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.
As part of 95bfm's election coverage on the local economy this week, Hanna spoke to Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Kemp about the party's economic policies.
Te Pāti Māori is campaigning on raising incomes, focusing on the lower end of the income spectrum. They plan to do this by raising the minimum wage, legislating for yearly increases to the minimum wage, universalising student allowance, supporting pay equity for Māori nurses and teachers, and supporting trade unions. Hanna spoke to Takutai about these policies, including whether they would push up costs and addressing Aotearoa's low-wage economy.
The party is also seeking to remove GST from kai. While the party has long campaigned on this policy, Labour introduced a similar policy two weeks ago to remove GST from fruit and vegetables. Hanna and Takutai discussed the differences between these two policies, namely administrative simplicity and paternalism, and responded to economists' critiques of such policies.
Researchers have shown that climate change and global warming could be contributing to an increased number of asthma attacks, due to increased pollen in the air.
Olivia spoke with Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Auckland Pharmacy School, Dr Amy Chan, about this issue and the need for a pollen monitoring system.
The ACT party has recently pledged to abolish cultural reports if they are elected. Cultural reports contain background detail about the offender, which Judges refer to when determining the length and type of sentence.
Olivia spoke with Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Dylan Asafo, about the potential harmful consequences of abolishing these reports.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins reports on the new Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission that MPs voted to establish, speaking to Establishing Board Chair Don Mackinnon and InsideOUT Kōaro Managing Director Tabby Besley.
She also spoke to Dr Amanda Kvalsvig from the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago about how New Zealand could be permanently free of meningococcal disease.
Beth spoke with Co-Director of the Public Health Communication Centre Aotearoa Professor Nick Wilson from the University of Otago about the lasting impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle six months on.
Olivia spoke to Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Auckland Pharmacy School Dr Amy Chan about how climate change could be contributing to an increased risk of asthma attacks.
She also spoke to Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Auckland Dylan Asafo about how ACT’s pledge to abolish cultural reports could negatively impact our criminal justice system.
Meningococcal is a potentially fatal but preventable contagious disease caused by meningococcal bacteria.
According to some infectious disease experts, eliminating the deadly disease is potentially an achievable goal for Aotearoa.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago Dr Amanda Cals-vig about how New Zealand could become permanently free of this disease.
Parliament has backed legislation that will create a new independent entity to strengthen and protect the integrity of sports and recreation in Aotearoa.
The Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission will begin on 1 July next year and focus particularly on the well-being of participants.
First, News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Barrister and Board Chair responsible for establishing the Commission, Don Mackinnon, about its purpose.
MPs also voted on an amendment that ensures representation from the rainbow community, which will be included in the legislation.
She also spoke to InsideOUT Kōaro Managing Director Tabby Besley about rainbow representation on the Commission.
BNZ’s latest research into New Zealand’s scam savviness has shown that Nine out of Ten Kiwi’s have been targeted by scams.
This number is up 13% on last year, but fortunately the research also found that only one out of ten Kiwi’s have actually fallen victim to a scam.
BNZ’s research coincides with the beginning of their Scam Savvy Week, in which the bank raises awareness around scams as well educating the public on tips and tricks to avoid being duped.
Nicholas spoke to Ashley Kai Fong, the head of BNZ’s Financial Crime unit, about tell-tale signs of common scams as well as the upcoming resources provided during Scam Savvy Week.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT party Rawan spoke with Simon Court about ACT’s recent pledge to make changes to judge sentencing policies, and where they stand on National's phone ban proposal.
Host Caeden spoke to Glen Barclay, Chair of Tax Justice Aotearoa, as well as Economist and Child Poverty Action Group spokesperson Susan St John about Labour's tax policy announcement.
Ash spoke to Able CEO Dan Buckingham about the launch of their new app Earcatch.
And for Tomorrow's World Leilani and Rawan spoke to Girl's on Ice Director Lauren Vargo about their upcoming expedition for 15 to 16-year-old girls.
At the post-Cabinet press conference held yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Health Minister Ayesha Verrall announced that the last masking mandate and isolation requirements would be lifted starting overnight.
Lou spoke to Professor Siouxsie Wiles, microbiologist and associate professor from the University of Auckland, in regards to the Government’s announcement to drop the mask mandates and isolation requirements.
Last week, the commmerce COmmission Komihana Tauhokohoko released it's Preliminary Issues Paper, and found that Aotearoa's banking sector has persistently high profitability compared to banks overseas.
Wire producer Rosetta spoke to Kassie Hartendorp, Director of ActionStation, about what she believes the Government should be doing to combat the cost of living crisis through taxing cooperations and banks.
From Dec 27 to Jan 18, all train lines across Tāmaki will be shutting down for summer maintenance, a closure which is expected to be the last of its kind ahead of the opening of the City Rail Link.
The current measles outbreak in Tāmaki is being continually monitored, with exposure sites being updated daily on info.health.nz. The public are encouraged to track whether they’ve been in possible contact with the virus, and get up to date on any vaccinations to limit possibilities of transmission.
Auckland Council are supporting arts initiatives across the summer months, with Music in the Park kicking off in early January, and Movies in the Park following in February.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about these topics, and also asked for comment following the attack by two gunmen at Bondi Beach earlier this week.
Yesterday, the latest six-monthly survey of housing support providers under the National Homelessness Data Project, or NHDP, showed that homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled in the year to September. The report also found that 14 of the 21 agencies interviewed reported an increase in homelessness.
As well as this, Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 has taken effect. And according to an interim report into social media harm, a social media ban for children in New Zealand is worth exploring further.
And last week the Government announced the replacement of the Resource Management Act, or RMA. The coalition said its replacement will slash red tape and supercharge growth.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the Government’s new RMA reforms and a potential social media ban in New Zealand.
But first they discussed the latest report on Auckland homelessness.
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.
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.
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.
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 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
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
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