiry.
They also had a chat about the Roads of Regional Significance project, as well as the recent funding boost to the New Zealand Defence Force.
It’s almost been a month since protests began at Columbia University in New York, where students established a Gaza Solidarity encampment to demand that the university divest from companies associated with the State of Israel.
With similar protests subsequently springing up at campuses across the globe, calling for universities to divest from Israel, the issue of ethical and responsible investment has become widely discussed in academic institutions across the globe.
In the wake of the international student uprisings, an open letter and petition has been sent to the University of Auckland Foundation to divest from companies that are involved in gross human rights violations and weapons manufacturing. The Letter has been signed by a number of Professors, faculty members and students who are concerned about the University of Auckland’s possible investment ties, and are calling for the University to adopt a more ethical investment framework.
Oto spoke to Dr Ritesh Shah, a senior lecturer in Critical Studies in Education and co-author of the letter, to discuss the calls for divestment to the University, as well as the current situation in Rafah, which he had also been researching.
If you'd like to sign the petition to the University of Auckland Foundation, you can find it here:
For their regular catch-up, host Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about: The recent cross-party inquiry into climate adaptation, The Roads of Regional Significance Project and boosts to our defence budget.
He also spoke to Dr Ritesh Shah from the University of Auckland about an Open Letter to the UoA foundation calling for the university to divest from companies involved in arms sales and human rights violations.
Producer Rachel spoke to Senior lecturer of Critical Studies in Education at the University of Auckland, Dr Jude MacArthur, about the funding disparity for neurodivergent and disabled students within New Zealand’s education system.
Iranian hip hop artist Toomaj Salehi has recently been sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic regime on charges of ‘corruption on earth’ for his songs criticising the regime.
He is one of the many Iranian political prisoners who have been sentenced to death for speaking out against the regime.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Aida Oryantal, from Voice of Iranians about the ongoing fight for democracy in Iran.
Halal Kiwi, an app that helps people find halal foods and products in New Zealand, has been called anti-Semitic by the ACT Party for creating a pro-Palestine boycott list.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Halal Kiwi founder, Mohammed Soliman, about ACT’s claim.
She started off the interview by asking Soliman about the intention behind their initiative to help Halal Kiwi users boycott pro-Israel and pro-Zionist businesses.
On May 9th the New Zealand Nurses organisation held a national day of action 2024, with rallies across the country calling for increased public health funding. While the government has introduced measures to increase the number of nurses in Aotearoa, staffing shortages are still frequent in wards across the country.
Additionally, there are worries that the recently scrapped Te Aka Whai Ora could impact the already struggling sector, taking focus away from those who need health support most and potentially increasing the workload for frontline health workers.
In our weekly catchup with the National party, Wire host Castor spoke to Katie Nimon about the government’s approach to public health policy and how the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora could affect the health sector.
On 9 May the New Zealand Nurses organisation held a national day of action 2024, with rallies across the country calling for increased public health funding.
While the government has introduced measures to increase the number of nurses in Aotearoa, staffing shortages are still frequent in wards across the country.
Additionally, there are worries that the recently scrapped Te Aka Whai Ora could impact the already struggling sector, taking focus away from those who need health support most and potentially increasing the workload for frontline health workers.
Wire Host Castor spoke to the president of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Anne Daniels, about nursing shortages and low health funding in Aotearoa from a frontline perspective.
For Dear Science this week, Professor Allan Blackman chatted to us about Beethoven’s deafness, the first ever vaccination, and researchers mapping a small part of the human brain.
Wire host Castor spoke to the National Party’s Katie Nimon about nursing shortages in light of rallies last week and how the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora could affect the health sector.
He also spoke to New Zealand Nurses Organisation president Anne Daniels about these health issues from a frontline worker perspective.
Producer Sofia spoke to Public Service Association Assistant Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons about the 325 job cuts to the Accident Compensation Corporation.
She also spoke to Professor of Disability Studies and Inclusive Education Missy Morton at the University of Auckland about a new report from the Education Hub about how schools and early childhood centres are failing neurodivergent children.
As a part of the coalition government’s cost saving measures, there are 325 proposed job cuts at the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).
ACC says client-facing teams will not be affected, although, roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety are on the chopping block.
The job cuts equate to a proposed 9 percent reduction of ACC’s total workforce.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Public Service Association Assistant Secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons about the cuts to roles dealing with sexual violence prevention and the overall impacts these cuts to ACC will have on New Zealanders.
On May 13th, the Education Hub - a non-profit organisation that connects teachers with education research - released a report on neurodivergent children in schools and early childhood centres.
Gathering testimonies from 2,400 people, the report found that 15-20 percent of the population is neurodivergent, meaning they have conditions including autism, ADHD, dyslexia and anxiety.
Although the school system is supposedly inclusive, the Education Hub says schools and early childhood centres are failing neurodivergent children.
In response, it has called for more funding and a law change regarding specialist provisions or supports for children with special educational needs.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Professor of Disability Studies and Inclusive Education Missy Morton at the University of Auckland about the report, and what support for teachers, neurodivergent children, and the families of these children should look like.
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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