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.
This week on Tomorrow's World Stella speaks to the co-director of the Macdiarmid Institute, Justin Hodgkiss, about his research group's new findings on how eumelanin works.
Welcome to The Wire for Monday! This week, Spike speaks to Alva from 350 Aotearoa about energy sector profits, and Professor Stephen Hoadley from UoA about the US midterms. Stella speaks to Callum Frances from First Union about the safety of bank workers, and Steve Randerson from Massey University about his research into alcohol licensing. Tomorrow's World is with Justin Hodgkiss, about his groundbreaking work in understanding how eumelanin works.
Spike spoke to the executive director of 350 Aotearoa Alva Feldmeier about their new report on energy company profits, and the conflict between for-profit energy and renewable power sources.
In March this year, the government announced a special Ukrainian policy that allowed Ukrainian New Zealanders to sponsor family members to come to New Zealand.
However, the policy has not been as successful as many hoped as visa recipients are struggling to set up new lives here and has even led to some returning home.
David spoke to Kate Turska from the organisation Mahi for Ukraine about what has happened to Ukrainians who arrived here and how New Zealanders can help them.
The United States Midterm Election Results are still unclear, with the states of Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia still counting votes.
Whilst a major Republican win was expected, President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party surprisingly held their ground and overturned a seat in Pennsylvania.
The major parties are still neck and neck in the House, with a twenty seat lead to the GOP in the senate at time of broadcast.
The results have been particularly negative for former president Donald Trump, who was planning to begin his 2024 presidential campaign before the underwhelming results came in and made him reportedly livid.
To learn more, Liam spoke to UoA professor Maria Armoudian.
Liam spoke to City Councillor Shane Henderson about Infrastructure in West Auckland.
They also had a chat with Maria Armoudian from UoA about the United States Midterm Elections
David, spoke to Kate Turska from Mahi from Ukraine about the success of the Ukrainian special visa.
He also had a chat with Leon Goldsmith from the University of Otago about Qatar hosting the football world cup, and NZ Herald sports journalist Michael Burgess about sportswashing
The Football World Cup kicks off in Qatar at the end of this month.
While this is the first time a Middle Eastern country has hosted such an event, the tournament has been shrouded in controversy with grave examples of human rights abuses being committed.
David spoke to University of Otago Politics Professor Leon Goldsmith about a nation like Qatar hosting the world’s biggest sporting event.
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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