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.
Yesterday, nurses on ward 5 at Gisborne hospital walked off the job for an hour to protest their working conditions. Earlier in the week, Te Whatu Ora went to the employment court to try and stop the strike, but failed. Christine Warrander is a nurse on ward 5 at the hospital, and Simon began by asking her how yesterday’s strike went.
In the USA, gas cooking has entered the culture wars with the way you cook becoming a part of your political identity. Professor John Tookey is a professor at AUT in the school of Future Environments and he discusses the issues around gas cooking, as well as whether we could see a political battle over the way you cook here in Aotearoa. Simon began by asking Professor Tookey what alternatives there are to gas cooking.
Auckland Council's Economic Development Agency and Regional Facilities arm Tataki Auckland Unlimited has just announced the loss of 200 full time roles after being asked by the Mayor to find budget cuts of between $27.5m and $44.5m. In 2021 the Economic Development agency attracted nearly $440m of attributable direct private sector investment across all sectors. So far this financial year the agency has attracted nearly $305m into the screen sector alone. Alex spoke to Pam Ford, Director Investment and Industry at Tataki Auckland Unlimited about what a well-functioning economic development agency means for Auckland.
The 2023 Budget aimed to do many things, including easing pressure on inflation and assisting vulnerable communities with rising costs.
Susan St John Honorary Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Auckland and spokesperson to the Child Poverty Action Group says that the government needs to allocate more support to lift children out of poverty, address food insecurity, and support those in hardship. To receive more analysis on what Budget 2023 fell short on, Andre Fa'aoso spoke to Susan on The Wire.
Andre Fa’aoso speaks to Associate Professor Susan St John about the 2023 Budget and how it falls short in addressing family poverty, hardship and food insecurity.
Emilia chats to James Shaw in our weekly chat with the Green Party co-leader, this week they chat about the 140 million dollar subsidy for NZ Steel, they reflect on last week’s budget, and they chat about the Green Party’s candidate list ahead of the general election.
On the Green Desk Jack Marshall talks to Tai Lohrer from the University of Auckland about marine conservation areas.
Arno spoke to two E Tu union representatives, firstly Joe Gallagher about new funding to reduce carbon emissions at Glenbrook steel mill
And then Rachel Mackintosh about E Tu’s view on the 2023/2024 budget.
Alex, spoke to Pam Ford from Tataki Auckland Unlimited about the role the economic agency plays in the region.
E tū Union members working at the New Zealand Steel mill in Glenbrook have welcomed the Government’s offer to contribute funding for new electric furnaces to halve coal use at the site. The $140 million dollar investment will require upskilling for workers to use.
Arno spoke with Joe Gallagher of E tū about the challenges involved in the transition, the benefits, and what workers would need to do to.
Arno started by asking for an overview of E tū Union.
Last week, the Government released its 2023 budget, which saw 20 hours free early childhood education expanded to include two-year-olds, the removal of the $5 prescription fee, and half price public transport for under 25s and free for under 13s.
The opposition has labelled the budget a ‘blow out budget’, and accused the government of overspending.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to National’s Dr Shane Reti about whether he believes the budget will help families with the cost of living.
On Dear Science, Dr Alan Blackman discussed wavy wounds healing faster than straight wounds, Saturn regaining its status as the planet with the most moons in the solar system, and more.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins covered the weekly interview with National’s Dr Shane Reti. This week they discussed the National Party’s response to the Government’s 2023 Budget.
She also spoke to Tony Sriamporn, a PhD student from the school of population health and medicine at the University of Auckland, who is investigating attitudes and behaviours towards blood donation amongst gay and bisexual men.
Beth Torrance-Hetherington asked Julie Anne Genter about the Greens' stance on public transport in the 2023 budget.
And Ah-Leen Rayner, CEO of the Breast Cancer Foundation, about women’s health in the budget.
And Jack Cormack-Neto interviewed Dr Paul Heyward, Associate Dean and Head of Initial Teacher Education, at the University of Auckland about what the budget means for the education sector.
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration recently expanded its blood donation eligibility criteria for men who have sex with men (MSM).
The FDA said it will now recommend "individual risk-based questions" be asked to every blood donor, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, or sex.
Restrictions on blood donation for MSM have been in place since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. But many now view these restrictions as discriminatory, unnecessarily restrictive, and inconsistent with modern, HIV prevention approaches.
The UK and Canada similarly lifted some restrictions on MSM donating blood. But Aotearoa has not followed.
The NZ Blood Service would not be interviewed but did provide a statement to 95bFM.
They said they recognise this is an important issue for many New Zealanders. And as more countries move to a deferral criteria based on individual behaviours it will increase the body of evidence necessary for New Zealand Blood Service to make an informed recommendation to Medsafe about changes to our own donor behaviour deferral criteria.
They said they have been working with the University of Auckland on its Sex and Prevention of Transmission study and hope the results of this study will provide vital evidence-based New Zealand data that will also help inform our future recommendations.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Tony Scriamporn, a PhD student from the school of population health and medicine at the University of Auckland, who is investigating attitudes and behaviours towards blood donation amongst gay and bisexual men. Scriamporn is also a part of the SPOTS study.
She started off the interview by asking Scriamporn what these changes in the US mean for the country's blood supply.
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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