Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Sara Mckoy, Max Micheel, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Sticking around in Europe, researchers over at Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit based in Denmark have recently discovered the world's oldest hedgehog.
The Hedgehog, named Thorvald, is sixteen years old - seven years older than the previous known record, and incredibly old compared to the average hedgehog age of two.
Liam spoke to lead researcher, Sophie Lund Ramussen, about her research and what it means for hedgehog conservation.
The vast and harsh impact of Aotearoa dealing with its worst flood and worst cyclone in history within just two weeks has led to stronger calls than ever for strong and long-lasting climate policy.
Climate Minister James Shaw has been a particularly vocal candidate, claiming the government has spent too much time bickering about whether or not the crisis is real or not, which lead to the issues we’ve currently struggled with.
To learn more about the links between the climate crisis and the extreme weather events, Liam spoke to Daithi Stone, a climate scientist from NIWA.
Liam had bFM’s first chat with defence minister Andrew Little for 2023, where they talked about his first couple weeks in the role and the extreme weather events in Te Ika-Ā-Maui, the North Island.
Continuing on with the cyclone reporting, Liam spoke to Daithi Stone from NIWA about the links between Cyclone Gabrielle and the climate crisis.
We also have bFM European Correspondent Cameron Adams back on for EuroVision, chatting about the war in Ukraine, Scotland first minister NIcola Sturgeon's resignation, and more.
Liam also spoke to Sophie Lund Ramussen, an Oxford University researcher at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit in Denmark. We had a chat about her discovery of the world's oldest hedgehog named Thorvald, and what it means for species conservation.
And producer Hanna Thompson spoke to Professor Euan Mason from the NZ school of forestry at the University of Canterbury about erosion in the cyclones.
News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins speaks to Auckland University Student's Association President Alan Shaker in the studio for their monthly catch-up.
For their weekly interview, ACT Party MP Karen Chhour talks about the government's minimum wage increase and Chris Hipkins' recent policy purge, which included halting an amendment to protect religious groups from incitement of hatred.
And independent researcher Byron Clark talks about his new book FEAR: New Zealand's Hostile Underworld of Extremists, which has come out today, and why we should be watchful and fearful of the far-right's potential impact on politics.
On The Green Desk, Producer Troy Matich interviews Professor John Hopkins from the University of Canterbury about what a national state of emergency means for Aotearoa.
Since the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019, the pandemic and the conspiracy theories and anti-government sentiment that developed in response, there has been increased scrutiny and media coverage of far-right groups in Aotearoa.
In his new book, FEAR: New Zealand's Hostile Underworld of Extremists, Independent researcher Byron Clark helps make sense of alt-right influence in Aotearoa, identifies the main perpetrators and looks at why we are susceptible to misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fear-mongering.
News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Clark about why we should be watchful and fearful of the alt-rights growing influence.
For their weekly interview, News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ACT Party MP Karen Chhour about the government's minimum wage increase and recent policy purge, which included halting an amendment to protect religious groups from incitement of hatred.
For their first catch-up this year, News & Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Auckland University Students’ Association (AUSA) President Alan Shaker about the support available for students affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, their safe zones initiative in collaboration with the Auckland Council, aggressive religious recruitment on campus, and orientation week plans.
For this week's Tuesday Wire, Allan Blackman joined Casper and Milly over the phone for Dear Science. Casper spoke to National’s Shane Reti about the government’s policy reshuffle announced this week and Dáithí Stone, climate scientist at NIWA about what’s driving Cyclone Gabrielle.
Milly speaks to Assad Shamseldin from the University of Auckland about improving our stormwater infrastructure. And Milly also spoke to epidemiologist Michael Baker about the new measles case identified in New Zealand.
In the wake of Aucklands recent severe weather events, Milly speaks to Asaad Shamseldin from Auckland University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering about the Auckland Stormwater System and why it has failed in some areas, as well as the plans for the city's stormwater going forward.
To get a sense of what’s driving the devastating Cyclone Gabrielle and what makes in an unprecedented weather event, Casper talked to Dr Dáithí Stone, climate scientist at NIWA.
From Dec 27 to Jan 18, all train lines across Tāmaki will be shutting down for summer maintenance, a closure which is expected to be the last of its kind ahead of the opening of the City Rail Link.
The current measles outbreak in Tāmaki is being continually monitored, with exposure sites being updated daily on info.health.nz. The public are encouraged to track whether they’ve been in possible contact with the virus, and get up to date on any vaccinations to limit possibilities of transmission.
Auckland Council are supporting arts initiatives across the summer months, with Music in the Park kicking off in early January, and Movies in the Park following in February.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about these topics, and also asked for comment following the attack by two gunmen at Bondi Beach earlier this week.
Yesterday, the latest six-monthly survey of housing support providers under the National Homelessness Data Project, or NHDP, showed that homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled in the year to September. The report also found that 14 of the 21 agencies interviewed reported an increase in homelessness.
As well as this, Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 has taken effect. And according to an interim report into social media harm, a social media ban for children in New Zealand is worth exploring further.
And last week the Government announced the replacement of the Resource Management Act, or RMA. The coalition said its replacement will slash red tape and supercharge growth.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the Government’s new RMA reforms and a potential social media ban in New Zealand.
But first they discussed the latest report on Auckland homelessness.
The Parliament’s Workforce and Education Committee has released an interim report on an inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders face online. The government has recently announced an overhaul of the Resource Management Act and introduced two new bills in its place, the Natural Environment Bill and the Planning Bill.
For our weekly catch-up with the National Party, Producer Vihan spoke to MP Carl Bates, who is also the Deputy Chairperson of the Workforce and Education Committee, about the new findings of the interim report, the new Natural Environment Bill, and the Fast Track Approval Amendments Bill.
The government has announced the overhaul of the Resource Management Act (RMA), which will be replaced by two different bills, the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill. The RMA is set to be fully replaced by 2029.
The RMA, which has been in effect for 34 years, is polarising across the political spectrum.
In announcing the reforms, RMA Reform Minister, Chris Bishop, says that “pretty much everything” will be quicker and less costly under the new regime.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about this overhaul of the RMA.
They also discussed The Education and Workforce Committee’s interim report on the harms young people experience online, with a majority recommending a ban on social media for under-16-year-olds.
But first, they discussed the overhaul of the RMA.
On Sunday, “Block the Ban” held a protest against the government’s decision to ban new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria.
The United Nations’ committee for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination has released a report warning that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights.
And last week, the government rejected the recommended methane emissions targets.
This is despite officials warning against the government doing so, stating that lowering methane emissions targets could increase New Zealand’s contribution to global warming.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.
Safety measures on public transport are of growing concern this week following the fatal and unprovoked attack that took place on route 76 in East Tāmkaki on Monday night.
Earlier this week there were also multiple critical incidents that occurred simultaneously across Auckland’s West Coast beaches and waterways, seeing an unusually high deployment of emergency services and surf lifesavers for this early in the summer.
Swedish home and furniture retailer Ikea opened in Sylvia Park a week ago today, drawing huge excitement for many.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about these topics.
Last week was scrutiny week, where Parliament focuses entirely on holding government agencies and ministers to account, to check-in on how well the Government is performing.
Many of the questions surrounding scrutiny week have been focused on climate change, with many recent reports highlighting the Government’s questionable decision-making.. The biggest headline was that the coalition had chosen to reject all three of the climate change commission’s recommendations to strengthen New Zealand’s emissions targets.
Along with this, the United Nations released a new report, where they’ve warned that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights and entrenching disparities for the indigenous population. In the 14-page report, the UN expressed concerns over multiple government policies affecting Maori, including the disestablishment of the Maori Health Authority, cuts to public funding for Maori services, and minimising the role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the report released by the United Nations, but first they discussed Scrutiny Week and the Government’s recent climate change decisions.
The government is pausing the new prescriptions of Puberty Blockers to gender diverse and transgender young people from the 19th of December onwards, following a similar move by the UK after the results of the NHS’s Cass Review.
Wire Producer Flo spoke to activist Lauren Craig about the effects of the legislation, her petition “Reverse the decision to deny transgender and takatāpui young people access to puberty blockers” against the changes and the wider political motivation for the policy.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here
The biannual Scrutiny Week took place in Parliament last week, with meetings across select committees and government departments focussed on scrutinising the outcomes of government work.
These include hearings on ministries like Health, Housing, Environment and Justice.
Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Carl Bates about Scrutiny Week, firstly by asking him to talk about the meetings he was involved in
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