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.
To discuss welfare policy for rangatahi on a wider level, in response to not just the National party’s recently announced plan but welfare proposals from across the political spectrum, Casper spoke with Zoe Hawke from E Tipu E Rea.
A new study shows that rising sea temperatures are pushing sperm and blue whales into Southern waters.
The research, which is the collaborative effort of four universities, including The University of Canterbury and Massey university, suggests impacts on ecosystems and tourism could be significant.
Emily spoke with Massey University marine ecologist and research co-lead Dr Karen Stockin.
Emily spoke with Co-Director of The University Of Auckland’s centre for Asian and ethnic Minority health research Dr. Roshini Peiris-John about the challenges faced by Asian New Zealanders in accessing health services.
Barbie has released a series of dolls which honours historical and contemporary heroines, such as conservation activist and animal behaviour expert Jane Goodall, aviator Amelia Earhart, NASA mathematician and physicist Katherine Johnson and artist and political activist Frida Kahlo. However, can this be seen as the appropriation of heroic women of substance as plastic Barbies? A brand synonymous with the objectification of women.
Joe spoke to Katie Pickles, a Professor of History from the Univeristy of Canterbury, about Barbie’s ‘inspiring women’ series and how this could be an Antithesis of Feminism given the company’s controversial representation of women.
Joe speaks to Steven Agnew, a senior Lecturer from the University of Canterbury about ending persistent disparities for Pasifika students in regards to literacy skills. He also speaks to Katie Pickles, a Professor of History from the University of Canterbury, about Jane Goodall joining Barbie’s ‘inspiring women’ series and how this ties in with Barbie being an antithesis of feminism given the company’s controversial representation of women.
Liam will be chats to Michelle Johnstone from the Amalgamated Workers Union about dangerous housing conditions for migrant workers, as well as Rober Patman from the University of Otago about the United States Senate passing a major democrat climate and health package.
Tomorrow’s World is back! Isla and Stella speak to Keoni Mahelona from Te Pūnaha Matatini about using machine learning to revitalise Te Reo Māori.
New reports show migrant horticulture workers are enduring dire housing conditions, seeing upwards of six men a week in a single motel room that are each charged 150 a week. The accommodation has been detrimental to the workers physical health, with one worker reporting his illness wasn’t taken seriously unless it required hospitalisation. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner has recently investigated the conditions, calling it blatant economic exploitation.
To learn more, Liam spoke to Michelle Johnstone from the Amalgamated Workers Union about the conditions.
An analysis of ten years of data has found low English literacy rates in Pasifika students are a key predictor of exclusion from school. The findings of this study highlighted the importance of literacy on educational outcomes and the possibility that greater investment in support for Pasifika students in order to end persisent disparities for students.
Joe spoke to Stephen Agnew, a Senior Lecturer of Economics at the University of Canterbury, on the matter.
Democrats in the United States have passed their long standing economic package through the senate this morning. The seven hundred and forty billion dollar package will fund efforts to curb climate change, provide reforms to health systems, and raise taxes on major corporations. This package, however, is a far cry from the initial three trillion dollar domestic fund President Joe Biden envisioned when he first came into office due to several notable compromises.
Liam spoke to professor Robert Patman from the University of Otago about the fund.
David speaks to Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono talking about Restoring the West Samoa Citizenship Removed By Citizenship Act 1982 Bill
Trishil speaks to Shane Henderson for our regular City Counselling segment discussing the Planning Committee meeting on housing and a pay rise for Auckland bus drivers to address staff shortage
David also speaks to Adam Currie, a protest organiser speaking on the Greenwash lecture protests
Trishil also speaks to Professor Basil Sharpe on the falling fuel prices observed across the country this week.
Rejoice! While fuel prices have yet to return to pre 2022 levels, it has freefallen down to an average of $2.70 a litre at the pumps in Auckland.
For example, yesterday afternoon saw prices fluctuate across the country with Waitomo on Tinakori Road in Wellington charging $2.59 a litre; Caltex on Newton Road in Auckland charging $2.65; and in Christchurch, Waitomo on Fitzgerald Avenue charging $2.47.
Further drops are expected on the horizon, in part due to the crude oil stock price falling from 110USD to around 96 USD over the past week. Another factor could be the fuel tax excise, which has been extended to January.
To learn more, Trishil spoke to Economics Professor Basil Sharp about the trends and contributing factors to the fall in prices.
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.
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.
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.
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
Last week the government announced a series of changes to 16 national direction instruments under the Resource Management Act that would change the way councils implement local plans and rules.
Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, described the changes as removing ‘unnecessary regulations’ for primary industries and investment, with the main changes being: removing freshwater management regulations for councils, removing regulations for the construction of mines and quarries and removing restrictions on non-intensive grazing of beef, cattle and deer in wetlands.
In that same week, Associate Education Minister, David Seymour made a series of changes to the pay parity scheme impacting primary school teachers, where education centres would not need to factor additional and higher qualifications when working out teacher’s starting salaries.
And, just recently, Workplace Relations and Safety minister Brooke van Velden recently announced that she’d be making a series of changes to WorkSafe in order to shift regulators priorities from enforcement to advice.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
The Budget for 2025 came out two weeks ago, with news for the nation on how funds will be allocated over the coming year. The budget held big news for defence spending, $12 billion over the next four years, including $9 billion of new spending.
The funding is planned to go towards various technologies and equipment for different branches of the military, including replacements for two Air Force Boeing 757 planes and new helicopters to be operated from Navy ships. Defence Minister Judith Collins also announced plans to acquire new killer drones with increased lethality, raising some human rights concerns.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the defence spending announcements, concerns over killer drones, and if this money is best spent on more military equipment.
From 9th June, the United Nations Ocean Conference is being held in France, which is co-hosting the event with Costa Rica.
More than 50 world leaders are expected to attend, with 1500 delegates from almost 200 countries.
The conference follows the world’s first deep-sea mining application for the international seabed, which was submitted to the United States government as opposed to the United Nations regulator.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Juressa Lee (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Rarotonga), seabed mining campaigner at Greenpeace, about the conference.
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