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 most recent food price report from Stats NZ hints at tough future for Kiwi’s wallets. The report says that annual food prices have increased by twelve point five percent, the largest increase in food prices since September 1987, which shortly followed the introduction of GST in 1986.
Some of the key numbers from the report show that over the recent period:
grocery food prices increased by 14.0 percent
fruit and vegetables prices increased by 22.5 percent
restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food prices increased by 9.0 percent
meat, poultry, and fish prices increased by 9.5 percent
non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 8.0 percent.
To learn more about what food items substantially increased in price, Andre Fa'aoso spoke to James Mitchell, manager for Consumer Price Delivery at Stats NZ.
Dr George Laking is a cancer specialist and director for the Centre for Cancer Research at the University of Auckland. He believes Australia’s prescription-only model for vaping is overkill and will be ineffective at reducing harms in New Zealand.
Arno started the interview by asking if he was glad that the legislation had not passed in parliament this term to restrict vaping further.
Bridget Abernathy is the CEO of the Energy Retailers Association. They have recently launched a campaign called Energymate that shows Kiwis how they can reduce power usage during the energy-intensive winter months.
Arno had a brief chat with her about some common energy-saving tips. Arno started the interview by asking what Kiwis could do to reduce their power consumption.
Check out energymate.nz for more tips and tricks on saving power this winter.
Last Monday Rocket Lab launched the first two of four satellites under the banner "Rocket Like a Hurricane" to improve the monitoring of tropical storms. Alex Bonham spoke to Morgan Bailey of Rocket Lab to find out how these satellites will make an impact, and to discover the reasons why they are putting so much money into developing the medium size reusable Neutron Rocket.
Climate change, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and lack of accessible support are some of the key concerns and issues highlighted in a youth wellbeing report. Ka Whakahuatau te Rangatahi mõ te Toiora or the Youth Wellbeing insights report has highlighted key issues affecting the mental health of young people throughout Aotearoa.
The report also outlines the disproportionate mental health struggles of minority communities including Māori, Pasifika and rainbow youth. The report emphasises that policymakers need to acknowledge the experiences of rangatahi within future mental health system reform and investment.
To speak more about the report, its findings and the reactions to it, Andre Fa'aoso spoke to Doctor Jessica Stubbing, research fellow in Koi Tū, The Centre for Informed Futures.
Emilia Sullivan chats to James Shaw in our weekly chat with the Green Party co-leader, this week they chat about the fire at Loafers Hostel, as well as a chat about the budget ahead of its release tomorrow.
On The Green Desk, Jack Marshall speaks to Michael Bunts from the Department of Conservation about the role that new and developing technologies have in solving Aotearoa’s biodiversity threats.
Host Andre Fa'aoso speaks to James Mitchell, manager for Consumer Price Delivery at Stats NZ about their recent report highlighting the largest annual increase in food costs since 1987.
Andre also speaks to Doctor Jessica Stubbing, research fellow at The Centre for Informed Futures about a report highlighting key things that are affecting youth mental health, and about a youth oriented approach to mental health reform.
Arno speaks with Dr George Laking, cancer researcher, about the effects of vaping and relative harms in Aotearoa, and Bridget Abernathy about ways to save power this winter.
Alex speaks to Morgan Bailey from Rocket Lab on the recent 'Rocket Like a Hurricane' launch and the development of the Neutron.
Our chat with James Shaw is back again on The Wire for Wednesday.
Emilia Sullivan chats to the Green Party co-leader about yesterday’s hostel fire in Wellington, the inquiry into forestry slash on the East Coast, and the Budget ahead of its release tomorrow.
Welcome to the Tuesday Wire! This week on the show:
The comedy special of Dear Science with Joel Rindelaub
Beth Speaks to Kimberly O'Sullivan on the Consumer Care Guidelines
Milly has her weekly catch up with Dr Shane Reti where they talk about the upcoming budget announcement
Tyler Baikie and Corey Fuimaono from bFM Drive spoke with Mark Adams, Senior Vice President of VICE Media, on where the innovation in technology and marketing is going where young people ought to be cautious and keep a level head.
Thursday this week the budget will be announced, with many pre-budget announcements already made, Milly from the Tuesday Wire speaks to Dr Shane Reti for their weekly catch up on what this all means.
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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