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.
Around 40% of New Zealanders are neurodivergent in different ways. Some are on the Autism Spectrum, others have ADHD (inattentive or hyperactive; combined type), dyslexia, etc.
Despite this wide diversity of individuals, a lot of individuals are not reflected within the Workplace. The brain badge was assembled as a means to work with businesses to facilitate the differences that neurodiverse individuals have in a neurotypically wired world.
Trishil spoke to Brain Badge advisor Rich Rowley on the matter, hearing about his personal story along the way
This week members of the Public Service Association start their industrial action. The action is said to involve a 24-hour strike and wants the DHB’s to take on recommendations made by the Employment Relations Authority.
Joe spoke with Cass Thompson, an organiser from the PSA, who is attending the Health Worker's Strike today. She speaks about the impact this strike has on the health system and why this strike is so important.
Last week The Green Party released a statement addressing the proposed imigration changes by the government, and how they could fail to guarantee pathways to residency workers in the types of jobs deemed essential throughout the pandemic, by prioritising high income earners - instead of focusing on the wellbeing of workers and enabling migrants to put down roots.
Joe spoke to Green Party spokesperson for immigration, Ricardo Menedez March, on the proposed immigration changes from the government.
Around 40% of New Zealanders are neurodivergent in different ways. Some are on the Autism Spectrum, others have ADHD (inattentive or hyperactive; combined type), dyslexia, etc.
Despite this wide diversity of individuals, a lot of individuals are not reflected within the Workplace. Trishil spoke to Autism New Zealand CEO Dane Dougan on the matter, and the work that Autism New Zealand does to assist those on the spectrum with integrating into the workforce.
On this week’s regular segment in collaboration with OurActionStation, we’re discussing climate accountability. Bernard Schofield, creator of the Climate Accountability Now petition, spoke with Charlie today about what petition signers expect the government. With the climate crisis constantly overshadowing the future, the petition hopes that with correct access to climate information New Zealander’s will take more action to prevent negative climate impact.
The Government has recently announced their bringing forward of the Aotearoa border opening to the 31st of July.
This includes a newly implemented two tier system for migrant workers, allowing professional industry workers to gain permanent residency quickly.
As this pushes back other workers in industries with high turnover rates, the Migrant Workers Association of New Zealand have publicly condemned the new system.
Liam had a chat with Anu Kaloti from the association about their frustrations, first asking her to summarise the scheme new government scheme
Foodstuffs, in response to nationwide concerns about the price of groceries, has announced a 10% price cut on its 110 most commonly purchased items.
This announcement mirrors a recent price freeze that was imposed in the last week by foodstuff’s competitor Countdown on its own essential products.
Casper spoke to Jon Duffy, the chief executive of Consumer NZ about Foodstuffs’ announcement, what it will mean for consumers and what it tells us about the current state of competition in the New Zealand supermarket industry. Casper began by asking him how substantial the discount will be for New Zealand consumers.
A recent report has revealed that police have seized over 95 Million dollars worth of cannabis within this year's National Cannabis Eradication operation.
The operation was ended shortly after the 2020s cannabis referendum returned a “no” vote, but was revived by six police districts earlier this year.
The program costs seven hundred thousand dollars per year and saw 79 kilograms worth of cannabis captured.
To learn more about the scheme and its effectiveness, Liam spoke to Fiona Hutton, a Criminology Professor from Victoria University of Wellington,
He first asked her what the police were intending to achieve through the operation.
Researchers from UoA, AUT and the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research have recently discovered the levels of damage that anchors are causing to Picton Harbour.
Anchors are destroying parts of seabed, and producing amounts of sediment that could supposedly fill an olympic swimming pool.
The researchers believe that this issue could be seen in worse states around the world, Considering Picton harbour is generally lower congestion compared to ports of Wellington and Los Angeles.
Liam spoke to NIWA lead researcher and UoA professor Sally Watson about what the study means and what it could predict for anchor damage around the world.
Today on the Wire Casper had a chat with Jon Duffy from consumer NZ about Foodstuffs recently announced price cuts and what they say about the supermarket industry. He also talked to Bronwyn Hayward from the University of Canterbury about how the 2022 budget might address climate change.
Liam spoke to Anu Kaloti from the Migrant Workers Association about the government's two-tier migration system and the issues that come with it. He also spoke to Fiona Hutton from Victoria University of Wellington about the police reviving the cannabis eradication operation in 2022.
Lastly Liam had a chat with Sally Watson from the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research about the affects anchors are having on seabeds in Picton and the wider world.
These past few weeks in politics have seen various issues that we spoke about in our weekly catchup with the National Party.
First up, at the Aotearoa Music Awards, National MP Chris Bishop was heard making disdainful remarks such as “what a load of crap” during a performance by singer Stan Walker.
Second, Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngārewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi were recently suspended from parliament for 21 days for their haka protesting the Treaty Principles Bill. The penalty is far harsher than any previous penalty for an MP, raising questions about whether it is justified or sets a dangerous precedent.
Finally, the government recently announced a new visa for parents of migrants, allowing them to come to New Zealand for a longer period of time than traditional visitors without having to acquire residency.
Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues in our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, starting with Chris Bishop’s comments at the AMAs.
The recommended suspension for Te Pāti Māori MPs, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, over the MP’s haka in Parliament during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill last year.
Co-leaders Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi will be suspended from the House for 21-days, with Maipi-Clarke facing a seven day suspension. This is Parliament's harshest sanctions in the country’s history. Prior to this, the longest suspension an MP had faced in Parliament was three days.
The debate had previously been delayed so that the MPs could participate in the Budget debate — however, both co-leaders were not present at the debate.
During the debate MP Tākuta Ferris said that the debate was not about the haka, but at the heart, it was the House continuing to ignore Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori sovereignty, and that the “racism” in the House is hardly being hidden.
For our weekly catch-up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the suspension, and what’s next for the party.
They also discussed NZ First Party Leader Winston Peters’ comments regarding Waititi’s moko, referring to the MPs moko kanohi as “scribbles”. He was asked to apologise by the Speaker, which he did.
But first, they discussed the suspension of the MPs.
As per coalition agreements, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, has been sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, taking over from NZ First Leader, Winston Peters.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about Seymour’s new position, and what this means for the party.
They also discussed accusations Seymour made regarding submissions to the Regulatory Standards Bill.
In an interview with Guyon Espiner, Seymour claimed that 99.5% of the submissions against the Regulatory Standards Bill were driven by ‘bots’ and were ‘fake’ submissions.
Seymour later clarified to RNZ that by bots, he was meaning “online campaigns” creating “non-representative samples” that do not represent the public’s opinion.
The Ministry of Regulations received roughly 23,000 submissions on the bill. Of the submissions. Of the submissions, 0.33% were fully or partially supporting the bill, with 88% being against the bill.
Finally, they discussed the recommended suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs’ Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke standing.
But they, we discussed David Seymour as Deputy Prime Minister.
Auckland Transport are seeking community feedback on a proposal for a new T3 transit lane on Mount Smart Road to relieve congestion during peak times heading towards the Royal Oak roundabout.
Between better public transport systems, a ‘time of use’ charge, and different ways of managing Auckland traffic, Producer Sara asks Councillor Julie Fairey about how Auckland Council hopes to reduce peak-time congestion as the city’s population grows.
She also talk to Julie Fairey about the recent allocation of funds to community-led projects through Ngā Hapori Momoho. This year, the grant which aims to “improve financial security, improve health outcomes, and grow community and intercultural connection” has approved funding for eleven community groups, six of which are either Māori organisations or delivering ‘strong Māori outcomes’.
Sara begins with questions about Auckland central congestion.
*unfortunately the audio quality on Julie's end is poor
Last week the government announced a series of changes to 16 national direction instruments under the Resource Management Act that would change the way councils implement local plans and rules.
Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, described the changes as removing ‘unnecessary regulations’ for primary industries and investment, with the main changes being: removing freshwater management regulations for councils, removing regulations for the construction of mines and quarries and removing restrictions on non-intensive grazing of beef, cattle and deer in wetlands.
In that same week, Associate Education Minister, David Seymour made a series of changes to the pay parity scheme impacting primary school teachers, where education centres would not need to factor additional and higher qualifications when working out teacher’s starting salaries.
And, just recently, Workplace Relations and Safety minister Brooke van Velden recently announced that she’d be making a series of changes to WorkSafe in order to shift regulators priorities from enforcement to advice.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
The Budget for 2025 came out two weeks ago, with news for the nation on how funds will be allocated over the coming year. The budget held big news for defence spending, $12 billion over the next four years, including $9 billion of new spending.
The funding is planned to go towards various technologies and equipment for different branches of the military, including replacements for two Air Force Boeing 757 planes and new helicopters to be operated from Navy ships. Defence Minister Judith Collins also announced plans to acquire new killer drones with increased lethality, raising some human rights concerns.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the defence spending announcements, concerns over killer drones, and if this money is best spent on more military equipment.
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.
From 9th June, the United Nations Ocean Conference is being held in France, which is co-hosting the event with Costa Rica.
More than 50 world leaders are expected to attend, with 1500 delegates from almost 200 countries.
The conference follows the world’s first deep-sea mining application for the international seabed, which was submitted to the United States government as opposed to the United Nations regulator.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Juressa Lee (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Rarotonga), seabed mining campaigner at Greenpeace, about the conference.
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