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The Wire

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.

Te Pāti Māori's Kai Tax w/ Professor Alan Renwick: March 18, 2022

Te Pāti Māori's Kai Tax w/ Professor Alan Renwick: March 18, 2022 Te Pāti Māori's Kai Tax w/ Professor Alan Renwick: March 18, 2022, 19.62 MB
Fri 18 Mar 2022

Te Pāti Māori has recently launched a new policy to remove all GST prices from Kai.

This comes as food prices had their highest price increase in a decade, increasing FIVE point NINE percent from January 2021 to 2022.

The concept has been talked about by the party since 2010, as well as Labour considering cutting tax from fruit and vegetables in the past. 

Liam spoke to Lincoln University agricultural trade professor Alan Renwick to learn more about the bills implications.  

The Hidden Costs of Cars w/ Dr. Tim Welch: March 18, 2022

The Hidden Costs of Cars w/ Dr. Tim Welch: March 18, 2022 Tim Welch: March 18, 2022, 10.11 MB
Fri 18 Mar 2022

There has been a great deal of talk recently about the rising cost of fuel with the price per liter reaching over $3 in New Zealand.

However, there are hidden costs to driving cars that are not factored in at the pump, particularly in regards to the environmental and social impacts of the car’s prevalence.

Casper had a chat with Dr Tim Welch, a senior lecturer in architecture and planning at the University of Auckland, about the hidden costs of cars and what rising fuel prices mean from a broader, social lens.

Safe Areas around Abortion Clinics w/ Family Planning's Jackie Edmond: March 18th, 2022

Safe Areas around Abortion Clinics w/ Family Planning's Jackie Edmond: March 18th, 2022 Safe Areas around Abortion Clinics w/ Family Planning's Jackie Edmond: March 18th, 2022, 17.44 MB
Fri 18 Mar 2022

After two years since Abortion was initially decriminalised in Aotearoa, the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill has passed with a vast majority. 

Led by Labour MP Louisa Wall, 108 MP’s voted for the bill with only nine national MP’s and three Labour MP’s voting against. 

The bill allows for a hundred and fifty metre safe area around clinics banning protests from taking place within the space area. 

To learn more abot the bill and how it’ll affect Aotearoa, Liam Hansen spoke to NZ family planning chief executive Jackie Edmond about the bill.

 

Special Ukraine Policy w/ Ricardo Menéndez March: March 18, 2022

Special Ukraine Policy w/ Ricardo Menéndez March: March 18, 2022 Special Ukraine Policy w/ Ricardo Menéndez March: March 18, 2022, 14.57 MB
Fri 18 Mar 2022

Earlier in the week the government announced the 2022 Special Ukraine Policy which will open up a fasttracked path for immigration for the family of Ukrainians in New Zealand.

This policy is expected to benefit around four thousand people and will be open for one year from now.

Green party MP and immigration spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March put out a media release following the announcement in which he calls for this response to be a part of a broader equitable framework.

Casper spoke to Ricardo about the policy and how it might be extended as a part of New Zealand’s immigration approach.

The Wire w/ Casper and Liam: March 18, 2022

The Wire w/ Casper and Liam: March 18, 2022 The Wire w/ Casper and Liam: March 18, 2022, 126.95 MB
Fri 18 Mar 2022

It's another Friday Wire! This week on the show, Casper talked to Green party MP Ricardo Menendez March about a media release he put out calling for the Ukraine response to be a part of a broader equitable framework.

Liam had a chat with with Jackie Edmond from Family Planning about the safe areas bill surrounding abortion clinics.

Casper also spoke to Shane Henderson as part of our regular city counselling segment, and today we talked about the government’s recent announcement to temporarily reduce the cost of fuel and public transport as well as the time running out for Auckland city’s annual budget consultation.

Liam also spoke to Alan Renwick from Lincoln University about the implications of Te Pati Maoris New policy to end the GST on Kai.

Finally, Casper interviewed Dr Timothy Welch from the university of Auckland on the hidden costs of cars.

The Wire with Joe and Emilia: March 17, 2022

The Wire with Joe and Emilia: March 17, 2022 The Wire with Joe and Emilia: March 17, 2022, 76.02 MB
Thu 17 Mar 2022

Today on the show, Joe Wickins speaks to Dr. David Welch about New Zealand's border reopening being shifted to April.

In our weekly chat with Andrew Little, Tuva'a Clifton talks to him about mental health and the strike action by healthcare workers that was called off.

Joe also speaks to Lynda Stuart, former President of the NZEI and current principal of May Road School about the most recent OECD report.

Emilia Sullivan speaks to Sarah Salmond, a partner at MinterEllisonRuddWatts about the Russia Sanctions Act and how she is helping her clients navigate new restrictions.

Lastly, Joe also speaks to the Dr. Katie Ayers of the New Zealand Dental Association regarding the upcoming World Oral Health day.

Russia Sanctions Act w/ Sarah Salmond: March 17, 2022

Russia Sanctions Act w/ Sarah Salmond: March 17, 2022 Russia Sanctions Act w/ Sarah Salmond: March 17, 2022, 11.05 MB
Thu 17 Mar 2022

Parliament unanimously passed the Russia Sanctions Act last week in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the sanctions would be able to target those associated with the invasion, including people, services, companies, and assets.

Emilia Sullivan spoke to Sarah Salmond, a Partner at MinterEllisonRuddWatts who is currently helping clients navigate these new restrictions.

Bettering Dental Health w/ Dr. Katie Ayers: March 17, 2022

Bettering Dental Health w/ Dr. Katie Ayers: March 17, 2022 Katie Ayers: March 17, 2022, 10.9 MB
Thu 17 Mar 2022

The New Zealand Dental Association is calling on the Government to deliver on its dental promises this World Oral Health Day. Joe spoke to Dr. Katie Ayers, the NZDA Access to Care spokesperson on the matter.

 

Supporting Disadvantaged Schools w/ Lynda Stuart: March 17, 2022

Supporting Disadvantaged Schools w/ Lynda Stuart: March 17, 2022 Supporting Disadvantaged Schools w/ Lynda Stuart: March 17, 2022, 17.93 MB
Thu 17 Mar 2022

A recent OECD Report has highlighted the need for increased levels of equity funding and better support for teachers and school leaders in disadvantaged schools. Joe spoke to Lynda Stuart, the former President of the NZEI and the current Principal of May Road School about the report.

 

New Zealand's Border Reopening w/ Dr. David Welch: March 17, 2022

New Zealand's Border Reopening w/ Dr. David Welch: March 17, 2022 David Welch: March 17, 2022, 22.62 MB
Thu 17 Mar 2022

Earlier this week, the government announced the date of the border reopening. The country’s border is set to open for tourists and others from Australia without residence visas from  midnight 12 April, and travellers from visa waiver countries such as the US and UK will come in May 2, with mandatory vaccination and a negative pre-departure test. Joe spoke to Dr. David Welch, a Senior Lecturer from the Centre for Computational Evolution and School of Computer Science at the University of Auckland

 

AT parking price increase & the Eden Park redevelopment project w/ Councillor Shane Henderson

AT parking price increase & the Eden Park redevelopment project w/ Councillor Shane Henderson: 3rd April, 2025 AT parking price increase & the Eden Park redevelopment project w/ Councillor Shane Henderson: 3rd April, 2025, 19.24 MB
Thu 3 Apr 2025

Auckland Transport has announced another parking fare increase, pushing up parking across AT-managed lots 50 cents per hour. 

They justified the increase as necessary to cover ‘rising operational costs’ and to cover the Auckland Council’s increased resource commitment to supporting Aucklanders with “issues like blocked driveways, footpaths, and clearways”.

As well, Auckland Council have voted to endorse the redevelopment of Eden Park, in favour of a new waterfront stadium — bringing the latest development in a long-standing discussion about the best approach to attract tourism and financial productivity to Auckland.
All they need now is the government to pitch in $100 million dollars to fund the project.

Producer Sara started her interview with Shane Henderson by asking why raising parking prices was the preferred option for covering council operational costs

Tamatha Paul’s comments on the police and the government’s announcement on the supermarket duopoly w/ Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni: 3 April, 2025

Tamatha Paul’s comments on the police and the government’s announcement on the supermarket duopoly w/ Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni: 3 April, 2025 Tamatha Paul’s comments on the police and the government’s announcement on the supermarket duopoly w/ Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni: 3 April, 2025, 8.39 MB
Thu 3 Apr 2025

Last week, Green Party MP Tamatha Paul made comments about the police and the expansion of beat patrols in Wellington, saying they make a lot of people feel “less safe.”

The comments have been criticised by MPs across National, Act, New Zealand First, as well as Labour. 

And Finance Minister Nicola Willis is seeking specialist external advice on what ways the supermarket duopoly could be restructured.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about these issues.

International Desk: The impact of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court w/ Dr Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria: 3 April, 2025

International Desk: The impact of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court w/ Dr Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria: 3 April, 2025 International Desk: The impact of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court w/ Dr Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria: 3 April, 2025, 14.4 MB
Thu 3 Apr 2025

Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested by the International Criminal Court and will be tried in the Hague for crimes against humanity.

This comes as the ICC faces criticism for other, more controversial current arrest warrants, including those against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to Dr Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria from Curtin University in Perth about Duterte’s arrest and broader issues facing the ICC.

Get Action! Protect Public Safety and Psychology in New Zealand w/ Dr Kumari Valentine: 2 April, 2025

Get Action! Protect Public Safety and Psychology in New Zealand w/ Dr Kumari Valentine: 2 April, 2025 Get Action! Protect Public Safety and Psychology in New Zealand w/ Dr Kumari Valentine: 2 April, 2025, 28.55 MB
Wed 2 Apr 2025

For a number of years, Aotearoa has been dealing with a shortage of psychologists and similar professionals to deal with the growing mental health needs of the wider population, with estimates suggesting that an additional 1,000 more psychologists are needed to fill gaps in the profession.

In response to the country’s growing mental health needs, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced a new Associate Psychologist role, consisting of recent post-graduates, to work alongside fully trained Psychologists.

However, a number of Psychologists and experts have criticised the introduction of this new role, saying that these associate Psychologists may be expected to take on the responsibilities of clinical Psychologists despite being underqualified.

For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Dr Kumari Valentine, a clinical psychologist based in Dunedin, who’s launched a petition calling on the government to roll back the introduction of the new Associate psychology role and look to other methods of filling gaps in the Psychology profession.

If you're interested in signing this petition, you can find it here:

The Green Desk: Bird Heros w/ BirdCare Aotearoa’s Pooja Dorle: 2 April, 2025

The Green Desk: Bird Heros w/ BirdCare Aotearoa’s Pooja Dorle: 2 April, 2025 The Green Desk: Bird Heros w/ BirdCare Aotearoa’s Pooja Dorle: 2 April, 2025, 11.36 MB
Wed 2 Apr 2025

BirdCare Aotearoa is a wild, native bird hospital that works to rehabilitate sick and injured birds back into the wild.

For their upcoming event: ‘Bird Heros,’ a part of EcoFest 2025 on the 6th of April, the workshop will look at the best practices on rescuing wild native birds, and will include a tour of their bird hospital, which is not usually open to the public.

For this week's Green Desk, Producer Leilani spoke to the Hospital Manager at BirdCare Aotearoa, Pooja Dorle, about the rehabilitation processes of birds within their hospital ahead of their next workshop.

Fellow Green Desk Producer Liam, and News and Editorial Director Joel, went to the previous workshop over the weekend, and spoke to the Chair of the organisation, Kevin Furgeson, and volunteer Marina, and had a tour of their facilities. Thanks EcoFest!

BirdCare Aotearoa also has a fundraiser running to shed light on seabirds affected by street lights and brightly lit buildings across the city, affecting their migration patterns and causing birds, such as the protected Petrels, Shearwaters, and Prions, to fall and injure themselves. To support their clinical rehabilitation practices, you can support their campaign on givealittle.

Weekly Catchup w/ The Green Party's Ricardo Menendez-March: 2 April, 2025

Weekly Catchup w/ The Green Party's Ricardo Menendez-March: 2 April, 2025 Weekly Catchup w/ The Green Party's Ricardo Menendez-March: 2 April, 2025, 25.71 MB
Wed 2 Apr 2025

Just recently, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Brooke Van Velden, announced sweeping changes to health and safety regulations for businesses that she described as “low-risk”.

Some of the changes involved: narrowing the focus of the Health and Safety at Work Act to risks only causing death, serious injury or illness, creating a hotline for the public to report “overzealous” road cone placement and reducing "tick-box and safety activities" such as psychosocial harm policies for small businesses. 

Around this same period of time, Greens MPs Tamatha Paul and Benjamin Doyle received intense media and political scrutiny for comments they made at a university panel and on social media respectively, with the backlash towards Doyle forcing them to abstain from parliament this week.

The Greens recently issued a call to the government to scrap their proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, which involve recognising qualifications other than early childhood teaching qualifications, removing up to 74% of ECE licensing criteria and removing requirements for regular updates and family.

In their weekly catchup with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Oto spoke to him about the party’s take on all of these issues.

Dear Science w/ Doctor Cushla McGoverin: 1st April, 2025

Dear Science w/ Doctor Cushla McGoverin: 1st April, 2025 Dear Science w/ Doctor Cushla McGoverin: 1st April, 2025, 32.04 MB
Tue 1 Apr 2025

This week on Dear Science our expert Dr. Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about various April Fools pranks in the world of science, including the 'Sheep Albedo Hypothesis' from here in Aotearoa. 

Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!

Police and Public Safety w/ the National Party’s Tom Rutherford: 1st April, 2025

Police and Public Safety w/ the National Party’s Tom Rutherford: 1st April, 2025 Police and Public Safety w/ the National Party’s Tom Rutherford: 1st April, 2025, 18.03 MB
Tue 1 Apr 2025

Last week the Green Party’s Tamatha Paul made comments about police presence in Wellington, particularly how increased police activity made some feel unsafe. She also noted some discriminatory and harmful behaviour from police officers towards Wellington’s homeless population. These comments, presented at a panel hosted by the University of Canterbury’s Greens and Peace Action Ōtautahi, were Paul restating feedback she had received from her constituents in Wellington central. 

The response to Tamatha Paul’s comments was extremely critical from all sides of the political spectrum, involving feedback such as “insane” from prime minister Christopher Luxon, “unwise” and “stupid” from Labour leader Chris Hipkins, and “just weird” from ACT leader David Seymour. The comments and their responses lead to a series of articles across all major New Zealand news networks. 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the substance of Tamatha Paul’s comments and whether the seemingly disproportionate reaction is appropriate.

Supermarket duopoly developments, Green MP, Tamatha Paul’s comments about the police, and Te Pāti Māori’s calls for mandatory police body cameras w/ Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp: 31 March, 2025

Supermarket duopoly developments, Green MP, Tamatha Paul’s comments about the police, and Te Pāti Māori’s calls for mandatory police body cameras w/ Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp: 31 March, 2025 Supermarket duopoly developments, Green MP, Tamatha Paul’s comments about the police, and Te Pāti Māori’s calls for mandatory police body cameras w/ Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp: 31 March, 2025, 6.86 MB
Mon 31 Mar 2025

On Sunday, Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, announced plans to combat the supermarket duopoly between Foodstuffs and Woolworths. This could include breaking-up or restructuring the current chains, with Cabinet also announcing a formal request for information, or RFI, into the matter.

For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel,  spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about this announcement, and whether she, and the party, thinks this will be enough to address food accessibility in Aotearoa.

We also discussed the comments made by Green MP, Tamatha Paul, about the police, and whether she believes these comments have become sensationalised.

Finally, we discussed the party’s calls for mandatory police body cameras.

But first, they started off by asking Kemp about how the party are feeling about Nicola Willis’ most recent announcements into the supermarket duopoly.

RMA Reforms and Concerns about Health and Police System w/ The ACT Party’s Simon Court: 31 March, 2025

RMA Reforms and Concerns about Health and Police System w/ The ACT Party’s Simon Court: 31 March, 2025 RMA Reforms and Concerns about Health and Police System w/ The ACT Party’s Simon Court: 31 March, 2025, 7.25 MB
Mon 31 Mar 2025

Last week, the government announced its plans for reforming the Resource Management Act, or the RMA, introducing two acts to replace the current RMA. The plan is to bring the two acts before the select committee next year, passing them just before the next election. 

For our weekly catch up News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about this reform, working with the opposition, and the lack of a Treaty clause.

We also talked about concerns that the health and police system in Aotearoa are failing, following an 11-year old being misidentified as a 20-year old by police and being administered antipsychotic drugs.

But first, we touched on the RMA reform.