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.
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.
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.
This week News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ACT’s Karen Chhour about the extreme weather event in Tāmaki Makaurau last week and if they would also rule out working with Te Pāti Māori in a potential coalition government.
She started off their interview by asking Chhour about the response from the Auckland Council and Auckland Emergency Management.
The 2013 Rana Plaza collapse forced fashion companies to answer questions about the conditions in which their clothes are made.
The spotlight may have landed on global fashion giants, but those same questions were still applicable to our own fashion brands.
Launched last year, Oxfam’s “What She Makes Campaign” aimed to get answers about the conditions in which New Zealand’s biggest clothing brand’s merchandise is produced.
Most recently the campaign released scores in relation to the transparency of the brands, with Hallensteins and Glassons recieving scores of two out of five. Nicholas spoke to spokesperson Shalomi Daniel about the results of their transparency report and the future steps In the "What She Makes Campaign"
This week Caeden filled in for Hanna for her regular catch-up with Takutai Kemp. They discussed National ruling out working with Te Paati Māori, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer’s members bill to ban seabed mining, as well as her new bill to ban commercial water bottling.
Caeden Tipler spoke to Te Pati Māori’s Takutai Kemp about National ruling out a coalition with them and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer’s bills that would ban seabed mining and commercial water bottling.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ACT’s Karen Chhour about last week’s extreme weather event in Tāmaki Makaurau and whether they would also rule out working with Te Pati Māori.
Caeden spoke to the Disinformation Project’s Kate Hannah on their recent report on Transphobia.
Nicholas Lindstrom spoke to Shalomi Daniel from Oxfam about their findings from their “What She Makes” campaign that looks into labour conditions and pay in the factories that produce clothes for New Zealand clothing brands.
And Caeden spoke to Māori Studies Professor and Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu chair Margaret Mutu on National’s false statement that Māori get more votes than Pākehā.
Last week Caeden spoke to Waipapa Taumata Rau academic John Fenaughty and InsideOUT Board Member Awhi Marshall on the Disinformation Project’s latest report on rising Transphobia in far-right circles.
They confirmed that the Disinformation Project report lines up with data previously collected in other surveys, including the Identify survey, as well as the experiences of trans and takatāpui people like Awhi.
Today Caeden also got the chance to speak to Kate Hannah, Director of the Disinformation Project, on what she’s found writing and sharing the report.
Last Wednesday National ruled out working with Te Paati Māori in any kind of coalition agreement.
National leader Christopher Luxon cited broad ideological differences, but some have raised concerns about his tweet where he implied Māori get more than one vote under MMP.
The final line of this tweet was “We believe New Zealand is one country with one standard of citizenship, meaning one person, one vote.”
In actual fact Māori do not get more votes than anyone else, Caeden looked into why this myth exists, where it came from, and the impacts it has on Māori.
They spoke to Māori Studies Professor and Te Rūnanga-ā-iwi o Ngāti Kahu chair Margaret Mutu.
Creativision is a new creative careers conference put on by Youth Arts NZ, taking place next Saturday the 20th of May at Shore Junction at Takapuna.
With a range of non-cringeworthy networking opportunities, speakers, and performers, the event aims to provide a comfortable space for high school and uni students to learn more about working in the creative industries.
Speakers include Mazbou Q, Chlöe Swarbrick, Nathan Joe, and more. To learn more about the rest of the speakers and the whole of the event, you can go to https://www.youtharts.co.nz/creativision.
Liam had a chat with YANZ’s Danielle Hao-Ackin to learn more about the event and the goals for the organisation.
Yesterday in parliament a bill was proposed to ban seabed mining. The bill was voted down by National, ACT and Labour, and Environment Minister David Parker announced last week that a select committee inquiry to investigate seabed mining. Kiwis against Seabed Mining spokesperson Cindy Baxter was in parliament yesterday for the reading of the bill and she spoke about what happened.
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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