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.
SAFE is urgently-renewing calls for a Commissioner for Animals, following the Ministry for Primary Industries’ investigation into heat stress-related deaths of several pigs on a livestock truck earlier this year.
The deaths occurred aboard a livestock truck and trailer operated by Te Awamutu company Osbourne’s Transport
Joe spoke to Will Appelbe, Head of Investigations at SAFE for Animals to get some insight into the issue.
The COP15 Biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada is set to begin today.
The conference of parties is set to specifically target issues of biodiversity and how it links to improving our climate.
The conference was initially meant to take place in China a couple years ago, but was delayed and eventually relocated due to covid restrictions.
To learn about the conference's big issues, Liam spoke to Stephen Hartley, from Victoria University of Wellington about the current state of Biodiversity and what this conference should aim to achieve.
A new report from Talent Rise, a recruitment specialist, comprising the experiences of over 200 young people has suggested that job search confidence is low and fear of the future relating to gaining employment is high.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Kaiārahi at Talent Rise New Zealand, Jessica Te Moananui about the report, and why young people in Aotearoa are struggling to gain meaningful employment.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins takes you through the Wednesday Wire.
For our regular catch up with ACT’s Brooke Van Velden, Jessica asks Brooke about her thoughts on the Government's multi million dollar package to tackle retail crime and reoffending after concerns about a lack of protection for retail workers.
She also speaks to University of Auckland Masters students Izzy Renton and Maria Kopilevich, who have lauched a student-led petition in support of the Tertiary Education Union's strike action.
She also talks to Kaiārahi at Talent Rise New Zealand, Jessica Te Moananui about their report that suggests for young people in Aotearoa, job search confidence is low and fear of the future relating to gaining employment is high.
And The Green Desk is back, hosted by producer Troy Matich. She talks to University of Auckland PhD Candidate Sam Ladewig about a recent study on the effects of microplastics in the Waitemata Harbor.
A group of students at the University of Auckland have launched a student-led petition in support of Tertiary Education Union strike action.
This comes as University of Auckland staff who are members of the union have extended a ban on entering or releasing student grades until Thursday.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to two University of Auckland Masters students behind the petition, Izzy Renton and Maria Kopilevich, who are encouraging people to sign their petition before they send it to the University tomorrow.
Many have brought up concerns around the government’s implementation of the merger of TVNZ and RNZ into a single entity, the details of which are still unclear.
For Casper's regular chat with National party MP Dr Shane Reti, they discussed the merger, what concerns National has about it and what else could be done to bolster New Zealand journalism.
Sir Collin Tukuitonga speaks to Milly regarding the daily smoking rate in Pasifika students being at an all time low at less than two percent according to the most recent Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) survey.
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
With the rise of fast fashion outlets like Shein and Temu alongside the wider mainstream options available that contribute substantial amounts of clothing waste to landfill, experts are calling for an urgent response on a governance, business, and individual level.
Wire Host Sara spoke to Mindful Fashion Chief Executive Jacinta Fitzgerald about the problem, and the industry response to sustainability, as well as University of Auckland Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the importance of ethical consumption.for individuals.
First, is the interview with Fitzgerald, where she begins by talking about the organisation Mindful Fashion.
Following this, Sara spoke to Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the research he has undertaken around consumerism.
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
The government has recently rejected all of the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations regarding strengthening the country’s methane targets recommendations.
The commission’s recommendations include strengthening the county’s 2050 methane emission targets, continuing lowering emissions after 2050, and that international shipping and aviation, which represents 9% of the county’s total emissions, should be included within targets.
Despite the commission saying that there would be upfront costs, many of the changes would result in cost savings over time, however, the government rejected this claim.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about the government rejecting these recommendations.
Tāmaki Makaurau’s council budget is among those impacted by the proposal of a rates cap, considering Tāmaki’s average 5.8% annual rates increase across the 25/26 financial year.
Youth homelessness is a growing concern as discussions continue around “move on” orders for those without housing in Auckland’s CBD.
And the Skycity Convention Centre is set to open in 2026, with high hopes for what it may bring for Tāmaki Makaurau after its prolonged development.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Counsellor Fairey about these topics.
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