Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Sara Mckoy, Max Micheel, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
The government announced two new initiatives aimed at moving young people out of benefit dependency, and are looking to motivate them to stay in work by providing a $1000 incentive if they are able to keep stable work for more than 12 months. In the same announcement, they stated that young adults, aged 18 and 19, will no longer be eligible for Jobseeker payments if their parents can support them, for which they set the bar as an annual household income of just over $65,000.
In addition to this, The Green Party conducted a public interview on Monday, with the families of the three New Zealanders who were detained by Israel aboard the Sumud flotilla. The goal of the flotilla was to break through Israel’s illegal blockade that has existed since 2007, and provide aid to those suffering in Gaza.
As a result of rising tensions towards the Government’s stance on Gaza, Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ Auckland home was vandalised on Tuesday, the day after the press conference where Chloe Swarbrick urged the Government to act against Israel. Peters then quickly blamed the vandilisation – where a protestor broke his window and left a note saying “welcome to the real world” – on what he described as the “radical left”.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Wednesday Wire Host Max speaks to him about the vandalisation of Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ Auckland home, what the Green Party is asking of the government as a next step in Aotearoa’s stance on Gaza. As well as the Government’s initiatives aimed at moving young adults towards independence.
We also spoke about Associate Education Minister David Seymour’s announcing a change to how the government contracts school attendance services.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has moved to send federal troops into American cities — a decision many legal experts and political leaders argue is unconstitutional. Earlier this week, an Oregon judge blocked the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops into Portland, ruling that the move overstepped presidential authority. The judge was originally appointed by President Trump, who now said the judge had “lost their way”. It’s the latest pushback against federal forces being deployed into U.S. cities.
The ruling by U.S district judge Karen Immergut, was made on the basis that the President’s actions were unconstitutional and that Trump did not have a valid reason for deploying the National Guard.
Paul Taillon is a Chicago, Illinois, native and currently a Senior Lecturer in The Faculty of History, Arts and Education at the University of Auckland. Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to Paul to ask whether there had been any similar situations to this in American history, and what the implications of these actions could mean for the future of American democracy.
Bowel cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Aotearoa New Zealand, with more than 1,200 people dying from the disease each year, making it second only to lung cancer.
Free government screening is one of our key policies aimed at combating the disease. Earlier this year, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced changes to the eligibility for screening. These included lowering the starting age from 60 to 58 years old while scrapping a pilot scheme that gave Pacifika and Māori earlier access from 50. These changes have sparked criticism about the inadequacy of the policy.
Producer Manny spoke with Associate Professor of Oncology at the University of Auckland, George Laking, about his views on these changes and whether we are doing enough to tackle bowel cancer.
Almost three years ago, we entered a summer of devastating floods that have altered the landscape of our neighbourhoods and the demands placed upon our government, both local and national.
To track the dangers of a changing environment, the Ministry for the Environment releases its Our Environment report every three years, which accumulates and analyses environmental monitoring done around the country.
Producer Manny spoke to Craig Stevens, Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Auckland, on the report and its implications for all of us.
This week in Aotearoa, the Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill is set to pass its third reading in parliament. The legislation extends existing protections and introduces new areas of marine reserve. The move is providing what many have described as long overdue in Aotearoa’s conservation efforts, as only 0.3% of our waters are currently under full marine protection. However, experts have also raised concerns about the balance of consideration of commercial fisheries comparative to that of local whānau and hapū groups.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Fiona McCormack, an Associate Marine Anthropology Professor at the University of Waikato, about the nature of this legislation and what it means for wider marine conservation efforts.
Today, Professor Allan Blackman joins Sara and Jasmine in the studio to commemorate Dame Jane Goodall, reveal the hidden treasures of Bearded Vulture nests, and discuss new developments in discovering 'Planet Y'.
Love all things trams? LIVE Day: Trams is on at MOTAT next Sunday 19 October! Check out their impressive collection and catch a ride on one of the steam trains.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman about Dame Jane Goodall, discoveries in Bearded Vulture’s nests and fresh clues of a new planet.
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Sara spoke to MP Carl Bates about the government’s Electricity Plan, the Defence Industry strategy and the Freedom Flotilla activists
Sara also attended a press conference yesterday on the NewZealand activists detained by Israeli forces while attempting to deliver aid into Gaza. On this topic, she spoke to two experts on international humanitarian law on New Zealand and the international community’s obligations to respond to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
For Green World, Producer Jasmine spoke with Fiona McCormack, Associate Professor in Marine Anthropology at the University of Waikato, about the incoming Hauraki Gulf Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill
Following the arrest of Freedom Flotilla activists last week including New Zealanders Rana Hamida, Youssef Sammour and Sam Leason, the families of these activists alongside the Green Party coleaders held a press conference yesterday where they called for the New Zealand government to fulfil its obligations to international humanitarian law and answered questions from the media.
First, Wire Host Sara shares some recordings from the press conference.
As political leaders appear conflicted in their response to the situation in Gaza, especially in light of the attempts of citizens to put pressure on politicians as well as by-pass blockades themselves with the Freedom Flotilla, I was interested in the legal frameworks that exist for responding to this conflict.
To discuss this topic, Sara spoke with both Victoria University of Wellington legal professor Marnie Lloydd and University of Waikato law expert Alexander Gillespie about the obligations of other nations including New Zealand to act.
Her first interview was with Marnie Lloydd.
Then, further to this topic international law expert Alexander Gillespie speaks to New Zealand’s capacity to respond to the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Over the last few months, concerns have been raised over the hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States. Particularly, concerns over human rights in the country, VISA worries, and accusations of sportswashing have been increasingly levied towards the country.
The relative lack of coverage of these concerns, comparatively to concerns over the previous tournament in Qatar, or those in the future in countries like Saudi Arabia, complicate the history that Football and FIFA have with questionable regimes and funding. Despite Trump Administration policies that seem to threaten the tournament, there continues to be a lack of noise around whether or not the three host countries should be reduced to two, removing the US.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to a Doctoral Candidate in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of Auckland, Luke Bird, about this Sportwashing, its background, and why the US and countries like Qatar are treated differently.
The Parliament’s Workforce and Education Committee has released an interim report on an inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders face online. The government has recently announced an overhaul of the Resource Management Act and introduced two new bills in its place, the Natural Environment Bill and the Planning Bill.
For our weekly catch-up with the National Party, Producer Vihan spoke to MP Carl Bates, who is also the Deputy Chairperson of the Workforce and Education Committee, about the new findings of the interim report, the new Natural Environment Bill, and the Fast Track Approval Amendments Bill.
The government has announced the overhaul of the Resource Management Act (RMA), which will be replaced by two different bills, the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill. The RMA is set to be fully replaced by 2029.
The RMA, which has been in effect for 34 years, is polarising across the political spectrum.
In announcing the reforms, RMA Reform Minister, Chris Bishop, says that “pretty much everything” will be quicker and less costly under the new regime.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about this overhaul of the RMA.
They also discussed The Education and Workforce Committee’s interim report on the harms young people experience online, with a majority recommending a ban on social media for under-16-year-olds.
But first, they discussed the overhaul of the RMA.
Safety measures on public transport are of growing concern this week following the fatal and unprovoked attack that took place on route 76 in East Tāmkaki on Monday night.
Earlier this week there were also multiple critical incidents that occurred simultaneously across Auckland’s West Coast beaches and waterways, seeing an unusually high deployment of emergency services and surf lifesavers for this early in the summer.
Swedish home and furniture retailer Ikea opened in Sylvia Park a week ago today, drawing huge excitement for many.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about these topics.
On Sunday, “Block the Ban” held a protest against the government’s decision to ban new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria.
The United Nations’ committee for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination has released a report warning that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights.
And last week, the government rejected the recommended methane emissions targets.
This is despite officials warning against the government doing so, stating that lowering methane emissions targets could increase New Zealand’s contribution to global warming.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.
The government is pausing the new prescriptions of Puberty Blockers to gender diverse and transgender young people from the 19th of December onwards, following a similar move by the UK after the results of the NHS’s Cass Review.
Wire Producer Flo spoke to activist Lauren Craig about the effects of the legislation, her petition “Reverse the decision to deny transgender and takatāpui young people access to puberty blockers” against the changes and the wider political motivation for the policy.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here
Last week was scrutiny week, where Parliament focuses entirely on holding government agencies and ministers to account, to check-in on how well the Government is performing.
Many of the questions surrounding scrutiny week have been focused on climate change, with many recent reports highlighting the Government’s questionable decision-making.. The biggest headline was that the coalition had chosen to reject all three of the climate change commission’s recommendations to strengthen New Zealand’s emissions targets.
Along with this, the United Nations released a new report, where they’ve warned that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights and entrenching disparities for the indigenous population. In the 14-page report, the UN expressed concerns over multiple government policies affecting Maori, including the disestablishment of the Maori Health Authority, cuts to public funding for Maori services, and minimising the role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the report released by the United Nations, but first they discussed Scrutiny Week and the Government’s recent climate change decisions.
The biannual Scrutiny Week took place in Parliament last week, with meetings across select committees and government departments focussed on scrutinising the outcomes of government work.
These include hearings on ministries like Health, Housing, Environment and Justice.
Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Carl Bates about Scrutiny Week, firstly by asking him to talk about the meetings he was involved in
With the rise of fast fashion outlets like Shein and Temu alongside the wider mainstream options available that contribute substantial amounts of clothing waste to landfill, experts are calling for an urgent response on a governance, business, and individual level.
Wire Host Sara spoke to Mindful Fashion Chief Executive Jacinta Fitzgerald about the problem, and the industry response to sustainability, as well as University of Auckland Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the importance of ethical consumption.for individuals.
First, is the interview with Fitzgerald, where she begins by talking about the organisation Mindful Fashion.
Following this, Sara spoke to Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the research he has undertaken around consumerism.
The government has recently rejected all of the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations regarding strengthening the country’s methane targets recommendations.
The commission’s recommendations include strengthening the county’s 2050 methane emission targets, continuing lowering emissions after 2050, and that international shipping and aviation, which represents 9% of the county’s total emissions, should be included within targets.
Despite the commission saying that there would be upfront costs, many of the changes would result in cost savings over time, however, the government rejected this claim.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about the government rejecting these recommendations.
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