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.
Eurovision is back! This week I spoke to our European Correspondent Cameron Adams about The War in Ukraine, Britain's new Prime Minister and much more!
Yesterday, the Annual Provision Suicide Data was released. It showed that 538 people died by suspected suicide, down from 607 the year before and 628 in the year to 2020.
This release showed the rate per 100,000 was 10.2, which is statistically lower than the average rate over the last 13 financial years. It is also the third year in row suicides have decreased.
The Mental Health Foundation says, "each of these 538 people leave behind grieving whānau and friends. We send you all our aroha and acknowledge your deep pain and loss.”
Joe spoke to the Chief Executive of The Mental Health Foundation, Shaun Robinson, on the matter.
Māori health inequity directly costs the health system $39.9 million per year, according to a new Indigenous-led study. When researchers added indirect costs of $823.4 million from lost years of life and lost wages, which were mostly borne directly by Māori whānau, the overall cost skyrocketed to over $863.3 million.
Māori significantly under-utilised primary care, creating an annual saving to the health system of $49.4 million per year. The authors point out that these are conservative estimates, and say that the 'cost of doing nothing' about health inequity is predominantly borne by Indigenous communities and society - less than 5% of the cost is borne by the health system.
Joe spoke to Rhys Jones, Associate Professor in Te Kupenga Hauora Maori, from the University of Auckland on the matter.
Technological solutions to fill the gap in mental health care are alluring. However, they can be regarded as a cheap, scalable way to solve the knotty problem of mental distress, without requiring investment in people, communities and broader causes of mental ill-health such as racism, poverty or the way we design our cities.
Joe speaks to Kaaren Mathias, a Senior Lecturer from the University of Canterbury, on the matter.
Restore Passenger Rail is a environmental protest group which has been garnering headlines for disrupting traffic on Wellington highways and glueing themselves to roads.
Over the past two weeks members of the campaign blocked the Urban motorway, and Transmission Gully tunnel and abseiled down the entrance of Mount Victoria tunnel.
Casper spoke to Restore Passenger Rail spokesperson Rosemary Penwarden about their movement and why they believe it’s so urgent that we have passenger rail brought back across the country.
Liz Truss has resigned after just six weeks as UK prime minister, following her failed economic policy.
The Conservative Party, which holds a big majority in parliament will now elect a new leader by October 28.
First News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative, a public policy think tank in Wellington, Dr Oliver Hartwich about Truss’ 45 tumultuous days as Prime Minister and what happens now.
Next, she spoke to Associate Professor of Media and Communication at the University of Auckland, Dr Neal Curtis about the current state of UK politics.
An independent panel was appointed by the Minister of Justice in May to lead a review of Aotearoa’s electoral law.
The independent electoral review will look at election rules such as the voting age and overseas voting funding of political parties.
The panel is looking for people to share their thoughts on what could make our electoral system better before it makes its final recommendations to the Government at the end of 2023.
Host, Jessica spoke to Victoria University student and disability advocate Alice Mander, about what the panel is expected to discuss and who they want to hear from.
Happy Tuesday! On today's Wire with Christina and Casper. Allan Blackman joined the team live on air to talk Black Plague, mozzies and the DART mission for Dear Science.
Casper spoke to Dr Shane Reti from the National Party for their weekly segment about their proposed social investment fund. He also had a kōrero with Rosemary Penwarden from Restore Passenger Rail about their campaign and recent protest activity on Wellington highways.
Christina spoke to Dr Stephen Noakes, a senior politics lecturer from the University of Auckland, about the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress and Xi Jinping's continued grasp on power. She also reported on Rishi Sunak, who is set to become UK's next Prime Minister in the wake of Liz Truss' resignation last week.
The stage is set for a new UK prime minister after contenders one by one ruled themselves out of the race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party.
Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, will lead the country in a time of political and economic turmoil in Britain, in the wake of Liz Truss after just 45 days as PM.
With the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party wrapping up, President Xi Jinping has been handed a third term in power. It breaks the unofficial precedent established since Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, where presidents have traditionally ruled for just two terms.
For more on this monumental event in recent Chinese history, Christina spoke to Dr Stephen Noakes, a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations from the University of Auckland.
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
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.
Recently, a study was conducted by researchers at the University of Southampton which uncovered a shift in the circulation of the Southern Ocean.
The study showed that the shift would draw up more salt water from the deep ocean, subsequently accelerating the loss of ice in the Antarctic and leading to an increase of sea levels and global heating.
The week before, the government allowed the terrorist designation given to the far-right ‘Proud Boys’ group to expire, effectively decriminalising the act of funding or openly supporting the group here in Aotearoa.
And, just yesterday Finance Minister Nicola Willis confirmed a number of changes to Family Boost which she said would help families with the cost of living.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
The Southerner was a passenger express train in the South Island running between Christchurch and Invercargill from 1970 to 2002.
The train was eventually closed due a decline in passenger numbers and subsidies, although it was briefly revived in May this year for four days as part of a tourist experience.
Recently, a group of campaigners from Save our Trains launched a petition calling on the government to restore the Southerner train route as a more accessible form of travel for South Islanders.
Wednesday Wire Host Oto spoke with Dave Macpherson from Save Our Train - Southern, to discuss his petition and why the Southerner should be restored.
Hearings on the regulatory standards bill are currently underway, with around 23,000 total submissions both written and oral. Early analysis of the submissions estimated 88% percent are in opposition, while only 0.3% are in support.
The bill has been pushed by Minister for Regulation and ACT Party leader David Seymour, who says it should support the government to reduce regulation and ensure the protection of individual rights and private property. The bill has been criticised for not including clauses around Te Tiriti o Waitangi or environmental protections. It has also been criticised for potentially undemocratic elements, placing large amounts of control in the hands of the unelected Ministry for Regulation.
In our weekly catch-up with the National party, Wire host Castor asked Tom Rutherford about the regulatory standards bill in light of the select committee hearings and new criticisms.
Recently, the government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mayors of Auckland, Otago, and Western Bay of Plenty Councils over the government’s expectations of City and Regional Deals. These deals aim to tighten the partnership between central and local governments.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to MP Cameron Luxton about what to expect heading forward regarding the relationship between local, regional, and central government.
They also discussed last week's Youth Parliament.
Youth Parliament provides the opportunity for 143 rangatahi aged 16-to-24 as Youth MPs, representing MPs across the political spectrum, and Youth Press Gallery members, to understand the country’s political processes, understand how government works, and replicate the Parliamentary process.
Youth MPs had previously accused event organisers of ‘censoring’ their speeches. This follows the MPs being asked to remove elements of their speeches that were critical of government policies, such as the Treaty Principles Bill and pay equity.
However, The Ministry of Youth Development has come out saying the way they communicated their wishes with Youth MPs could have been clearer and more concise. The general manager of the Ministry, John Robertson, says reviewing speeches and suggesting changes was a part of the process, but these recommendations are not enforced.
They also spoke to Luxton about these accusations, and whether they are tantamount to censorship.
Finally, they discussed calls by over half of the Youth MPs represented in this year's Youth Parliament, from across the political spectrum, renewing calls for the voting age to be lowered, to allow 16-to-17-year-olds the right to vote.
5 ACT Youth MPs, including the Youth MP representing Cameron Luxton, Fletcher Brown, had signed a letter calling for the voting age to be reduced.
This follows the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that found the current voting age is unjustified age discrimination and goes against the Human Rights Act 1993.
They also discussed these renewed calls to lower the voting age.
Following Israel and the US’ large-scale attacks on Iran, and Israel’s continued war on Gaza, this has raised the question on the future of international order.
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to the Executive Director of the Britain Palestine Project, Dr Brian Brivati, about this turning point in international order, and what we should expect heading forward.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has suggested to the local government forum that regional councils may be abolished, stating that
"After the upcoming changes to the Resource Management Act, I doubt that there's going to be a compelling case for regional government to continue to exist.“
Regional councils across Aotearoa are responsible for matters relating to natural resource management, flood control, and biosecurity.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said effectiveness between different councils is varied, and that councils generate too much bureaucracy and are “too focussed on vanity projects”.
As well, in order to make the most of local and central investment into Auckland’s growing city, the government is asking Auckland Council to increase the housing development allowance around key Central Rail Link stations in the lead up to the project’s completion.
Seeking to amend the resource management act, the government hopes to increase housing height and density around Mount Albert and Baldwin Avenue stations, allowing upzoning of ten stories around these areas, in addition to allowing upzoning of fifteen stories around Maungawhau, Morningside and Kingsland.
Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics, starting with the proposal to scrap regional councils.