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.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, E tū is celebrating their campaign to win Fair Pay Agreements for some of our lowest paid workers, including cleaners and security guards. The Fair Pay Agreements Bill is currently before Select Committee, and E tū members and supporters made over 1,000 written submissions in support of the bill.
While all submitters told their own story, some clear themes came through. Submitters were particularly concerned about low wages, the cost of living, health and safety, workplace stress, safe staffing levels, a lack of respect at work, hours of work, and the ‘race to the bottom’ which sees companies using low wages to stay competitive.
An E tū delegation also made an oral submission to the Select Committee on Monday.
Joe spoke to Amy Hansen, a team leader from E tū, on the matter.
After eight years of research, a rare manta-ray nursery has been confirmed in the Raja Ampat islands in Indonesia by a team of researchers at the University of Auckland. The team’s research is the most comprehensive description to date of the manta ray anywhere and is prompting the Indonesian government to take extra measures to protect the area. The species has a special link with manta rays that hang out in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland. On the Wire this week, guest producer Frances Wright chatted to Edy Setyawan about the rays, Steve Irwin, and his work on this research project.
This week on the Thursday Wire! Emilia is away, so Frances is our Producer today.
Tuva’a speaks to Labour Party’s Andrew Little about a new National Bowel Screening, the New Baby Unit at Waitākere Hospital, and the record number of patients in the Emergency Department.
Joe will be speaking to Professor Warwick Bagg from the University of Auckland about increasing medical student places helping to address the medical practitioner shortage, he’ll also be talking to E tu about International Justice Day for Cleaners and Security workers. He’ll also be having a chat to the SPCA about their influx of puppies during Winter.
Frances keeps to the winter theme and talks to Natalie Wendzich about the Gratis initiative and their work providing meals for the Street Community in Auckland, and also talks to Edy Setyawan about his research discovering a nursery for manta rays in Indonesia.
Winter means a tough time for many in our city here in Auckland. With temperatures steadily dropping and the cost of living steadily rising, keeping warm and well-fed is a daily concern for many. Gratis is an initiative that takes leftover food from cafes around the city and helps to feed those who most need it in our cities. On the Wire this week, guest producer Frances Wright caught up with Team Leader Natalie Wendzich to talk about the initiative.
A tragic drowning occurred on Sunday, as an overladen ship crammed with 15,800 sheep capsized on Sunday off Sudan’s Red Sea coast. Today Stella spoke with Debra Ashton, CEO of SAFE, the nation’s leading animal rights organisation about it, and the state of live export regulations in Aotearoa.
A recently published meta analysis of literature explores the roaming distance of feral cats. One of the authors, Cathay Nottingham, joined Stella to discuss the state of knowledge in the field.
Frances speaks to European correspondent Cameron Mulgan. This week they cover Boris Johnson’s survival through a vote of no confidence, the Northern Ireland Protocol bill, the UK looking to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, the first round of French Parliamentary elections, moves in Europe to combat e-waste from USB charger ports and limit the sale of petrol cars.
Welcome to another week of The Wire with Stella Huggins!
This week, the Tomorrow’s World segment makes a special guest appearance on the Wednesday Wire. This week Stella and Isla give us an 11 minute degree on genetics with Dr Anna Santure.
Alex speaks with ACT party deputy leader Brooke Van Velden about Fair Pay Agreements and ACT’s response to increasing gang violence.
Stella speaks to Cathy Nottingham, a PhD candidate at the University of Auckland about her recently published research on feral cat roaming distances.
Eurovision returns with an update on the war in Ukraine, Boris Johnson’s survival through a vote of no confidence, the Northern Ireland Protocol bill, the UK looking to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, and much more. European correspondant Cameron Mulgan chats to Frances.
Finally, Stella speaks to Debra Ashton, SAFE's CEO, about a recent drowning of livestock during a live export off the coast of Sudan.
In mid-May, the world was shocked when an armed man entered a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and opened fire on ordinary shoppers. It soon became clear that the shooting was a white-supremisist terrorist attack. The shooter cited talking points from a new sector of the far-right to justify his actions: this ideology is called ecofascism.
Jack spoke to author and activist Byron Clarke, an expert on the far-right and disinformation, to find out what ecofascism is and why we should be concerned about it.
Bethlehem College, a Christian school in Tauranga, has recently come under fire for asking parents to sign a statement of belief, saying marriage is between a man and a woman.
LGBTQ+ advocates have condemned this practice, calling it discriminatory and homophobic.
The Ministry of Education has since told the College that they must remove the anti-same-sex statement in their Charter, or they will consider a formal intervention.
However, several ex-students of the College have since come forward with allegations of homophobia and discrimination at the school.
Christina Huang spoke to Shaneel Lal, Co-Founder of End Conversion Therapy in NZ, who launched a petition that received almost 6000 signatures at the time of this interview, for the Education Review Office to investigate the school.
The United States has frequently been in the news cycle recently for the Trump administration’s unstable foreign policy decisions.
This includes their decisions to cut 90% of USAID foreign contracts and to pause military aid to Ukraine following a fiery meeting between the leaders of both countries.
University of Otago’s Professor Richard Jackson describes President Trump’s behaviours as a threat to global order and security.
For International Desk this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to him about the instability of United States foreign policy and the global ramifications of this.
Earlier this week, an investigation was launched into the school lunch programme after baked-in plastic was found in several lunches.
However, principals say the programme has already had various issues since Associate Education Minister David Seymour switched providers as a cost-saving measure last year.
And the coalition government is set to introduce legislation that would give the option of 4 year parliamentary terms.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy LeaderCarmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
Recently, Auckland Council has re-committed $15 million in funding; which they have pledged since 2016, to restore the historic St. James Theatre in Auckland’s CBD — one part of a cross-party agreement between the Council, Central Government, and owner of the theatre.
The theatre, which has been inoperational since a fire broke out in 2007, left significant damage and resulted in the closure of the venue.
The revitalisation of St James has seen support from the public and a variety of different figures, including the co-leader of the Green Party and MP for Auckland Central, Chlöe Swarbrick, and the organisation Save the St. James Theatre Auckland.
For our weekly catchup with Auckland Council, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson, about Auckland Council's re-commitment to revitalise the St James Theatre and their goals regarding this.
We also spoke about a proposal by Council to develop half of Takapuna Golf Course into wetlands, in aims of mitigating flooding risks which the area is susceptible to.
This move has been criticised by the Golf Course, who say there are better ways to adapt the park without taking away any of the area available to golfers.
But first, they started off by asking how Shane is feeling now that we are one step closer to having the St James operational again.
The ministry for Primary Industries has launched an investigation after a number of meals served to children by the School Lunch Collective were found to have their plastic packaging melted into their food.
This would be the fourth investigation launched into the collective after the government introduced the Alternative Provision Model for Ka Ora Ka Ako, replacing local suppliers.
Around this same period of time, a consultation document was sent to schools across the motu by education minister Erica Stanford asking for feedback on a proposal to defund and disestablish 174 full time roles for Resource Teachers of Literacy and Resource Teachers of Māori.
And the Greens recently issued a call to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon calling on him to rule out any possibility of joining the AUKUS military pact, following the contentious bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Whitehouse last week.
For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March for the Green Party’s take on all of these issues.
Last week the government announced a new citizen’s arrest policy that would allow members of the public to detain those who commit a crime. The policy has been met with criticism for its potential impact on retail workers and marginalised communities. While the government has asserted that citizen’s arrest should only be conducted when it is safe to do so, some are still worried about safety, especially with employer/employee power dynamics.
Others are concerned that the law will encourage members of the public to conduct citizens arrests on anyone they suspect of committing a crime, even if their suspicions are false. This would predominantly affect marginalised groups already affected by harmful stereotypes
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Tuesday Wire Host Castor asked about how the new Citizens Arrest policy will work in Aotearoa.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin, chats to us about the International Space Station being too clean, birds of paradise being more colourful than we originally thought, and stretchy displays.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
The government has announced that it will introduce legislation for a four year parliamentary term - subject to referendum.
Most parties are largely in favour of a four year term - feeling that it gives more opportunity to develop policy and make changes.
As part of their coalition deal, the ACT party designed a caveat to be included in the legislation that would put more ‘checks and balances’ on the government.
This essentially means the opposition would have more powers in select committees. If this legislation is passed and voted on, a four year government term would not be mandatory - but would instead be decided after the government was elected.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about the legislation and why the party supports a four year term.
They also talked about the government giving retailers and members of the public more power to detain shoplifters under legislative reforms. Otherwise known as citizens' arrests.
Last week, Auckland Council presented a proposal to shift Kumeū’s town centre as an effort to address the area’s history of flooding.
Additionally, late last month public consultation opened on Council’s proposed bed night visitor levy. The levy would fill a budget gap of $7 million for major events in Tāmaki Makaurau.
For City Counselling this week, Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics, beginning by asking her what current issues Kumeū is facing that informed the proposal to move its town centre.
Conflict has escalated in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year, driven by ethnic tensions and access to mineral resources.
The conflict has been marked by murder, violence, and forced displacement. Over 6.9 million people in the Congo were displaced by the end of 2023, and 7,000 have been killed since January this year.
For International desk this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Aotearoa African Foundation President Red Tsounga about the ongoing violence in the Congo and what more the international community can do to support those who have been displaced.
StatsNZ has released new data showing the government has missed all its child poverty targets, and that the number of children in material hardship has risen from 144,100 to 156,600.
The government’s proposal to expand citizen arrest laws has been met with a mixed response. The proposal has been criticised by business groups, First Union, and the Labour Party, largely for the risk to workers.
And protestors against a sewerage pipeline being installed through the tapu Lake Rotokākahu have committed to staying at the site after facing off with police.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
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