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.
In mid-May, the world was shocked when an armed man entered a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and opened fire on ordinary shoppers. It soon became clear that the shooting was a white-supremisist terrorist attack. The shooter cited talking points from a new sector of the far-right to justify his actions: this ideology is called ecofascism.
Jack spoke to author and activist Byron Clarke, an expert on the far-right and disinformation, to find out what ecofascism is and why we should be concerned about it.
Gangs, gang violence, drugs, organised crime. We're seeing a lot of this in the headlines recently, and a lot of fear surrounding gangs in Aotearoa is perhaps one reason why politicians are keen to flex their political muscle and introduce increasingly punitive laws. However, recent research has shown these laws haven’t worked in the past whenever there was a media frenzy about gang violence. Christina spoke to Dr Jarrod Gilbert, a sociologist from the University of Canterbury.
On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the departure of Kris Faafoi and Trevor Mallard from politics, and with it, a number of changes to Cabinet. On the Wire, Christina caught up with political scientist Dr Lara Greaves from the University of Auckland to discuss these changes.
Matariki is just two weeks away on June 24th, and progressively more discussions on how to properly celebrate the public holiday are taking place.
A specific spotlight has been placed on light pollution, with some regional councils receiving backlash on plans to put on fireworks displays.
A petition has also been launched, calling for turning off lights in central cities to clear the skies and make the constellation visible.
To learn more about light pollution, Liam spoke to Richard Easter from UoA about how it could affect Matariki as well as the world in general.
Alongside the environmental effects of Light Pollution, many are talking about the cultural issues of the inability to see Matariki in central cities.
This is only one of many fears of how Matariki will be celebrated, with concerns being raised of the commercialisation of the holiday and the loss of its meaning.
I also spoke to AUT’s Paul Moon, who is a professor for the schools NZ history and Māori culture programmes, about the holiday, its significance and what meaning could be at risk.
At an international climate summit in Germany, experts urged the world to transition towards plant-based diets.
IPCC research has shown that an uptake in such plant-based diets having the potential to massively reduce carbon emissions, and could be one of the major lifestyle changes necessary to combat climate change.
Casper spoke to Claire Insley, spokesperson for the Vegan Society of Aotearoa, about the impact of our diets on climate change and how it might be possible to reduce emissions by having more people transition to plant-based.
Today on the Friday Wire Casper talked to Auckland city counsellor Shane Henderson about the council passing the mayor’s climate budget, as well as the Ports of Auckland’s scrapped automation project. He also spoke to Clair Insley from the Vegan Society of Aotearoa about the importance of plant-based diets in combatting climate change.
Liam spoke to Richard Esther, as well as Paul Moon about Light Pollution, Matariki and how they intersect. Liam also spoke to Jessica Godfrey from Vicbooks about their closure in VUW’s Piptea campus due to the anti-parliment protests.
Victoria University of Wellington's Pipitea campus bookstore, VicBooks, has recently announced their closure.
Whilst the store was already having difficulties coming out of the pandemic, the early years anti-mandate protests at parliament made matters much more difficult.
The Pipitea campus is located directly next to the Beehive, meaning they were forced to completely close down until the protests ended, and couldn’t bounce back after reopening.
To hear more, Liam spoke to VicBooks General Manager Jessica Godfrey.
On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a vote of no confidence from his Conservative Party colleagues with a margin of 211 votes to 148.
Former Tory leaders Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Theresa May have in the past survived no-confidence votes, only either to step down shortly thereafter, or suffer defeat in the next general election.
To find out what this could mean for the future of both Boris Johnson and the Tory party, Emilia Sullivan spoke to Associate Professor Neal Curtis.
In a world-first, a New Zealand study has confirmed microplastics are present in Antarctica’s Ross Island region. Kiwi researchers analysed fresh snow from 19 sites, finding an average concentration of 29 microplastic particles per litre of melted snow. These microplastics most likely come from plastic products used at local scientific research stations, however, this team’s modelling also suggests their origin could have been up to 6,000 km away.
Joe spoke to Dr Holly Winton, a Research Fellow in Antarctic ice core climatology from the Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, on the matter.
Tuva’a speaks to Labour Party’s Andrew Little about the selection of the Hauora Maori Advisory Board, Hauora Healthy Futures Bill and COVID-19 booster access for vulnerable groups.
Joe will speaking to Dr Holly Winton about the first microplastics being found in Antarctica, he’ll also be speaking to SAFE For Animals & A Dairy Farmer about the He Waka Eke Noa Emissions Pricing Plan
Emilia talks to Dr. Neal Curtis about what’s next for Boris Johnson after surviving a no-confidence vote, and she also speaks to Associate Professor Fiona Hutton from Victoria University about why medicinal cannabis is still out of reach for many despite being legal.
After years of discussion, Auckland Council’s Planning and Policy Committee have approved zoning changes for the city centre, which will see taller buildings and increased development capacity within the Central Business District.
Plan Change 78 sought to increase density and will see double height limits for most of the city centre, up to twenty storeys, unlimited building height for a small section, and the removal of limitations on floor plans to attract investment into a wider variety of building types.
With notification of this decision made tomorrow, the changes are expected to be included in the Auckland Unitary Plan to become operative in June this year.
As well, consultation is currently open in relation to the Western Springs speedway, of which Auckland Council voted in favour of last year based on financial underperformance.
The decision to keep the speedway, develop a new stadium or explore new opportunities for the space has been a hot topic in public debate, with figures like former All Black Sir Bryan Williams, Rich lister Anna Mowbray and her husband, former All Black Ali Williams chiming into the discussion.
Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson this week about both of these topics, starting with the future of development in Auckland’s central city.
Last week, the government’s annual budget announcement for 2025 was made, detailing how government spending would be allocated over the course of the year and the programs that would receive additional funding.
While an array of programs are set to receive funding increases, critics have alluded to funding gaps in a number of areas, such as: Environmental Conservation, Māori development and Housing, all of which have received some funding boosts while simultaneously seeing cuts in a number of key initiatives.
For our Weekly Catchup with the Green Party, I spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the party’s take on the Budget 2025 announcement.
The Budget for 2025 came out last week on Thursday, with news for the nation on how funds will be allocated over the coming year. While some of the budget announcements were new news, the government had staggered others over the previous few weeks. In the new announcements were changes to Kiwisaver and the Jobseeker benefit.
The Kiwisaver changes involved a 50% reduction in the government’s Kiwisaver contribution, from around $500 a year to around $250. To compensate, the government increased the minimum employer and employee contributions from 3% to 4%. While this means people will end up with similar or greater amounts of money in Kiwisaver, it also means people will have access to less money right now.
The Jobseeker changes were also announced in the budget, with further restrictions added for 18-19-year-olds applying for the benefit. 18-19-year-olds applications will now be tested against their parents’ incomes, restricting large groups from accessing the support.
These changes both appear to primarily affect young people. While the government claims to care so much about education and schools, they seem comfortable with taking support away from Aotearoa’s young adults as soon as they finish high school. In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the Kiwisaver and Jobseeker changes in this year’s budget.
In Budget 2025, private schools will receive subsidies increasing the annual spend by $4.6 million a year, to $46.2 million. As well as this, the annual spend on charter schools will double to $57 million.
ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, says that independent schools are an important part of New Zealand’s education landscape that offers diversity of choice for parents.
For our weekly catchup, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about the additional support independent schools will receive, and how this will benefit the average taxpayer.
They also discussed changes to Jobseeker and emergency benefits for 18-to-19 year olds, as those receiving this benefit will now have their benefit tested against their parents income.
The move, which is set to come into effect in 2027, is estimated to impact almost 9000 young people.
They also discussed changes to Kiwisaver, where the government will halve subsidies and increase employer contributions to a minimum of 4% from 3%.
But first, they discussed the additional support for independent schools.
Last week, Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, announced her ‘growth’ Budget for 2025.
In the Budget, multiple initiatives received a boost in funding.
Operational funding and capital funding for Māori education received a $54 million boost and $50 million boost respectively for Māori learner success, with a $14 million injection for Māori wardens, Pacific wardens, and the Māori women’s welfare league.
However, a variety of Māori initiatives have faced substantial cuts.
The Māori Development Fund has had $20 million cut over four years, $32.5 million has been cut from Māori housing initiatives, and $375.5 million cut to the Kāhui Ako programme.
Labour’s Māori Development spokesperson, Willie Jackson, claims that overall, in Budget 2025, Māori initiatives are seeing cuts of roughly $750 million.
For our weekly catchup, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about Budget 2025 and it’s impacts on Māori initiatives.
They also spoke about the debate on the potential suspension of Te Pāti Māori co-leaders, Rawiri Waititi, and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and MP Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, being pushed back prior to the Budget debate.
As well as this, notably, during the Budget debate itself, both Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer were absent.
However, they first discussed the 2025 Budget and Māori initiatives
International pressure is mounting against Israel for the 11-week-long and ongoing blockade of aid into Gaza.
The few aid trucks that have been let into Gaza have not been distributed, according to the United Nations.
It comes as cases against Israel in the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court (ICC) for existing violations of international law remain ongoing.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Professor Donald Rothwell from the Australian National University Law School about the aid blockade and response in international law.
Last year, Auckland Council removed 30% of bins from public places with the hopes of saving about $9.5 million over an eight year period. While the council didn’t foresee an increase in littering, last week Stuff published an article sharing the frustrations of residents who observed a growing litter problem in council parks.
Illegal dumping has also been on the rise across Auckland.
With more than 1300 reports per month, the cost of retrieving illegally dumped items is about $2.7 million every year and rising.
Also Mayor Wayne Brown has announced that he wants to see Auckland become the “premier tech city” of New Zealand to boost our global influence and reputation—-- calling on the government to establish the new Advanced Technology Institute here, which he says could play a key role in guiding new start-ups, so ideas don’t ‘die on the vine’.
Beginning with the problem of rubbish in Auckland, Producer Sara started by asking Julie Fairey if she believed the removal of bins was to blame for increased littering
Today is Budget Day, the day the government releases their spending plans for the next year.
The embargo on the budget lifts at 2pm, however, there have already been several pre-budget spending announcements.
Earlier this week, the debate on the Privileges Committee report into the Treaty Principles Bill haka, led by Te Paati Māori, was deferred.
Opposition MPs have raised concerns that because the debate has been deferred, the Te Paati Māori co-leaders may not be back in time to vote on the budget.
For our weekly catch-up with Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni, Wire Host Caeden asked about all of these topics.
Yesterday the debate in the privileges committee regarding the suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi was adjourned until after the upcoming budget announcement.
The Privileges Committee Report and recommended punishments for the three Te Pāti Māori MPs were issued last week for the Haka they performed during a parliamentary session in November 2024 in opposition to the ACT party’s Treaty Principles Bill.
In that same week, the Green party recently issued a call to the government to scrap the Regulatory Standards Bill after the Waitangi Tribunal found that the Bill breaches the Crown’s Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.
And the government recently passed the Social Security Amendment Bill, which the government says would support people into employment and off benefits, however, opponents of the bill have said it could harm beneficiaries and lower income New Zealanders.
For our weekly catch up with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez-March about all of these issues.
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