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.
Last Week primary school teachers reached a settlement with the Government regarding pay equity issues.
As a part of this agreement there will be increases in teachers salaries, extra classroom release time and lump sum payments to combat the cost of living crisis .
Nicholas spoke to Liam Rutherford who is a council member for the New Zealand Education Institute and current teacher about the benefits of pay offer agreement as well as the areas in which further improvements need to be made.
Spike speaks to Ben Schmidt, an organiser with the Tertiary Education Union, about the staff cuts recently announced at Massey University, and its potential impacts for the institution.
The cost of living crisis has driven many lower-income people and whanau to rely on Buy Now Pay Later services to pay for essential goods. Spike speaks to Natalie Vincent from Good Shepherd about this form of debt and its impacts, especially the debt cycles Good Shepherd is increasingly seeing people get trapped in.
Kia ora, and welcome to The Wire for Rāpare Thursday!
Spike speaks to:
- Labour MP Andrew Little about his visit to the Shangri-La Indo-Pacific defense summit, and the Taumaru review of intelligence laws and services
- TEU organiser Ben Schmidt about the proposed job cuts at Massey University
- Natalie Vincent from Good Shepherd about the prevalance of Buy Now Pay Later debt
Simon speaks to:
- City Councillor Lotu Fuli on the budget negotiations starting today, abusive emails from Mayor Brown and the much contested sale of airport shares
- Associate Professor Grant Duncan on the new independent electoral review and its recommendations around term limits, prisoner voting rights and the "coattails" rule
- Professor John Townend about the risk of a major earthquake along the Alpine Fault over the next 50 years
This week, a review into the electoral system in Aotearoa was released. The report, titled Independent Electoral Review seeks to make the electoral system clearer, fairer, and more accessible for current and future generations. Associate Professor Grant Duncan teaches politics at Massey University, and he highlighted the major changes the review is suggesting. Simon began by asking him to discuss the recommendation to change the election from every three years to every four.
It has been revealed that the Alpine Fault, which runs down the south island, has a 75% chance of creating a magnitude 8 or stronger earthquake in the next 50 years. Professor John Townend has spent many years studying the fault line to gain a greater understanding of the risks. He began by discussing what he has discovered recently.
The Auckland Council budget is holding public services hostage - that was what PSA had to say about Mayor Brown’s Auckland Council budget proposal. On the chopping board in Brown’s budget is the selling of Auckland Council’s stake in Auckland Airport, which has been a consistent revenue stream for the council since Auckland’s district councils merged into the Supercity in 2010.
Tomorrow, Council members will vote on Mayor Brown’s budget proposal including whether to sell-off Auckland Councils Airport shares. To talk more about what implications the share sell-off could have for public services in Auckland, Andre Fa’aoso spoke with Ian Gordon, PSA National Sector leader for local government.
Michael Baker, University of Otago professor and epidemiologist, joins us today from Oslo, Norway, to talk about the latest updates on Covid in New Zealand, following an article published in the New Zealand Herald on Sunday.
Although New Zealand has done comparatively well in managing the health crisis, hospital admissions are still high and a number of people are expected to die from Covid this year.
Arno started the interview by asking Michael if people still needed to be worried by Covid.
We have our monthly catch up with the Auckland University Students’ Association, today we speak to Engagement Vice President Folau Tu'inukuafe.
Andre Fa’aoso speaks to Ian Gordon, from PSA about Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s council budget, and PSAs statement saying that Brown’s budget proposal is holding public services hostage.
On the Green Desk Jack Marshall speaks to Amanda Thomas, lecturer in environmental studies at the University of Wellington about stopping oil and gas exploration in Aotearoa.
Alex speaks with Simon Oddie from Eke Panuku and Matt Wheeler from BECA about the proposal for a digital twin of Auckland.
Arno speaks with epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker to provide a COVID-19 update.
Auckland Council urban regeneration agency Eke Panuku, Beca, Koi Tu: the Centre for Informed Futures, the NZ Infrastructure Commission Te Waihanga and Ngati Whatua Orakei are making the case for digital twin pilot in Auckland’s city centre. Digital twins already exist in Singapore, London, Wellington and Christchurch. I spoke to Simon Oddie of Eke Panuku and Matt Wheeler about what digital twins are and what opportunities they provide for productivity, resilience and engagement.
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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