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.
A couple of weeks ago National Party Housing Spokesperson Chris Bishop indicated at an Auckland meeting that the party is open to making changes to housing zoning laws.
To get a clearer picture of National’s current stance on what policies are needed to allieviate the housing crisis, with a particular focus on Auckland and the discourse around special character areas and intensification, Casper spoke to National MP Dr. Shane Reti.
Casper first asked what major ongoing issues with the housing market could be alleviated by policy and how high a priority it is right now.
This week on the Tuesday Wire Dr Allan Blackman joined Casper and Emily in studio to talk science news for our Dear Science segment. Casper spoke to Dr Shane Reti from the National party for their weekly catch-up, this time discussing the party’s current solutions for the housing crisis and zoning regulation.
Casper also had a chat with Vee Blackwood, the housing inquiry manager from the Human Rights Commission, talking about the HRC’s call to implement a rent freeze.
Emily spoke to Chief Executive of the New Zealand Bus and Coach Association Ben McFadgen about recent changes to the public transport systems, as well as spokesperson from Forest and Bird Linley Hargreaves regarding a recent bill to end new mines on conservation land.
Forest and Bird is calling for the government to support a new bill to protect public conservation land from future mining.
The conservation organisation says this is a chance for Labour to uphold its commitment to protect the climate and safeguard the biodiversity of NZ’s publicly owned conservation lands.
Emily had a chat to a spokesperson from Forest and Bird Lynley Hargreaves regarding the bill.
In 1922, the tomb of the young king Tutankhamun was uncovered by Archaeologist Howard Carter, led by his patron George Herbert (5th Earl of Carnarvon), opening up widespread interest into Ancient Egypt civilization.
Since then, he has long been suspected of stealing it’s treasures before the tomb was officially opened. These claims have been hard to validify, but a newly discovered letter penned by renowned philologist Sir Alan Gardiner may hold the answer to the questions that have swelled up in the 100 years since the discovery of the tomb.
Gardiner’s letter was never published, but the letter details how Carter compensated his work translating the cave hieroglyphics with a ‘whm amulet’, which was historically used as an offering for the dead.
Despite being told by Carter that the amulet hadn’t originated from the tomb, confirmation came from the then-director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo Rex Engelbach after testing other finds transported to the museum.
To understand more about the controversy and history surrounding the tomb of Tutankhamun, and the surrounding context, I reached out to University of Auckland Professor Anthony Spalinger to discuss the news and more.
Joe speaks to Jason Gurney, from Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, about travel costs being a barrier for Māori in need of liver cancer treatment. He also chats to Steve Bielby, the owner of St James Theatre, and Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick on the revitalisation of St James Theatre.
Trishil speaks to Catherine Delahunty from Coromandel Watchdog about her petition calling for a moratorium on mining permits for conservation land. He also speaks Anthony Spalinger from the Ancient History Department at the University of Auckland about the recently resurfaced letter from Sir Alan Gardiner confirming the tomb of Tutankhamun had been raided prior to it’s official unveiling.
On this week’s regular segment in collaboration with OurActionStation, we’re discussing the call from Coromandel Watchdog for a Moratorium on Mining Permit applications on public conservation land.
Despite the commitment placed by the Government in 2017 to stop issuing mining permits on conservation land, it has failed to implement the measure and continue to issue permits under the ‘stewardship land’ reasoning’.
Trishil spoke to the organiser of the petition Catherine Delahunty on this issue, discussing the issue with stewardship land, and the harms that mining has on flora and fauna.
New video footage of the interior of the vandalised St James Theatre has been released by Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick, showing fungi growing on damp floors, damaged electrical fittings and roof, as well as an exposure to the weather and rain, and foundation-eroding dampness.
Swarbrick has written an open letter calling for the government to match the Auckland Council's $15 million commitment to restoring the building. She says this decision can't be kicked down the road any more and that the revival of the theatre will secure Queen Streets' status as a buzzing destination that will provide space and a place for Auckland's creative community.
Built in 1928, St James Theatre once hosted many shows and concerts. St James Theatre is also regarded as a Category 1 Heritage building, meaning it is a historic places are of special or outstanding historical or cultural significance or value.
However, Building owner Steve Bielby says thieves and vandals had 'gutted' the once historic site.
Joe spoke to the owner of St James Theatre, Steve Bielby as well as Green Party MP for Auckland Central Chlöe Swarbrick, about why the revitalisation of St James Theatre is so significant to Auckland.
Māori are currently 31% more likely to die from liver cancer than non-Māori with the same diagnosis, but covering the travel costs associated with liver cancer surgery could help close this disparity.
Researchers analysed the distance travelled by Māori and Pākehā patients to receive their first primary surgery for liver cancer and found that on average, Māori liver cancer patients travelled twice as far than their Pākehā counterparts.
Joe spoke to Jason Gurney, from the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, about how travel costs being are a barrier for Māori in need of liver cancer treatment.
A new inquiry has recently been opened by the Transport and Infrastructure Committee, asking for submissions on how to improve inter-regional rail in Aotearoa.
The committee is particularly trying to understand how best to implement sustainable practices, and how to revitalise trains between big cities.
This comes after months of campaigning by Save our Trains, an organisation set up after minter-regional rail was minimised and plans to shift the trains to tourist transporters.
To understand what the new inquiry means, Liam spoke to Paul Callister from Save our Trains.
Earlier this week saw a march in the Octagon of Otepoti Dunedin, advocating for the safety of the Crown Hotel
The music venue has been at risk due to plans for a housing developer to build a new residential area nearby, banning the Crown Hotel from making the noise it needs to.
To learn more, Liam spoke to bFM’s own Taylor McGregor, also from Save Our Venues, about the venue and the issues of the new development.
National Party MP Catherine Wedd recently filed a private members bill that would look at restricting social media use for young people, mainly those under 16. While the bill has received some criticism from the ACT party, other parties such as Labour have agreed that legislation around this issue is important.
At the end of April New Zealand First MP Jenny Marcroft put forward a private members bill forward that would seek to define the word ‘woman’ in New Zealand law. The bill was received with criticism from opposition parties and the general public, who say the bill is drawing on transphobic sentiments to distract from more important issues.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues, starting with the potential social media restrictions.
The ACT Party has defended the Government’s controversial move to pass changes to pay equity law under urgency — a move that immediately halted all current claims and raised the bar for future ones. The Government argues the new rules will provide more “clarity” and prevent costly legal disputes, while unions and advocates say the bill is a rollback of hard-won gains for women in low-paid sectors.
Critics also slammed the lack of consultation and the speed of the legislative process, while questions are raised over whether the move was made to plug a hole in the upcoming budget. For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about why ACT supports the Pay Equity Amendment Bill, and whether it risks undermining efforts to close the gender pay gap.
They also discussed a National Party member’s bill that would ban under-16s from using social media — a proposal ACT has declined to back for now. National says the ban would protect young people’s mental health, while ACT argues it raises serious questions about freedom of speech and parental responsibility.
Last week, the controversial Pay Equity Amendment Bill passed under urgency.
The bill makes drastic changes to the Equal Pay Act 1972, making the criteria for equity claims stricter, and could can the 33 existing claims, affecting 150,000 female workers.
The passing of the bill has faced significant opposition from the Labour Party, Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori, over concerns this bill would set women back, and resulted in nationwide protests.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the passing of the Pay Equity Amendment Bill, and how this would impact marginalised communities.
They also spoke about the Ministry of Education releasing the draft relationships and sexuality education, or RSE, framework, for students years 0 to 13, and the party’s concerns regarding this.
But first, they discussed the Pay Equity Amendment Bill
International relations experts are fearing a major conflict between India and Pakistan after sharp, escalating tensions, following a deadly terrorist attack in militarised Kashmir that killed 26 people.
Kashmiris have a long history of oppression. In modern times, this has been as India and Pakistan fight over the region while Kashmiris fight for independence.
Human Rights Watch reports on Kashmir reveal examples of forced displacement, sexual violence, disappearances and allegations of torture and death in custody.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Rohan Davis about the recent terrorist attack and ongoing military escalation, as well as the historical and political context of the Kashmir crisis.
Davis is a video essayist on YouTube from Kerala, India, who covers Indian history and politics.
The government has changed pay equality laws, halting all existing claims and reducing the number of workers who can argue for better pay based on gender discrimination.
New figures show the unemployment rate has remained unchanged from last quarter at 5.1%.
And National has put forward a member's bill proposal that would ban social media for under-16s.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Earlier this week, defence Minister Judith Collins announced that $2 billion would be set aside in this year’s budget to replace the Defence Force’s maritime helicopters.
This would be outside the additional $12 billion dollars that the government will be investing in the Defence Capability plan and would include another separate $1 Billion investment in the defence force over the next four years.
In that same week, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith recently announced that Cabinet had reinstated a total ban on prisoners voting in general elections, overturning laws under the previous Labour government allowing prisoners serving less than three years to vote.
And Green Party MP Steve Abel recently added The Animal Products (Closing the Welfare Gap) Amendment Bill to the biscuit tin, which would ensure that imported products in New Zealand met our animal welfare standards.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Greens MP Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss all of these issues.
Winter is coming, and so is a projected increase in respiratory illnesses and COVID cases. Schools are particularly notorious breeding grounds for such diseases with children being more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.
Ultimately, this results in teachers also being subject to COVID and respiratory illnesses at a higher rate than other professions, and an increased number of teachers leaving the profession due to long COVID symptoms is worsening Aotearoa’s already severe teacher shortage.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Tara Forde from Aotearoa Covid Action, to discuss a petition of hers calling for the government to prevent the spread of COVID in our schools by making improvements to school air quality and improving accessibility to Booster Vaccines and Rapid Antigen Tests.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
This past week the government announced plans to reinstate the prisoner voting ban. The ban was altered in June 2020 by the Labour led coalition government in a change which allowed prisoners serving a sentence of less than three years to vote in elections. This change followed a recommendation from New Zealand’s High Court, which found a prisoner voting ban was inconsistent with New Zealand’s Bill of Rights.
In 2025, the government is now looking at repealing the bill and reinstating the ban. The National Party has argued that there are certain responsibilities that members of society must uphold, and that those who do not fulfil these responsibilities will have their rights taken away. Asked about human rights concerns and the High Court ruling on the bill, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said “I do not care what anyone else says about it.” The bill is set to join others as part of this government’s “tough on crime” approach.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the prisoner voting ban and how the change would benefit the general public.
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