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.
Schools began implementing the compulsory Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum at the beginning of 2023.
By focusing on four key ideas – Māori history as the foundational history of New Zealand, colonisation, the use of power, and relationships and connections between people – the curriculum intends to teach students from Years 1-10 to understand the big ideas, know the contexts, and do inquiry practises.
Last week, the Education Review Office released a report on how the curriculum’s first year has been received.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Kaiārahi for the New Zealand History Teachers Association, Craig Thornhill, about some of the commentary from parliament that has emerged, and how the implementation of Aotearoa New Zealand Histories has been received by students and teachers so far.
On April 2nd, the coalition government released an action plan discussing their goals for the next quarter. In the plan was a list of thirty six policies, some vague and some specific, addressing issues across various sectors. You can find the full document here.
In our weekly catchup with the National party's James Meager, Wire host Castor asks about several of these policies, and how they could develop in the coming quarter. These policies were number 4 discussing transport, number 17 on the Holidays Act, number 19 on the repeal of the ban on oil and gas exploration, and number 36 on the repeal of section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act.
Last year, the coalition government signalled its intention to repeal the Therapeutic Products Act 2023.
Due to come into force in 2026, the Act would have modernised the regulation of medicines and natural health products, making medical devices subject to a similar regulatory regime as drugs.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Professor of Toxicology at the University of Canterbury, Ian Shaw, about what the Act would have provided and the significance of the repeal in terms of New Zealanders safety.
For Dear Science this week, Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about medically implanted batteries, this morning’s solar eclipse, and the explosion of a star.
Wire host Castor spoke to the National Party’s James Meager about the coalition government’s new action plan.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ActionStation Aotearoa Director Kassie Hartendorp about the government mandating referendums on Māori wards.
Producer Sofia spoke to Kaiārahi for the New Zealand History Teachers Association, Craig Thornhill, about the Education Review Office’s recent report on the first year of implementing the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum
She also spoke to Professor of Toxicology at the University of Canterbury, Ian Shaw, about the coalition government’s intention to repeal the Therapeutic Products Act 2023.
The flu vaccine will no longer be free for children under 12 or Māori and Pacific people aged 55 to 64.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Associate Professor in Hauora Māori at the University of Otago, Dr Esther Willing, about the impact this will have on the health of our communities, particularly children, Māori, and Pasifika.
She started the interview by asking Willing what her reaction is to this change in eligibility.
A recent study by the University of Auckland has found micro-influencers play a greater role in spreading information during crises than their larger counterparts.
I spoke to Business School Researcher at the University of Auckland, Shohil Kishore, about the implications of his research for government agencies, policy makers and social media platforms.
Producer Ezra spoke to Business School Researcher, Shohil Kishore, from the University of Auckland about his recent study on the impact of micro-influencers during crises.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Senior Lecturer in Bioethics at the University of Otago, Dr Elizabeth Fenton, about the government removing free flu vaccines for children under 12 and Māori and Pacific People aged 55-64
And co-founder of New Zealand NGO Reemi, an organisation which works to alleviate period poverty, discussed supplying reusable period underwear to people in Gaza.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to OutLine’s volunteer coordinator, Jenn Tamati, about their perspective on how Aotearoa’s rainbow communities are feeling a week on from the vandalism of Karangahape Road's rainbow crossing, one of the most recent acts in increasingly visible hate crimes against our LGBTQIA+ whānau in Aotearoa.
Kiwis battling the deadliest form of breast cancer, are a step closer to gaining access to life-saving treatment. There are currently no funded treatment options for triple-negative breast cancer, but hope is on the horizon with Pharmac recommending funding for drug, Keytruda. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Breast Cancer Foundation Chief Executive, Ah-Leen Rayner, about the path to rollout for patients in Aotearoa.
Associate Education Minister, David Seymour, has announced the creation of an establishment board to re-open Charter Schools by 2025.
The government is also set to announce plans to increase school attendance, but has not yet said if this will include fining parents for truancy, which the ACT Party campaigned on during the election.
First, news teamer Fath spoke to New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association President, Chris Abercrombie, about their response to the government's plans for the education sector.
Faith also spoke to New Zealand Education Institute President, Mark Potter.
She started off the interview by asking Potter how he thinks the government could address truancy in schools.
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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