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 the 1960's the South Island Kōkako bird was considered extinct by the Department of Conservation (DoC), yet claims of sighting the bird continued to pop up until the DoC declared the bird to no longer be extinct, however, they do not have sound evidence to prove it is alive. The South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust is leading the search and raising awareness for the bird. They are encouraging people who may be in the South and Stewart Islands to record any sightings or sounds of the bird and send it their way. The first person to provide clear evidence that the South Island Kōkako will be rewarded $10,000. Emily Bell spoke to Inger Perkins, the mananger of the South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust about the search and what people should look out for.
Today on the Wire, Emily Bell speaks to Doctor Amanda Kvalsvig, an epidemiologist at the University of Otago campus in Wellington, about the debate about N95 masks and how important they are.
The move to the red setting has posed a serious hit to the music and arts industry, with all events over 100 people being cancelled and many artists losing out on work. Jemima Huston interviews event directors John Minty from Splore, Matthew Davis from The Others Way and Dan Hesson from Freqs Out East about their cancellation and postponement decisions. Jemima also speaks to musician and artist Jazmine-Mary about the letter they have written to the Prime Minister asking for support for artists and performers who have lost their jobs in the face of the red setting.
Finally, Emily talks to Manager of the South Island Kōkako Trust Inger Perkins about the search for the South Island Kōkako bird and how the public can get involved.
Following the government’s announcement that Aotearoa would move to the red setting of the traffic light system on Monday 24 January, a number of events were forced to cancel or postpone. This is yet another massive blow to the music, arts and events industry, whose artists and workers have spent the last two years of the pandemic struggling to find consistent work and promoters have had to cancel or change the dates for their events multiple times.
News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston reaches out to a few people working in the performance art sector who have been impacted by the red setting. Firstly, Jemima speaks to Director of Splore John Minty, Director of Freqs Out East Dan Hesson and Director of The Others Way Mathew Davis, who are all promoters for summer festivals that have had to cancel or postpone due to the shift to the red light setting. They discuss how the pandemic has affected events and whether the exisitng events support schemes are enough to get the people involved in the industry through the Omicron outbreak.
Secondly, Jemima chats to artist and musician Jazmine Mary who says there is no support available for artists who have effectively lost their jobs under the red setting and cannot access the wage subsidy. Jazmine has penned a letter to the Prime Minister and submitted a parliamentary petition request to call for support for artists and musicians in Aotearoa unable to work under 'red'. They explain what sort of financial support is needed and how the public can help their call for action from the government.
To check out the follow up podcast on this issue, click here.
Fast fashion and over-consumption of fashion items has become a prevalent issue in the past few years. With hundreds of kilos of textile waste filling up New Zealand’s landfills each year, sustainable fashion is necessary for fashion to be an ethical product. Charlie spoke with Jacinta Fitzgerald, founder of Make Good regarding clothing wastage. Prasanna Nara, Communications Manager for fair&good, also spoke with Charlie to discuss sustainable fashion strategies.
Despite New Zealand having 12 native species of mosquitos, little is known about these insects. Te Papa Museum is beginning its third year of the annual mosquito census to gather more information on these native creatures. Anton Hovius, a scholarship student from the University of Wellington, spoke with Charlie about the data, mosquito migration, and how you can turn an itchy bite into a valuable piece of information.
Louis spoke to Child Matters' Chief Executive Jane Searle about the changes needed to reduce child abuse rates and Federated Mountain Clubs' President Jan Finlayson about their 90th anniversary.
Charlie was joined by Make Good's founder Jacinta Fitzgerald and fair&good's Prasanna Nara about the impacts of fast fashion, as well as University of Victoria's Anton Hovius about a recent mosquito census.
Non-profit charity Child Matters claim that not enough is being done to reduce the prevalence of child abuse in New Zealand. They argue that although policy-makers talk about change a lot, they have failed to properly help vulnerable kids.
Louis talked to Child Matters' Chief Executive Jane Searle about the lack of change, what needs to be done, and the impacts of intergenerational trauma.
Federated Mountain Clubs celebrated its 90th-anniversary last year. With over 20,000 members across the country, it has been involved in a number of important conservation movements and projects, including the protection of isolated wilderness areas.
Louis spoke to Federated Mountain Clubs' president Jan Finlayson about the club's history, what it means to be a tramper, and her personal involvement.
Auckland Transport's reduced services affected many returning to work this summer, and there have been calls for public transport schedules to return to normal.
Jessica Hopkins spoke to Auckland Counciller Shane Henderson about plans to increase transport options for West Auckland in 2022. But we started off our interview by catching up with Shane on what he got up to over the New Years break.
This week on the show, host Jessica Hopkins spoke to Drowning Prevention Auckland's Chief Executive Nicola Keen-Biggelaar about the dangers of waterfalls.
She also interviewed Commissioner Mark Campbell of the Salvation Army about their aid work in Tonga.
Our regular City Counselling segment is returning for the New Year. Today Jessica spoke to Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson about Auckland Transport’s reduced services and his plans for increasing transport choices for West Auckland residents
And our new Producer Liam spoke to Otago University Immunologist Dr Dianne Sika-Paotonu about the preparations our Government and schools are making in case of an Omicron outbreak in Aotearoa.
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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