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.
The National party is proposing a set of tax cuts should it get into government next year. These cuts would index tax brackets to inflation but also reduce the overall tax burden of top earners in particular, raising many concerns about a similar scheme which was recently walked back in the UK after causing economic damage and drawing warnings from the IMF.
For Casper's weekly catchup with National MP Dr Shane Reti he asked him about the tax cuts, as well as a call he’s put forward as the party’s health spokesperson to increase free breast cancer screening up to the age of 74.
Local Government New Zealand ran a multi-faceted campaign to increase the diversity of candidates as well as voter turnout this year, but preliminary results still indicate there is a massive gap to bridge between turnout for local elections compared with central government elections.
LGNZ says “To make a real difference, however, it will require a deliberate effort by councils and communities to better engage with each other in the decisions councils are making, so voters feel more connected to local government, as well as making the process of voting easier."
Joe is joined by Bonita Bigham, Chair of Te Maruata at LGNZ, to speak on the matter.
US President Biden announced last Friday he would be pardoning thousands of cannabis possession charges, signalling a change of course in drug policy from the home of the War on Drugs, and a path towards decriminalisation of cannabis in the States.
Cannabis has been completely banned in Aotearoa since 1961 after the signing of the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs, a treaty pushed heavily by the US. Between 1980 and 2022, over 120,000 people have been convicted of cannabis use or possession. In the wake of Biden’s announcement, the New Zealand Drug Foundation has renewed calls for reform and launched a petition calling on the government to decriminalise cannabis and pardon possession charges.
Spike Keith spoke to New Zealand Drug Foundation Executive Director Sarah Helm about the effects of cannabis criminalisation here, and what decriminalisation would look like.
Joe looks at Local Government New Zealand’s call for a review of local government elections. He speaks Bonita Bigham, Chair of Te Maruata at LGNZ on the matter.
Spike will dive into cannabis decriminalisation here in Aotearoa, following Joe Biden’s pardoning of thousands of Americans who were convicted due to cannabis possession.
Joe also look at the current state of our water infrastructures in Aotearoa New Zealand, he speaks to Dr Lokesh P. Padhye, Senior Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering at The University of Auckland.
Finally, Joe speaks to Dr Nic Rawlence from the Paleogenetics Lab at the University of Otago about the recent discovery of Pterosaur-like creatures in Scotland.
Researchers have settled the mystery of a tiny, enigmatic reptile that left an impression on Scottish sandstone nearly a quarter of a billion years ago after more than a century of debate.
The Scleromochlus taylori, was discovered near Elgin in Moray in the early 1900s, however due to a lack of remaining evidence, paleontologists were unsure of its features. In hopes of solving this mystery, researchers led by Davide Foffa at National Museums Scotland turned to computed tomography (CT) scans to reveal the creatures features in detail.
Joe spoke to Dr Nic Rawlence from the Paleogenetics Lab at the University of Otago, to get some insight into this fascinating discovery!
We’ll be looking at what's happening behind the scenes when drinking water gets to our taps or our wastewater is discharged – and how might climate change get in the way.
Joe spoke to Dr Lokesh P. Padhye, Senior Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering at The University of Auckland about his thoughts on what needs to be done to address the issues within our water infrastructure.
The tide of the war in Ukraine has turned and Russia forces are currently on the retreat across the Eastern part of Ukraine.
During the recent ceremonies announcing the illegal annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, Vladimir Putin promised to defend these areas “by any means necessary”
Many analysts think that may include nuclear weapons.
David spoke to Waikato University Professor Alexander Gillespie about whether Putin is serious and what would happen if he does use them.
Today we have a package covering the oppositions recent calls for tax cuts.
Liam spoken to Green party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter and ACT Party Leader slash finance spokesperson David Seymour about their opinions on cutting back taxes
Liam also spoke to University of Canterbury economics and taxation professor Adrian Sawyer to help frame the conversation.
Liam also has his regular chat with City Councillor Pippa Coom, to chat about the final day of the local election voting.
David spoke to Waikato University Professor Alexander Gillespie about Vladimir Putin’s nuclear weapons threats.
David also spoke to Maritime Union General Secretary Craig Harrison about privatising Ports of Auckland
Announcements that government finances are in a healthier state than expected have renewed calls from National and ACT to implement tax cuts.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson said on Wednesday that books are better thanks to higher taxes and lower spending on Covid-19 support.
A large reason why the government has received more income from taxes is due to revitalisations in the economy seeing more income gained from the goods and services tax.
Regardless, the opposition parties have stated that high taxes are a major contributor to New Zealand's ongoing cost of living crisis.
These calls came days after the United Kingdom had been put through economic turmoil after prime minister Liz Truss called for tax cuts for the rich, seeing the pound reach a record low value against the dollar.
This, alongside other factors, has caused Labour and Green to call the concept of tax cuts absurd.
Liam had a chat to Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter and ACT Party Leader/finance spokesperson David Seymour about their opinions on cutting back taxes, but first they spoke to University of Canterbury economics and taxation professor Adrian Sawyer to help frame the conversation.
On Tuesday, Aucklanders checked the updated property valuations of their house, for many to find declines in value by 10s of thousands of dollars —- on average, by 9% from when they were last done in 2021.
According to the Council. rating valuations were based on market trends and recent sales activity, as of May 1 2024.
Wayne Brown said in response to the decreased values, “The economy's been faltering for a while, and It's really driven by government policies rather than Auckland's policies,”
Also, as we get closer to 2026 and the completion of the City Rail Link, Aucklanders have expressed various concerns about the standard of completion, including incorporation of public feedback.
I discuss the incorporation of the wider neighbourhood in Mt Eden at the Maungawhau station and the dismissal of public perspectives at the K Road station
New Zealand and key allies have imposed sanctions on two “extremist” Israeli politicians for their role in “inciting violence against Palestinians” in the West Bank.
However, opposition parties, including Labour as well as the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, are calling for further action to be taken against Israel.
It comes after Israel kidnapped 12 pro-Palestine activists on international waters, who were intending to break the aid blockade and reach Gaza.
And earlier this week, the National Business released their annual rich list.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, I spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about these topics.
Los Angeles is approaching a week of protests against ICE, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Over 200 protestors have been arrested since the protests began, and restrictions have been placed on protestors, including a curfew.
The White House has sent 2,000 members of the National Guard to the city already, and another 2,000 are expected to be deployed. This is despite California Governor Gavin Newsom attempting to stop their deployment.
For International Desk, I spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about the protests.
The Green party recently made renewed calls to the government to sanction Israel for its illegal occupation of Palestine following the seizure of the Madleen, a vessel that aimed to deliver food and medical aid to Gaza.
The vessel, which was en route to Gaza, was intercepted in the Mediterranean by the Israeli Defence Forces before being rerouted to Israel with all those on board, among whom was Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford recently announced the Parent Boost Visa, part of the government’s self-described commitment to supporting parents living overseas to visit and stay with their families here in Aotearoa.
And, over in the United States, 2000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles in response to protests opposing the city’s recent immigration raids.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about all of these issues
Currently, 19 out of 38 OECD countries use incineration as a form of waste management.
With the process leading to a range of negative impacts, such as air pollution, Co2 emissions and respiratory illnesses, Aotearoa has luckily remained incinerator free.
However, calls have been made by some activists to strengthen New Zealand’s legislation to ensure that incineration facilities are not opened up in Aotearoa.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Sue Coutts from Zero Waste Network New Zealand to discuss a petition calling on the government to keep New Zealand Incinerator-free.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
These past few weeks in politics have seen various issues that we spoke about in our weekly catchup with the National Party.
First up, at the Aotearoa Music Awards, National MP Chris Bishop was heard making disdainful remarks such as “what a load of crap” during a performance by singer Stan Walker.
Second, Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngārewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi were recently suspended from parliament for 21 days for their haka protesting the Treaty Principles Bill. The penalty is far harsher than any previous penalty for an MP, raising questions about whether it is justified or sets a dangerous precedent.
Finally, the government recently announced a new visa for parents of migrants, allowing them to come to New Zealand for a longer period of time than traditional visitors without having to acquire residency.
Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues in our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, starting with Chris Bishop’s comments at the AMAs.
As per coalition agreements, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, has been sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, taking over from NZ First Leader, Winston Peters.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about Seymour’s new position, and what this means for the party.
They also discussed accusations Seymour made regarding submissions to the Regulatory Standards Bill.
In an interview with Guyon Espiner, Seymour claimed that 99.5% of the submissions against the Regulatory Standards Bill were driven by ‘bots’ and were ‘fake’ submissions.
Seymour later clarified to RNZ that by bots, he was meaning “online campaigns” creating “non-representative samples” that do not represent the public’s opinion.
The Ministry of Regulations received roughly 23,000 submissions on the bill. Of the submissions. Of the submissions, 0.33% were fully or partially supporting the bill, with 88% being against the bill.
Finally, they discussed the recommended suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs’ Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke standing.
But they, we discussed David Seymour as Deputy Prime Minister.
The recommended suspension for Te Pāti Māori MPs, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, over the MP’s haka in Parliament during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill last year.
Co-leaders Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi will be suspended from the House for 21-days, with Maipi-Clarke facing a seven day suspension. This is Parliament's harshest sanctions in the country’s history. Prior to this, the longest suspension an MP had faced in Parliament was three days.
The debate had previously been delayed so that the MPs could participate in the Budget debate — however, both co-leaders were not present at the debate.
During the debate MP Tākuta Ferris said that the debate was not about the haka, but at the heart, it was the House continuing to ignore Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori sovereignty, and that the “racism” in the House is hardly being hidden.
For our weekly catch-up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the suspension, and what’s next for the party.
They also discussed NZ First Party Leader Winston Peters’ comments regarding Waititi’s moko, referring to the MPs moko kanohi as “scribbles”. He was asked to apologise by the Speaker, which he did.
But first, they discussed the suspension of the MPs.
Auckland Transport are seeking community feedback on a proposal for a new T3 transit lane on Mount Smart Road to relieve congestion during peak times heading towards the Royal Oak roundabout.
Between better public transport systems, a ‘time of use’ charge, and different ways of managing Auckland traffic, Producer Sara asks Councillor Julie Fairey about how Auckland Council hopes to reduce peak-time congestion as the city’s population grows.
She also talk to Julie Fairey about the recent allocation of funds to community-led projects through Ngā Hapori Momoho. This year, the grant which aims to “improve financial security, improve health outcomes, and grow community and intercultural connection” has approved funding for eleven community groups, six of which are either Māori organisations or delivering ‘strong Māori outcomes’.
Sara begins with questions about Auckland central congestion.
*unfortunately the audio quality on Julie's end is poor
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