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.
Following the deaths of two infants, doctors and scientists worry that this winter could see a whooping cough epidemic unlike those seen in recent years. Helen Petousis-Harris is an associate professor of primary health at the University of Auckland, and she spoke to Simon about the low vaccination rates and those that are at the most risk in the community. Simon started by asking Helen what whooping cough is.
Spike speaks to Auckland University Associate Professor of Law Scott Optican about Trump's arrest in Manhattan this week, and the potential implications of the cases against him.
Morgan Donoghue is the spokesperson for Ours Not Mines, an organisation that is standing up against the mining company OceanaGold and the New Zealand government over a proposed gold mine on conservation land in the Coromandel. In 2017 the Labour government promised no more mines on conservation land, yet OceanaGold is in the process of acquiring resource consent for a gold mine under conservation land. Simon began by getting Morgan to explain what OceanaGold is doing in the Coromandel and the implications of the proposed mine.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s plan to address the budget shortfall includes cutting funding to many public services, while retaining expensive golf courses that ratepayers are paying for.
It also suggests selling public assets like shares in Auckland Airport to help fill a $295m budget shortfall.
FIRST Union, a union representing 30,000 workers in Aotearoa, recently made a budget submission to Auckland Council. They branded Mayor Wayne Brown’s Submission as insufficient and irredeemable, and made several suggestions for improvement.
Arno spoke to FIRST Union President Robert Reid, and started off by asking what FIRST’s position is on the proposed $21m budget cut for bus services.
Mātai Medical Research Institute and the Auckland Bioengineering Institute are working on new research to generate complete computerised models of children’s physiology, particularly internal organs.
Currently, the only modelling data available is incomplete, from overseas, or of adult organs. Researchers hope to develop an idea of what normal physiology for New Zealand children looks like in order to allow for earlier detection of abnormalities.
Arno spoke to Dr Haribalan Kumar of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute to find out more.
Arno started our interview by asking why complete child physiology models were only now being created.
Better housing, income equality, and better access to healthcare and education are some of the things researchers believe will improve the quality of living for Pasifika children in Aotearoa. The recommendations are in a report titled Tamaiti Ole Moana, and alongside the recommendations of the report is a 10-year-pacific health plan driven to provide better outcomes for Pacific children and families.
The health plan focuses on improving Pasifika’s access to quality housing, boosting incomes, improving access to quality healthcare, and finally, a quality education.
Andre Fa'aoso spoke with Dr Teuila Percival, Paediatrician and Director of Moana Connect in the studio this morning. I first asked her whether the government had been receptive to the report.
For their weekly catch-up, News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ACT’s Karen Chhour about the minimum wage and benefits increase and an alternative Waitematā Harbour crossing.
She started off the interview by asking Chhour why ACT opposes these measures to help low income earners with the rising cost of living.
Welcome to the Tuesday Wire! This week on the show:
- Female anatomy is discussed at length on Dear Science with Joel Rindelaub
- Milly has her weekly catch up with Dr Shane Reti and speaks to him about Electrify New Zealand, National's most recently announced renewable energy policy
- Milly speaks to Professor Steve Matthewson from the University of Auckland about building stronger communities in the wake of natural disaster.
- Beth speaks to professor Susanna Trnka regarding the recent uproar caused by a Michelangelo statue at a Texas school
- Milly speaks to Valerie Morse from Auckland Peace Action about putting an end to Military Pacts and Lobbying, as concerns rise about New Zealand's involvement with NATO and AUKUS
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins discussed the minimum wage and benefits increase and an alternative Waitematā Harbour crossing with ACT’s Karen Chhour.
Jessica Hopkins talked to Public Transport Users Association spokesperson John Reeves about mass bus cancellations in Tāmakai Makaurau.
Hanna Thompson spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about addressing child poverty in Aotearoa, reforming our welfare system, and indigenous foreign policy.
Nicholas Lindstrom interviewed associate professor Paula Morris about the state of New Zealand literature, the Auckland City Council budget, funding for the arts and the Aotearoa book review, and a new literature review website.
And Caeden Tipler spoke to several experts on our melting glaciers and what that means for climate change.
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.
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.
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.
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
Last week the government announced a series of changes to 16 national direction instruments under the Resource Management Act that would change the way councils implement local plans and rules.
Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, described the changes as removing ‘unnecessary regulations’ for primary industries and investment, with the main changes being: removing freshwater management regulations for councils, removing regulations for the construction of mines and quarries and removing restrictions on non-intensive grazing of beef, cattle and deer in wetlands.
In that same week, Associate Education Minister, David Seymour made a series of changes to the pay parity scheme impacting primary school teachers, where education centres would not need to factor additional and higher qualifications when working out teacher’s starting salaries.
And, just recently, Workplace Relations and Safety minister Brooke van Velden recently announced that she’d be making a series of changes to WorkSafe in order to shift regulators priorities from enforcement to advice.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
The Budget for 2025 came out two weeks ago, with news for the nation on how funds will be allocated over the coming year. The budget held big news for defence spending, $12 billion over the next four years, including $9 billion of new spending.
The funding is planned to go towards various technologies and equipment for different branches of the military, including replacements for two Air Force Boeing 757 planes and new helicopters to be operated from Navy ships. Defence Minister Judith Collins also announced plans to acquire new killer drones with increased lethality, raising some human rights concerns.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the defence spending announcements, concerns over killer drones, and if this money is best spent on more military equipment.
From 9th June, the United Nations Ocean Conference is being held in France, which is co-hosting the event with Costa Rica.
More than 50 world leaders are expected to attend, with 1500 delegates from almost 200 countries.
The conference follows the world’s first deep-sea mining application for the international seabed, which was submitted to the United States government as opposed to the United Nations regulator.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Juressa Lee (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Rarotonga), seabed mining campaigner at Greenpeace, about the conference.
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