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.
Welcome to The Wire for Rāhina Monday! Today, Spike speaks to Jason Attewell from Stats NZ about next year’s census asking questions about gender and sexuality. Stella speaks to Lisa Woods from Amnesty International about National’s policy plans for youth offending. On ActionStation Spike speaks to Hayden Eastmond-Mein from the New Zealand Drug Foundation about their petition pushing for cannabis decriminalisation. Stella speaks to Jacqui Southey from Save the Children about the well-being of Ukrainian children. Arno speaks to Steven Ratuva from the university of canterbury about the outcomes of COP27.
Following the 27th annual UN Climate Change conference, known as COP27, landmark reparations known as Loss and Damage funds have been set up in order to allow wealthy countries to help poorer countries deal with the effects of climate change.
Arno spoke to Distinguished Professor Steven Ratuva of the University of Canterbury about the outcomes of COP27, including how New Zealand is helping to fight the effects of climate change on less developed countries.
To start off, Ratuva spoke about the purpose of the conference.
This week on OurActionStation, Spike speaks to Hayden Eastmond-Mein from the New Zealand Drug Foundation about their petition calling for cannabis decriminalisation and pardoning in Aotearoa.
National’s newly announced proposed policy to deal with youth crime has drawn criticism from many. Among those condemning the idea of boot camps for youth offenders aged 10-17, is Lisa Woods, campaign director of amnesty international. Stella spoke to her on The Wire.
As conflict rages on in Ukraine, Save the Children is keeping tabs on the well-being of children in the region and leaving the region due to the conflict. Stella speaks to advocacy director Jacqui Southey about their recent reports on the state of education and mental well-being of Ukrainian children.
Greenpeace Aotearoa has renewed calls for the government to advocate for a strong, legally-binding global plastics treaty as world governments meet at the first Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting (INC1) in Uruguay this month. A petition for a plastics treaty that centres justice launched earlier this year by Greenpeace Aotearoa ahead of the United Nations Environment Assembly 5.2 and has already gathered over 29,000 signatures.
Joe spoke to Greenpeace’s plastics campaigner Juressa Lee on the matter.
Tertiary Education Union members at Waipapa Taumata Rau The University of Auckland will begin a ban on entering and releasing student marks from 7 pm tonight until 7 pm on Friday November 18th.
Organiser Adam Craigie says the strike is a result of continuing frustration and anger from members over what they sey is an inadequate pay offer.
Currently, the University's best offer is contingent on removing important conditions such as retirement leave and does not match rising inflation.
Joe spoke to members of the Union during their rally about what their message to the University and students is.
The Hidden Gem, commissioned by Canadian miner The Metals Company, has just returned from eight weeks of test mining in the Clarion Clipperton Zone between México and Hawaii. One of the biggest vessels of its type in the world, the ship planned to mine 3,600 tonnes of polymetallic nodules from the seafloor in a trial that could pave the way for full scale commercial mining.
Greenpeace México activists met The Hidden Gem in kayaks holding ‘Stop Deep Sea Mining’ banners while Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner James Hita delivered a message to the captain of the Hidden Gem via radio
On the 25th of June, our regular City Counselling guest Julie Fairey was involved in a road collision while she was biking in her local area. Fairey wrote about the close call, which she says could have been a lot worse, in a piece published in the Spinoff, as a reinvigoration of her previous advocacy around the need for road safety measures that improve how safely and efficiently Aucklanders can get around the city.
As well, this week we’ve seen the release of the State of the City report, which compares Auckland on metrics including opportunity and prosperity, culture and experience, place and connectivity, innovation and knowledge, and resilience and sustainability.
The report found that we are ‘falling behind’ other cities, with the biggest emphasis placed on our poor economic productivity in comparison with similar locations.
Producer Sara spoke with Julie Fairey about both of these topics, firstly by asking her what motivated her to write about her recent collision.
Once a beacon of democratic progress, Georgia is at risk of sliding into authoritarianism, particularly due to Russian influence.
Six opposition leaders face criminal charges, and the major opposition parties have been banned, while “Georgia Dream”, the political party in power, faces allegations of corruption and voter fraud.
However, the party faces increasing opposition within Georgia, including mass protests over their pro-Russia laws.
82% of Georgians feel their country is in crisis, with 78% directly citing the Georgian Dream political party as the cause.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Essex, about Georgia’s anti-democratic crackdowns and public response.
The government has announced that Te Pūkenga is set to return to ‘regional governance,’ re-establishing 10 polytechnics that were merged under the previous Labour-led government.
In 2020 under the previous Labour-led government, 16 polytechnics and nine industry training organisations were merged into the mega-institute Te Pūkenga, as a “head office”. Despite this, the polytechnics were allowed to maintain their unique images and continue operating.
Vocational Education Minister, Penny Simmonds, announced the move, to establish a vocational education system that is “locally led, regionally responsible, and future-focused”.
The move has faced backlash. The Tertiary Education Union’s national secretary, Sandra Grey, says the move would be a disaster for regional education and that the sector is being treated as a “political football”.
For our weekly catchup with the Labour Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with MP Shanon Halbert, about this move from the government.
They also discussed Te Pāti Māori members expressing concerns over Labour’s choice of running MP Peeni Henare in the upcoming Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.
Te Pāti Māori media liaison, Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, says a vote for Henare would be “wasted,” as Henare already has a seat in Parliament. She has called for people to vote for Te Pāti Māori’s candidate, Oriini Kaipara, so that there would be two Tāmaki Makaurau-based Māori MPs in Parliament.
Last week, The Green party issued a statement calling on the government to drop the Regulatory Standards Bill after the bill went through hearings at the select committee, with only 19 out of the total 208 submissions heard supporting the Bill.
This week, the government confirmed their plan to re-establish 10 polytechnics that had been merged into Te Pūkenga under the previous labour government as part of the government’s plan to gradually disestablish the wider institution.
And the Greens recently announced that they wouldn’t be standing any candidates of their own in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-elections, which are happening in September this year.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
Last week Pharmac workers announced their first-ever strike over cuts to annual pay increases and deteriorating work conditions. Also last week, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation announced plans to strike on July 30th. The nurses' strike follows concerns around understaffing and overcrowding, with many staff members facing burnout.
These two issues have been attributed to similar causes - not enough funding in the health sector, which is forcing redundancies, increased hours, and understaffing. While the government has committed extra funding to the health sector in the last two budgets, critics say the funding is inadequate and barely catching up to existing deficits.
In our weekly catch-up with the National party, Wire host Castor asked Tom Rutherford about health funding and the government’s plans moving forward in light of the two recently announced health workers' strikes.
Yesterday, the ACT Party held their annual rally, being called the “Free and Equal Rally”.
Notably, US author, James Lindsay, was a keynote speaker at the event.
Lindsay is the author of ‘Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody’ - among other titles, such as ‘Race Marxism: The Truth About Critical Race Theory and Praxis’ and ‘The Queering of the American Child: How a New School Religious Cult Poisons the Minds and Bodies of Normal Kids’.
Party Leader, David Seymour, says Lindsay is a “prominent advocate for free speech”. Prior to the event, a spokesperson for the party said Lindsay would discuss “reclaiming liberalism in an age of extremes”.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about the rally, why the party chose Lindsay as a keynote speaker, and we address some of the concerns with Lindsay’s previous comments.
They also discussed the first public hearings into the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the former government’s Covid-19 response, and what to expect heading into the next hearings in Wellington next month.
But first, they discussed ACT’s 2025 “Free and Equal” Rally.
This month, a number of council body reforms have come into effect in the Auckland Council, fulfilling Mayor Wayne Brown’s promise to address issues and implement community feedback into the council’s format.
The three new divisions in the Auckland Council to improve organisation include the Auckland Urban Development Office, the Property Department, and an Economic Development Office, each of which are intended to make decision making more effective and accessible to the public.
As well, with the persisting cold temperatures and rainy weather hitting Auckland this Winter, I wanted to discuss the topic of homelessness in Auckland’s city centre, and to what extent the council is working to support those rough sleeping in the CBD
United States President Donald Trump’s mega-spending bill passed its final vote in the House of Representatives and is now set to become law.
Despite its controversy and universal opposition from the Democrats, the bill has been supported by the vast majority of Republicans.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Associate Professor of Political Science at Boise State University, Charlie Hunt, about the bill and Republican support.
Public hearings as part of phase two of the Royal Commission into COVID-19 took place in Auckland this week.
The second phase of the inquiry has a stronger focus on lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and the impact of the Covid-19 response on business and the economy.
And yesterday, an independent reference group set up by the Ministry of Environment shared their recommendations for climate adaptation legislation.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Arena Williams about both of these topics.
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