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.
Nicholas Lindstrom interviews volunteer Lewis Johnson about his role in the aftermath of cyclone Gabrielle and the work he did for the 'Tutira Mai' Relief Concert hosted at Pipitea Marae.
Today, 50,000 ECC, primary and secondary school teachers go on strike across the motu to push for better working conditions. Spike speaks to Dr. Paul Heyward, Associate Dean of Teaching at Auckland University, about the strike, and current working conditions for teachers.
This week Prime Minister Hipkins announced a plan to scrap cuts to speed limits on many roads. The safety benefits of lowering speed limits has been well documented, but Professor Len Gillman is an advocate for the lowering of speed limits to help reduce emissions. Simon began by asking Professor Gillman what the benefits of lowering speed limits across Aotearoa are.
Labour has announced a special Lotto draw this Saturday as part of a cyclone relief fundraising effort, but advocates for gambling harm reduction are asking whether the benefits outweigh the harm of gambling. Spike speaks to Pesio Ah-Honi, CEO of Pasifika gambling support organisation Mapu Maia, about the upcoming draw, and the harms of gambling on communities.
This week is neurodiversity celebration week in Aotearoa. Professor Karen Waldie is a Professor in the School of Psychology and with the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland. Simon started by asking Professor Waldie what neurodiversity celebration week is and why it is important.
Research Fellow at Otago University Marnie Prickett recently co-wrote a report for the Public Health Communication Centre titled 'When The First Barrier Falls: Strengthening Protection for Drinking Water Sources'. Simon spoke with Marnie about protecting drinking water sources in Aotearoa as well issues with the water supply. She began by discussing the 2016 Havelock North contamination.
Emilia chatted with Green Party co-leader James Shaw about Chris Hipkins’ so-called policy bonfire, the debate around mitigation and adaptation policies, and the importance of amplifying the youth voice in politics for their first weekly catch-up this year.
News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins speak to Mark Potter, President of Te Riu Roa, the New Zealand Education Institute, acting president of Te Wehengarua, the Post Primary Teachers' Association, Chris Abercrombie, and Maddy, an intermediate teacher, about teachers striking for better pay and conditions.
Producer Arno Cronje speaks to Good Samaritans Aotearoa New Zealand chairman Tony Robinson about his organisation and how it is helping post-Cyclone.
And Melissa Ansell-Bridges, the National Secretary of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, on both protections for bus drivers and contract workers
Samaritans Aotearoa New Zealand is an organisation that allows people to speak to empathetic volunteers who can help them deal with emotional and practical issues they are experiencing. In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, many people have called in with various issues and been given an empathetic ear by the Samaritans. Arno spoke to Tony Robinson, chairman of Samaritans Aotearoa New Zealand to find out more about the organisation. Firstly, Arno asked him about the mission of Samaritans.
If you or a loved one needs someone to talk to about any problems, please call them on 0800 72 66 66.
As many as 50,000 kaiako and tumuaki (teachers and principals) will go on strike tomorrow for better conditions and to improve public education for tamariki.
This is the education sector’s biggest industrial action since 2019.
Most schools and kura will close on Thursday due to the strikes, and nationwide protest marches are planned.
The strikes have been organised by the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), representing primary and kindergarten teachers, and the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA), representing secondary school teachers.
First, News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Mark Potter, President of the New Zealand Education Institute. I started off our interview discussing why kindergarten and primary staff are striking.
Then she spoke to the acting president of Te Wehengarua, the Post Primary Teachers' Association, Chris Abercrombie. To begin, I asked about why secondary staff are striking.
Lastly, she spoke to Maddy, an intermediate teacher, about why she is striking. I started by asking Maddy about her background in teaching.
Nicola Willis recently took over responsibility for grocery regulation after recently appointed consumer affairs minister Scott Simpson identified a conflict of interest. Willis says she is interested in introducing a competitor to the New Zealand supermarket duopoly, though whether this competitor will come from overseas or internally remains to be seen.
Also in politics this past week are US president Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have had massive economic impact in the US and internationally. While New Zealand is minimally affected by the tariffs, our economy only recently exited a recession, so we may be in a position of vulnerability to further economic instability.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues, beginning with plans to address the supermarket duopoly.
You can find the press conference referenced by Tom Rutherford here.
Three Te Pāti Māori MPs, Hana Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and Rawiri Waititi, did not attend the Privileges Committee over their contempt of the House, following their haka in Parliament protesting the Treaty Principles Bill.
The party instead are planning on holding their own hearing regarding the matter.
Privileges Committee chairwoman Judith Collins, called the no-show “unprecedented” and has given the MPs “one final chance” to attend the hearing.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the party’s action, and why they are going about the hearing in their own manner.
We also spoke about the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act passing its final reading.
But first, we discussed the party not attending the Privileges Committee.
After months of hearings, submissions and debate, the Justice Select Committee has released its report into the Treaty Principles Bill, recommending that the bill not proceed.
The report found that of all submissions, nearly 90% were opposed, around 8% in support and just over 3% were unstated.
Despite this final damning backlash against the bill, David Seymour and the ACT party maintain that there is a place for the bill in Aotearoa, saying submissions often don’t reflect the majority view of the country.
For our weekly catch up, Producer Evie spoke to ACT’s Simon Court about the report, and what the ACT party intend to do next.
They also spoke about the tariffs imposed on trade by Donald Trump last week, and how the government expects them to impact New Zealand.
Finally, they spoke about an unfolding situation concerning ACT MP and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard. An RNZ investigation late last week found a potential conflict of interest between the minister and his sister who is the executive director of a dairy company. The investigation found that her company had lobbied against the minister's office introducing tougher regulations on baby formula.
Auckland Transport has announced another parking fare increase, pushing up parking across AT-managed lots 50 cents per hour.
They justified the increase as necessary to cover ‘rising operational costs’ and to cover the Auckland Council’s increased resource commitment to supporting Aucklanders with “issues like blocked driveways, footpaths, and clearways”.
As well, Auckland Council have voted to endorse the redevelopment of Eden Park, in favour of a new waterfront stadium — bringing the latest development in a long-standing discussion about the best approach to attract tourism and financial productivity to Auckland.
All they need now is the government to pitch in $100 million dollars to fund the project.
Producer Sara started her interview with Shane Henderson by asking why raising parking prices was the preferred option for covering council operational costs
Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested by the International Criminal Court and will be tried in the Hague for crimes against humanity.
This comes as the ICC faces criticism for other, more controversial current arrest warrants, including those against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Dr Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria from Curtin University in Perth about Duterte’s arrest and broader issues facing the ICC.
Last week, Green Party MP Tamatha Paul made comments about the police and the expansion of beat patrols in Wellington, saying they make a lot of people feel “less safe.”
The comments have been criticised by MPs across National, Act, New Zealand First, as well as Labour.
And Finance Minister Nicola Willis is seeking specialist external advice on what ways the supermarket duopoly could be restructured.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about these issues.
Just recently, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Brooke Van Velden, announced sweeping changes to health and safety regulations for businesses that she described as “low-risk”.
Some of the changes involved: narrowing the focus of the Health and Safety at Work Act to risks only causing death, serious injury or illness, creating a hotline for the public to report “overzealous” road cone placement and reducing "tick-box and safety activities" such as psychosocial harm policies for small businesses.
Around this same period of time, Greens MPs Tamatha Paul and Benjamin Doyle received intense media and political scrutiny for comments they made at a university panel and on social media respectively, with the backlash towards Doyle forcing them to abstain from parliament this week.
The Greens recently issued a call to the government to scrap their proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, which involve recognising qualifications other than early childhood teaching qualifications, removing up to 74% of ECE licensing criteria and removing requirements for regular updates and family.
In their weekly catchup with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Oto spoke to him about the party’s take on all of these issues.
BirdCare Aotearoa is a wild, native bird hospital that works to rehabilitate sick and injured birds back into the wild.
For their upcoming event: ‘Bird Heros,’ a part of EcoFest 2025 on the 6th of April, the workshop will look at the best practices on rescuing wild native birds, and will include a tour of their bird hospital, which is not usually open to the public.
For this week's Green Desk, Producer Leilani spoke to the Hospital Manager at BirdCare Aotearoa, Pooja Dorle, about the rehabilitation processes of birds within their hospital ahead of their next workshop.
Fellow Green Desk Producer Liam, and News and Editorial Director Joel, went to the previous workshop over the weekend, and spoke to the Chair of the organisation, Kevin Furgeson, and volunteer Marina, and had a tour of their facilities. Thanks EcoFest!
BirdCare Aotearoa also has a fundraiser running to shed light on seabirds affected by street lights and brightly lit buildings across the city, affecting their migration patterns and causing birds, such as the protected Petrels, Shearwaters, and Prions, to fall and injure themselves. To support their clinical rehabilitation practices, you can support their campaign on givealittle.
For a number of years, Aotearoa has been dealing with a shortage of psychologists and similar professionals to deal with the growing mental health needs of the wider population, with estimates suggesting that an additional 1,000 more psychologists are needed to fill gaps in the profession.
In response to the country’s growing mental health needs, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced a new Associate Psychologist role, consisting of recent post-graduates, to work alongside fully trained Psychologists.
However, a number of Psychologists and experts have criticised the introduction of this new role, saying that these associate Psychologists may be expected to take on the responsibilities of clinical Psychologists despite being underqualified.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Dr Kumari Valentine, a clinical psychologist based in Dunedin, who’s launched a petition calling on the government to roll back the introduction of the new Associate psychology role and look to other methods of filling gaps in the Psychology profession.
If you're interested in signing this petition, you can find it here:
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