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.
Calls have been made to deny the visa of far-right figure, Candace Owens, from visiting New Zealand as a part of her scheduled speaking tour at the end of the year.
Owens, who has a history of Islamophobia, homophobia, and anti-semetism, recently, on recent videos uploaded to her YouTube channel, questioned key elements of the Holocaust, such as the well-documented human experiments conducted by Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele as “bizzare propaganda,” calling the Holocaust “an ethnic cleansing that almost took place”.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Co-Founder of Dayenu: New Zealand Jews Against Occupation, Justine Sachs, on calls for far-right figure and Holocaust denier, Candice Owens.
Recently, the government has amended gang legislation that would allow police officers to enter private properties of repeat offenders showcasing emblems, patches, and insignia.
The New Zealand Law Society sent an open letter, sent by the society’s vice president, David Campbell, outlining their concerns for the proposal.
The concerns raised include how gang insignia is identified, which if the clause is taken literally, could be interpreted as printed reproductions of logos, which could make it illegal to own newspapers or certain books with gang insignia in it, increasing in the risk of someone to be criminally liable around someone in possession of gang memorabilia, concerns that the amendment will have detrimental effects to communities and whānau in which gang members reside in, as well as infringing on rights protected by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the Convenor for the New Zealand Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee, Chris Macklin, about the committee’s open letter and the ethics of the amendment.
Last week Te Whatu Ora, Health New Zealand announced they were offering voluntary redundancies to admin and advisory staff. This follows 268 roles already being cut from Te Whatu Ora’s commissioning team.
The organisation has said that the “majority of their expenditure is on people costs, and Health NZ needs to review its size and structure.” Adding that “they are providing the opportunity for eligible staff to consider voluntary redundancy ahead of likely formal change consultation processes over the coming months.”
However many health staff say a cut to admin will put more pressure on the already understaffed and overworked nurses, doctors and primary care workers.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation Chief Executive Paul Goulter says Te Whatu Ora did not follow the correct consultation processes before arriving at the conclusion that there should be redundancies.
He added that any reduction of staff will impact on the people who remain. Saying removal of supporting roles means that other staff must pick the work they’re doing, something he calls unacceptable.
Producer Evie spoke to Goulter about Te Whatu Ora’s voluntary redundancies and the impacts they will have on other healthcare workers.
Last week Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced that levies paid by the fishing industry will be slashed by nearly $5 million dollars.
The levies are used to manage the environmental impacts of commercial fishing. This includes monitoring fish populations, making sure observers are on boats, and researching the impacts fishing is having on the wider ocean environment.
The same day, Jones announced a bill that will extend coastal permits for marine farms by 20 years.
It was opposed by Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori due to environmental concerns. Greenpeace says that Jones is prioritising private commercial gain over the wellbeing of the oceans.
Producer Evie spoke to Greenpeace’s Ellie Hooper about the changes made by Shane Jones and the potential environmental impacts they could have on our oceans.
For our weekly catch up, Producer Evie talks to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about more cuts to the health sector and the government’s solutions to the ‘energy crisis’.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Host, Joel, speaks to Convenor for the New Zealand Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee, Chris Macklin, about the government's new amendments to gang patch legislation.
Evie speaks to Chief executive of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Paul Goulter about Te Whatu Ora offering voluntary redundancies.
Joel speaks to Co-Founder of Dayenu: New Zealand Jews Against Occupation, Justine Sachs, about calls for far-right figure and Holocaust denier, Candice Owens’ visa to be denied entry to Aotearoa.
And Evie talks to Greenpeace’s Ellie Hooper about Shane Jones slashing fishing levies by FIVE million dollars.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party’s Carmel Sepuloni, Wire Host Caeden asks about her being announced as a contestant on Celebrity Treasure Island. They also ask about the current Government reversing the ban oil and gas exploration that was put in place by the last government in 2018.
For State of the States, our weekly kōrero on the United States election, Caeden speaks to Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso. They discuss Robert F. Kennedy Jr dropping out of the Presidential race to endorse Donald Trump, and the pro-Palestine protestors at the DNC and recent Kamala Harris campaign events.
For City Counselling this week Sofia caught up with Councillor Julie Fairey about the annual Local Government New Zealand conference last week as well as Auckland Council’s Shoreline Adaptation Plans.
She also speaks to Greenpeace Aotearoa’s programme director, Niamh O’Flynn, about changes announced this week to the Fast-Track Approvals Bill.
And she also speaks to lawyer Harry Clatworthy from Te Mata Law about the government’s plans to restore a tougher test for Maori customary title claims in the foreshore and seabed and the urgent Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into this.
Earlier this year, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith in a private meeting with Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones and seafood industry representatives discussed potential changes to the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011, which is a piece of legislation that replaced the controversial Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.
The Takutai Moana Act allows Māori to apply for certain customary rights over the foreshore and seabed under customary marine title.
The government intends to change section 58 of the Act which currently requires an applicant group to prove they have "exclusively used and occupied it from 1840 to the present day without substantial interruption". The proposed changes would change the section 58 test to reduce the 100% of coastline subject to customary marine title to 5%.
As a result, an urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim into the government’s proposed changes to the Act had its hearings this week.
This is the seventh urgent inquiry by the Tribunal into the coalition government’s policies.
Producer Sofia spoke to lawyer at Te Mata Law, Harry Clatworthy (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngai Te Rangi, and Ngāti Uenuku-Kōpako), about these proposed changes as well as the historical context of foreshore and seabed ownership in Aotearoa.
On Sunday, the government announced changes to the Fast Track Bill.
Of the most notable of the changes, the Bill will no longer give three ministers sign-off powers, having now delegated that responsibility to a panel of independent experts.
This comes after widespread public protest and submissions against the Bill.
Although these changes mean less power will be concentrated in the hands of three ministers than had been previously proposed, environmental groups continue to criticise the bill, saying these changes are not enough.
Producer Sofia spoke to Greenpeace Aotearoa’s Programme Director, Niamh O’Flynn, about these changes and Greenpeace’s response.
In a recent research paper funded by Our Land and Water National, the country will continue to see a significant shift away from livestock into pine forestry.
The implications this will have will not only be seen in nature, but also in the communities that rely on yearly income to support their families, rather than income that comes every twenty-five years. This paper also highlights the environmental issues that come with this transition, however neither are great for the environment.
Sasha spoke to Bill Kaye Blake, leading author of this paper on what’s driving the trend of replacing livestock farms with pine forestry.
A recent study involving commuters in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, found that women and people of intersectional identities were more likely to avoid using public transport out of fear of harassment.
Anti-harassment strategies proposed in that study promoted the idea of encouraging members of the public to become “active bystanders” during situations of harassment, where they could intervene by helping to de-escalate situations, reporting harassment incidents to transport staff and directly confronting perpetrators as a last minute resort.
Oto spoke to Doctoral candidate Kirsten Tilleman from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Auckland, to discuss what active bystanders are and the role they could play in preventing harassment on Auckland’s public transport
The Healthcare exec Brian Thompson was shot dead by a masked assailant last week.
The crime has gained significant controversy and attention online, with many using it to restart the debate on the inequities of the United States healthcare system.
And this week Yale University was the latest college to commit to divesting from weapons manufacturing after a student vote.
For State of the States this week Wire Host Caeden speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about both of these topics.
The government as announced their plan for the Cook Strait ferry a year after they scrapped Labour’s plan, including cancelling the ferries the Labour government had ordered.
And a new report from the Ministry of Social Development has revealed nearly a quarter of beneficiaries are not receiving their correct entitlements.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
For City Counselling this week, producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Shane Henderson about proposed time-of-use charging to solve congestion problems in Tāmaki and Council selling their remaining Auckland Airport shares last week.
The Green party recently released He Ara Anamata - the Green party’s emissions reduction plan.
The document covers more than 10 areas of the economy and energy Sector that a Greens-led government would be looking to adapt to minimise carbon emissions and protect the natural landscapes of Aotearoa.
It also comes 5 months after the government released their own draft emissions plan. Numerous experts pointed out that the government is behind on their own plan’s targets to meet the crucial emissions budget for 2031-2035.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the party’s new emissions reduction plan and how they would address climate and the economy in a greens-led government.
Last election, one of the National Party’s main campaign promises was to be ‘tough on crime’, promising to increase police coverage and penalties for crimes. A target was set to increase the number of police officers by 500 by November 2025, however some police leaders today say this goal is unrealistic.
The government also announced this week some shakeups to insulation standards, which they say should make houses more affordable.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor spoke to him about police staffing targets and new insulation standards.
This week on Dear Science, our expert Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about what latrines teach us about people, climate variation affecting Chinese dynasties, and invasive species becoming threatened.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
Last week it was revealed that two of the ten participants in the government's pilot bootcamp programme were on the run.
The youth were two months into the community rehabilitation phase of the programme, following the three month youth justice residence phase. Both teens were found in the weekend, but had allegedly reoffended, and are now set to come before the court.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, who have been heavily advocating for this programme, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about this incident.
She also talks to him about proposed changes to employment law which would give employers the power to dismiss workers earning over $180,000 without the employee refuting the decision.
And finally, she talks to him about David Seymour’s incumbent run as Deputy Prime Minister, which is set to begin in May of next year.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about changes to Auckland Transport’s responsibilities, nationwide bus and train fare hikes, and concerns over the opening of the City Rail Link.
For State of the States this week, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'aoso from the Yale Daily News about President Biden's decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was due to be sentenced next week for three felony charges.
They also discuss Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, who is the latest in a long list of unorthodox picks for government positions from Trump
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