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.
The Student Volunteer Army is doing a wonderful job. Last weekend Around 200 volunteers supported door-knocking at 1200 homes.
SVA CEO Jana Hood said: “The smell of rotting food and rotten carpets in some houses was just horrendous, but they don’t want to leave their homes and their communities,”
Daniel spoke with Auckland Club President of the SVA, Jake Parsons about what their experiences are and what the progress of their work is.
Already in October 2010 Māori health organisations raised concerns about the shocking toll tobacco use has in their communities. They found that overall people were smoking less, but more and more maori and pacific people were smoking.
As response the NZ government developed the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan. The plan features three radical interventions. One, called the smoke-free generation strategy, will make it illegal to ever sell combustible tobacco products to those born in 2009 or later. The goal is to create an ever-growing generation that never picks up the smoking habit. Together with two other policies, reducing nicotine content in tobacco to below addictive levels and less retail outlets selling tobacco, tobacco use would virtually end.
There are two issues: Vapes and Inequities. Daily smoking rates are in general at an all-time low but remain high for Māori. 34% of Māori teens aged 14 and 15-year vape regularly and The statistics are even higher for Māori girls of this age, with 40% vaping regularly.
Daniel spoke with associate professor Andrew Waa, Public Health researcher at the University of Otago, about these issues.
David brings us City Counselling with Mike Lee about flood recovery and preparing for Cyclone Gabrielle. He also speaks to Oxfam and partners mounting response in Turkiye, and Syria amidst destruction of life and property due to the earthquake.
Joe speaks to Eileen Joy from the School of Counselling, Human Services and Social Work at the University of Auckland about recent child development theories having influenced child protection in Aotearoa in ways that have further stigmatised struggling families.
Daniel chats with Jake Parsons about the work the Student Volunteer Army is doing related to the Auckland floods. He also spoke to Andrew Waa, a Public Health researcher at the University of Otago about Smokefree 2025, vapes and inequities.
We have various pieces covering the policy changes announced by prime minister Chris Hipkins on Wednesday. First, Liam spoke to VuW’s Peter Thompson about the RNZ-TVNZ merger being scrapped.
They also spoke to E Tu Unions Amy Newman about the minimum wage increase
And lastly they had a chat with Jake Roos from Don’t burn our Future about the scrapping of Aotearoas biofuel mandate.
For The Green Desk, Troy Matich speaks to Amanda Larson from Greenpeace Aotearoa about how record fuel profits are impacting the climate.
And producer Hanna Thomspon Lisa Woods, Amnesty International campaign director, about the pulling back of hate speech law reform.
Almost the end of the week, whānau! A lovely show for you this morning. Rachel speaks to Jennifer Curtin on Political Commentary, debriefing Cabinet's re-prioritisations. Delaney Mes tells us all about fish on Breakfast Food, and Rachel talks to Lucky Boy and Crystal from Phoebe Rings about their recent collaborative track. Whakarongo mai nei!
After years of campaigning by community groups to table better protection against hate speech, the government has announced that law reform will be postponed and referred to the Law Commission. While some claim this move better recognises the right to freedom of expression, others argue the right should be balanced against other rights, such as the right to freedom from discrimination.
Hanna spoke to Lisa Woods, Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand's Campaigns Director, about Aotearoa's hate speech laws, why reform is urgently needed, and what can be done in the interim.
First up on our series of policies PM Chris Hipkins has pulled back on is the public media merger of Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand.
Kris Fafoi and Willie Jackson, the former and current broadcasting minister respectively, had initially set out a preferred deadline of March 1st with a final deadline of July 1st this year.
However, Hipkins claimed the merger was too expensive and unnecessary, replacing it with a funding boost for NZ on Air and RNZ.
To learn more about what this means for public media in Aotearoa, Liam spoke to Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington’s Peter Thompson.
Another policy PM Chris Hipkins scrapped on Wednesday took out the government's planned biofuel mandate.
They planned to make a portion of all fuel used in the Aotearoa plant based through the mandate, but decided to get rid of the policy upon the government's current focus on the cost of living.
However, both motor trade groups and environmental groups are celebrating the policy being axed - one for the lower cost of fuel and the other for how it’ll actually improve Aotearoa's environment to not use biofuels.
Liam spoke to Jake Roos from Don't Burn Our Future about how the canning of the policy will actually be better for both the environment and our cost of living.
Recent reports show that 2022 saw record profits from five major fuel companies globally, totalling over one trillion dollars in sales.
This announcement amidst the cost of living crisis and the repercussions of climate change has confused many, with demands for wind and fuel taxes to be implemented.
Tory Matich spoke to Greenpeace Spokesperson about this.
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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