Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Biosecurity New Zealand is implementing tougher border control protections to stop foot and mouth disease from entering the country and infecting our bovine population.
David spoke to the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Damien O'Connor on the matter.
Tuva’a speaks to Labour Party’s Andrew Little about the state of the health workforce.
Joe speaks to Dougal Sutherland a Clinical Psychologist from Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington about the importance of workplaces to have well-being plans. Joe also speaks to Professor Brett Gartrell, a Professor in Wildlife Health at Massey University about traces of lead being found in Wellington kākā nestlings.
David speaks to Hon Damien O’Connor about Foot and Mouth Disease
And for this weeks Green Desk, Frances spoke with Megan Williams, a sustainability advocate from the TIA, about the Sustainability Tourism Commitment.
Aotearoa’s Uni students are spending over half of their income on rent, are regularly not able to afford basic necessities, and skip class because transport to campus is too expensive.
The People's Inquiry into Student Wellbeing was released on Monday, and gave us a stark look at the dire conditions students are in while navigating their degrees.
The Green Party is calling upon the government to lift student incomes and put rent controls in place to reverse the normalisation of student poverty in Aotearoa as we creep further into a cost of living crisis.
Emilia Sullivan spoke to Chlöe Swarbrick, the Green Party’s Tertiary Education Spokesperson about the issue.
Aneeka chats with our European correspondent Cameron Adams about heat waves, Ukraine, and Russia on this week's Eurovision.
Alex speaks to ACT Party deputy leader Brooke van Velden about the rise in construction costs and ACT’s call for a short term monetary policy remit to address inflation.
Emilia speaks to Jo Cribb from MindTheGap about data released yesterday that showed a major pay gap between Pasifika and non-Pasifika
And Emilia also speaks to Green Party’s Chlöe Swarbrick about student poverty.
Research released yesterday showed that there is a big pay gap between Pasifika and non-Pasifika in New Zealand, and most of it can’t be explained even after accounting for things like differences in occupation and educational achievement.
The research, conducted by AUT and published by the Human Rights Commission was the first time the pay gap had been looked at closely in terms of ethnicity, and the findings were dismal.
For every dollar a Pākehā man earns, a Pākehā woman earns 89c; a Pasifika man 81c; and a Pasifika woman earns 75c, according to non-profit organisation MindtheGap.
Emilia Sullivan spoke with MindTheGap founder Jo Cribb about this concerning new data.
Here is Mindthegap's petition to the government to mandate pay gap reporting: https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/close-the-gender-and-ethnic-pay-gaps-make-pay-gap-reporting-mandatory-for-businesses-in-new-zealand
A University of Otago study has linked acute alcohol use to over a quarter of New Zealand suicide deaths.
It also found that suicides involving alcohol were proportionately higher among younger people and Māori and Pasifika.
Emily spoke to the study’s lead author Dr. Rose Crossin from the University of Otago about its core findings and their implications for national suicide prevention efforts.
Joe speaks to Dr Nic Rawlence from the Palaeogenetics Lab at the University of Otago about extinct marine reptiles which once roamed Aotearoa's waters.
New Zealand, Australia and many countries are experiencing a further Omicron wave driven by the latest BA.4/BA.5 subvariants. Our response to this threat is remarkably laissez-faire compared with past approaches, as society has pivoted more to “living with the virus”. But in both New Zealand and Australia, there’s a real risk current policy settings will be insufficient to prevent health services being overwhelmed – and more will need to be done in coming weeks.
Joe spoke to Professor Michael Baker from the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington, on the matter.
A team of researchers is developing a uniquely Aotearoa New Zealand wellbeing diet, He Rourou Whai Painga, they hope will tackle diabetes, heart and other noncommunicable diseases.
Joe spoke to Endocrinologist Professor Jeremy Krebs, from the University of Otago in Wellington, on the matter.
The Healthcare exec Brian Thompson was shot dead by a masked assailant last week.
The crime has gained significant controversy and attention online, with many using it to restart the debate on the inequities of the United States healthcare system.
And this week Yale University was the latest college to commit to divesting from weapons manufacturing after a student vote.
For State of the States this week Wire Host Caeden speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about both of these topics.
The government as announced their plan for the Cook Strait ferry a year after they scrapped Labour’s plan, including cancelling the ferries the Labour government had ordered.
And a new report from the Ministry of Social Development has revealed nearly a quarter of beneficiaries are not receiving their correct entitlements.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
For City Counselling this week, producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Shane Henderson about proposed time-of-use charging to solve congestion problems in Tāmaki and Council selling their remaining Auckland Airport shares last week.
The Green party recently released He Ara Anamata - the Green party’s emissions reduction plan.
The document covers more than 10 areas of the economy and energy Sector that a Greens-led government would be looking to adapt to minimise carbon emissions and protect the natural landscapes of Aotearoa.
It also comes 5 months after the government released their own draft emissions plan. Numerous experts pointed out that the government is behind on their own plan’s targets to meet the crucial emissions budget for 2031-2035.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the party’s new emissions reduction plan and how they would address climate and the economy in a greens-led government.
Last election, one of the National Party’s main campaign promises was to be ‘tough on crime’, promising to increase police coverage and penalties for crimes. A target was set to increase the number of police officers by 500 by November 2025, however some police leaders today say this goal is unrealistic.
The government also announced this week some shakeups to insulation standards, which they say should make houses more affordable.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor spoke to him about police staffing targets and new insulation standards.
This week on Dear Science, our expert Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about what latrines teach us about people, climate variation affecting Chinese dynasties, and invasive species becoming threatened.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
Last week it was revealed that two of the ten participants in the government's pilot bootcamp programme were on the run.
The youth were two months into the community rehabilitation phase of the programme, following the three month youth justice residence phase. Both teens were found in the weekend, but had allegedly reoffended, and are now set to come before the court.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, who have been heavily advocating for this programme, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about this incident.
She also talks to him about proposed changes to employment law which would give employers the power to dismiss workers earning over $180,000 without the employee refuting the decision.
And finally, she talks to him about David Seymour’s incumbent run as Deputy Prime Minister, which is set to begin in May of next year.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about changes to Auckland Transport’s responsibilities, nationwide bus and train fare hikes, and concerns over the opening of the City Rail Link.
For State of the States this week, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'aoso from the Yale Daily News about President Biden's decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was due to be sentenced next week for three felony charges.
They also discuss Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, who is the latest in a long list of unorthodox picks for government positions from Trump
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