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.
Statistics New Zealand recently released data showing no improvement for children living in material hardship over the past year.
Arno spoke to Molly Grant, a researcher at the University of Auckland conducting a survey of over 5000 children in a project called Growing Up in New Zealand. She has uncovered some of the symptoms of childhood poverty and is calling for policy changes to help urgently increase some of the country’s lowest incomes.
Arno started the interview by asking if New Zealand was “the best place in the world to grow up”, set as a government goal four years ago.
Andre Fa’aoso spoke to Sandra Morrison from the University of Waikato and Christina Tausa from the University of Canterbury about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s most recent Synthesis Report from a Māori and Pasifika perspective.
Arno Cronje talked to Molly Grant, a researcher from the University of Auckland and author of the Growing Up in New Zealand research program on child poverty rates.
Alex Bonham spoke with Cath Handley, Waiheke Local Board chair and Elena Keith from Quiet Sky Waitemata about the impacts of helicopters on the city’s suburbs and islands.
And on the Green Desk, Jack Marshall discussed polyamorous southern elephant seals with a PhD Student at the University of Tasmania, Sophia Volzke.
On Thursday 30 March the Auckland Council Planning Committee will receive an internal report on compliance and decide how to better regulate helicopters within the planning system. This follows years of advocacy from residents in Herne Bay and Waiheke who are frustrated by the proliferation of helicopter pads and the significant impact they have on the wellbeing of people and animals nearby. The report suggests compliance is adequate and notes there are few complaints. However, there has been no consultation with residents who make the point that there is no proactive enforcement of compliance. The council relies on complaints to act and discourages feedback by providing no avenues to complain, noting on its website that it does not deal with aviation noise. When people do complain about breaches of consent they are required to know exactly what helicopter is used and the address of the consent holder. This creates an impossibly high bar for most people to meet. However, it was clear from a notified submission in Cremorne St last year which attracted 130 submissions, all in opposition, that feelings in affected neighbourhoods run high and that local residents with experience of living near private helipads want them banned in urban residential areas entirely. Waiheke local board chair Cath Handley and Elena Keith of Quiet Sky Waitemata talk about the issues, why Auckland is an outlier, the changes in approach needed and why they want National Planning Standard 15 for helicopter noise measurement to be incorporated into planning decisions immediately.
Welcome to the Tuesday Wire! This week on the show:
Joel Rindelaub joins Milly and Beth in the studio for Dear Science
Milly speaks to Olaf Morgenstern, a scientist at NIWA about the latest synthesis released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Beth speaks to John Hancock about the Universal Periodic Review
Milly speaks to Mahajabeen Padamsee regarding Myrtle Rust which effects many endemic plants
Milly speaks to Dylan Afaso, a senior law lecturer from the university of Auckland about Hate Speech Laws In light of the recent events from the weekend with the Posie Parker protests.
The Universal Periodic Review is happening for the first time in five years and will provide New Zealand orginasations and individuals an opportunity to make submissions about their experiences this September. This week on the Tuesday Wire, Beth speaks to John Hancock about what the Universal Periodic Review is and why it happens.
Myrtle Rust is a windbourne fungal disease that spreads via wind and effects many of our endemic myrtle species including Pohutukawa, Manuka and Kanuka. This summer has marked the worst spread of the disease so far, with infected Pohutukawa trees being found on Rangitoto Island - one of the largest Pohutukawa forests in the world. This week on the Tuesday Wire Milly speaks to Mahajabeen Padamsee from the University of Auckland about what the disease is, and how to prevent losing some of our endemic myrtles that are very important to our nation.
In lieu of the recent Posie Parker Protests, freedom of speech and Hate Speech have been a hotly debated issue. Milly spoke with Dylan Asafo from the University of Auckland regarding the Hate Speech laws in New Zealand covering a variety of topics including holdups to the law reform, and why it is important to have laws to protect our minority groups.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its Synthesis Report for the Sixth Assessment Cycle, and as a part of this scientists have weighed in on the ongoing effects of Climate Change. This week on the Tuesday Wire, Milly spoke to Olaf Morgansern who is a scientist at NIWA about how climate change is going to impact our weather patterns.
A counter-protest against anti-trans speaker Posie Parker took place in Tāmaki Makaurau on Saturday.
It was attended by thousands of trans people and allies, forcing Posie Parker to cancel her speech and planned rally in Wellington the next day.
Caeden Tipler spoke to Mīharo (Ngāti Whātua), a cis woman who organised and spoke at the counter protest. First Caeden asked how she thought it went on Saturday.
According to the Child Poverty Action Group, the latest figures measuring child poverty rates in Aotearoa show no real improvement.
Stats NZ reports that about one in 10 children experience material hardship. For tamariki Māori, this is 1 in 5 and 1 in 4 for Pasifika children.
News & Editorial Director spoke to Māori paediatrician, lecturer in the school of medicine at the University of Auckland, and Child Poverty Action Group spokesperson on issues affecting Māori tamariki and whānau, Dr Danny de Lore, about this.
They started the interview by summarising the latest child poverty statistics.
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.
After years of discussion, Auckland Council’s Planning and Policy Committee have approved zoning changes for the city centre, which will see taller buildings and increased development capacity within the Central Business District.
Plan Change 78 sought to increase density and will see double height limits for most of the city centre, up to twenty storeys, unlimited building height for a small section, and the removal of limitations on floor plans to attract investment into a wider variety of building types.
With notification of this decision made tomorrow, the changes are expected to be included in the Auckland Unitary Plan to become operative in June this year.
As well, consultation is currently open in relation to the Western Springs speedway, of which Auckland Council voted in favour of last year based on financial underperformance.
The decision to keep the speedway, develop a new stadium or explore new opportunities for the space has been a hot topic in public debate, with figures like former All Black Sir Bryan Williams, Rich lister Anna Mowbray and her husband, former All Black Ali Williams chiming into the discussion.
Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson this week about both of these topics, starting with the future of development in Auckland’s central city.
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.
95bFM 
