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.
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
Government reviews of the Therapeutic Products Bill have previously taken place in 1998, 2000, 2006, and 2019. All of these reviews have kept the status quo. In 2006, Dr Annette King, the Health Minister, called for a ban, but struggled to muster the support at the time.
This interview with Health Minister Andrew Little is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
The question of banning pharmaceutical advertising in New Zealand isn’t new. In 2019, there were renewed calls for the Therapeutic Medicines Bill to be toughened with these measures being driven by..
At the time, a Consumer New Zealand survey indicated that 57% of kiwis favour an independent health info service that provides advice on treatment options over medicine advertising.
Those stats also reveal that 8% of those surveyed believed that said ads provided unbiased and comprehensive information about treatments.
And 15% of surveyors also said a ban is unnecessary.
This interview with Consumer NZ Research and Test Writer Belinda Castles is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising in New Zealand
New Zealand has just become one of more than 50 countries to record cases of monkeypox in an outbreak that took off two months ago.
The person, who is in isolation, is in their thirties, lives in Auckland and recently returned from overseas travel in a country with reported monkeypox cases. The Ministry of Health sys there is no evidence of community transmission, with a small number of people being contacts.
Joe spoke to Kurt Krause, a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Otago, on the matter.
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
Dr Shane Reti, National Health Spokesperson, mentioned that it is up to caucus to ultimately make a decision should a consultation arises.
This interview with National Party Health Spokesperson Dr Shane Reti is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising in New Zealand
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
Even medical bodies such as the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners have strongly come out in the past backing such a ban.
This interview with Royal NZ College of GP Medical Director Bryan Betty is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising in New Zealand.
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
Until a couple of years ago, I was unaware of the ban on Pharmaceutical advertising outside of New Zealand and the US. Whenever the side effects of a particular ad popped up, despite not being the target audience for said drug, it always filled me with a sense of existential dread. New Zealand ads typically display side effects in small black text to the bottom of the screen and are never discussed by the advertiser, making it easy to miss.
This piece seeks to investigate how direct to consumer advertising works, and whether the practice should be banned in New Zealand.
Proposed changes to New Zealand’s political donation rules have put the spotlight on donors who give thousands and the motivations they have for their generosity. New research into New Zealand’s political donations system aims to shed light on this often obscure process.
The proposed reforms to the political donation rules follow Serious Fraud Office investigations into the handling of donations received by the National, Labour and NZ First parties. All three investigations have resulted in court proceedings, with the first case just ended with the judge reserving his decision.
Joe spoke to Max Rashbrooke, a Research Associate for the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, about political donation regulation and the motivation behind it.
New Zealand and the United States are the only two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to consumers.
It always perplexed me to see such advertising growing up. Like I understand, on one hand, informing the public on options to access remedies for their pain is important, but is it being communicated in the best way, especially considering that other nations don’t follow this approach.
This interview with University of Auckland Pathophysiology Professor David Menkes is part of a larger story on Direct To Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising in New Zealand
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, announced his resignation from leading the Conservative Party.
Liam gave a report on Johnson's resignation, and what he represents as one of the largest figures of UK politics. The report includes a comment given to Casper by Stephen Hoadley from the University of Auckland on whether the move could have been predicted.
On this week's episode of Strangest Things, Liam took a look at the ongoing saga of Chickens terrorizing West Auckland suburb Titirangi.
Chickens loose in the streets are bring cat-sized-rats into the street and are causing sleep deprivation by “boking” incredibly loud early in the mornings,
Although chickens have been affecting the area for years, it came to a head in 2019 when the council invested twenty five thousand dollars into their removal. However, they've returned.
Liam had a chat with Greg Presland, the deputy chairperson of the Waitakere Ranges Local Board, on the issue.
Last week, the government announced that they would begin an official review of the Waitangi Tribunal and the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975.
The government has said that the review is to ensure the Waitangi Tribunal remains effective and relevant, however, a number of Māori and treaty law experts have referred to the review as an attack on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles.
In that same week, the government announced that they would be investing $774 million towards improving the redress process for survivors of abuse in state care in Budget 2025.
However, going against one of the key recommendations of both the Royal Commission and the Redress Design Group, the government will not be looking to set up a new redress scheme for abuse survivors.
And the government recently passed amendments to the Wildlife Act that would permit the “incidental killing” of certain native wildlife species by companies during lawful activities like construction and development.
For our weekly catchup with the Green party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March for the party’s take on all of these issues.
In 2014, Victoria University of Wellington made an official promise to divest $650,000 worth of investments in fossil fuel companies which, at the time, comprised of 2.1% of the University’s total investments.
However, more than 10 years on, a student-led investigation found that the university still held significant investments in companies like Exxon Mobil and SHELL through third-party investment managers.
A year after a successful petition by Students for Justice in Palestine Pōneke calling on the university to divest funding from Israeli companies, a group of students from Climate Action Victoria University of Wellington have made renewed calls to the university to divest from fossil fuel companies.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Hugh Acton, a member of Climate Action Victoria of University of Wellington, who’s launched a petition calling on the university to disclose their investments in companies involved in fossil fuel production and to divest from them immediately.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
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.
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
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.
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:
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