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.
Welcome to the Tuesday Wire! This week on the show:
Allan Blackman joins us to discuss the breakthroughs and setbacks of science
Milly has her weekly catch up with Dr Shane Reti where they talked about healthcare in the Waikato and the mammogram age
Milly continues her in-depth conversation with Carrie Leonetti on why family court judges need expert-led training
Beth speaks to Kate Camp, the Head of Marketing and Communications at Te Papa, about Matariki events and celebrations this year.
Rosetta speaks to Adele Gautier from Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand about the Government stalling access to free mammograms for women aged 70-74.
The Government has released a report in response to the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation's petition to raise the age of free access to mammogram screening from 69 to 74. After originally committing to raising the age in 2017, the Government has now backtracked on the promise due to ICT issues at Breast Screening Aotearoa and a shortage of radiologists.
A recent report from the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation says a woman willl lose her life every month because of the decision. Tuesday Wire producer Rosetta Stone spoke to Adele Gautier, New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation's Research and Strategic Programmes Manager, about the consequences of the Government's decision.
Today on the Tuesday Wire, Beth speaks to Kate Camp, the Head of Marketing and Communications at Te Papa about how many New Zealanders are celebrating Matariki and how they are doing so.
This week for thier weekly catch up, Milly speaks to Dr Shane Reti about the Waikato Hospital that is struggling and not a part of the winter preparedness plan, as well as National's proposed increase to the breast screening cutoff age.
This week on the Tuesday Wire, Milly continues her in-depth conversation with Carrie Leonetti - Associate Professor at the Auckland University Faculty of Law on why family court judges need expert-led domestic violence training.
This month bFM’s water reporter Marnie Prickett discussed a recent report released by the ministry for the environment titled ‘Lessons Learnt’, which highlighted the issues around water management in the Ashburton Lakes area of the South Island. Marnie also spoke about a report she worked on titled ‘water infrastructure failures from Cyclone Gabrielle show low resilience to climate change’. Marnie began by discussing this report.
Framing Hope is a photography exhibition featuring the works of seven photographers, raising funds for the surf lifesaving clubs in Piha, Te Henga/Bethells Beach, Muriwai, and KareKare that were affected by cyclone gabrielle. Josh McCormack is one of the photographers and organisers of the exhibition. Simon began by asking Josh to share what Framing Hope is.
New Zealand's privacy laws are fit for 2011. That was the headline of a statement released by academics from the University of Auckland about the Privacy Act 2020. Lawyers at the University of Auckland have emphasised their concern of a lack of coverage that Privacy Act has for individual rights and use of regulatory tools by agencies in the time of the social media age. To talk more about what was meant by their statement and the recommendations that these academics are asking of the government, Andre Fa'aoso spoke to Nikki Chamberlain, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland.
Data from Fitbit smartwatches is being used to provide key information to healthcare providers, in a new study pioneered by University of Auckland doctoral student Ruhi Bajaj.
They developed a prototype app that would allow for tracking of vital signs to be analysed using machine learning and stored in a database, which could then be analysed by healthcare providers to provide early warning signs.
Arno spoke with Ruhi to find out more about the study. Arno started by asking what the hypothesis behind the study is.
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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