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.
Today on The Wire, our regular interview with Labour’s Andrew Little is back. Tuva’a speaks to Little about the latest report from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission.
A 2020 report from UNICEF revealed that over a third of fifteen year olds in New Zealand struggle with basic reading and writing. Emilia spoke to Dr. Nina Hood, founder of the Education Hub and co-author of this report, and started by asking what were the biggest concerns her report highlighted?
The Indonesian Government plans to develop a gold mine in a conflicted region of Papua. Joe speaks to Veronica Koman, the Strategic Advocacy Campaigner for Amnesty International, speaking about the situation in Papua.
Emilia also looks at the Reimagining Tamaki Makaurau report with co-author Dr. Anne Bardsley. And Joe speaks to NZEI Te Riu Roa about the vaccine mandate lifts and how collaborative health and safety processes are essential for schools.
Earlier today Producer Alex chatted with National Party MP and Mental Health Spokesperson Matt Doocey about the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission’s recent report, which was damning about the outcomes that are being achieved with the Government’s present approach to mental health.
This week on the Wire Alex begins by speaking to the ACT party’s Brooke Van Velden about the history curriculum and the housing market.
Frances then speaks to Gabriel Gati from Bike Auckland about the massive rates of bike theft in Auckland and an initiative called 529 Garage which is hoping to decrease the rates of bike theft. She then speaks with our Europe Correspondent Cameron Mulgan on this week's Eurovision segment. This week we get an update on Ukraine, talk about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe returning to the UK, and what the music scene is looking like over there in the wake of Brexit
Alex wraps up the show speaking with Matt Doocey from the National Party about the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission report and the Green Party’s Teanau Tuiono about his call for more long-term support for Maori and Pasifika in the midst of the pandemic.
In Tāmaki Makaurau 500 – 1000 bikes are reported stolen each year. However, it is estimated that the actual number is between 2500 – 5000. 7% of people who have a bike stolen don't replace it and stop riding altogether, and bike theft becomes a financial barrier to choosing to bike.
Bike Auckland is an advocacy group who are working to create a better city for people on bikes. They are wanting to reduce barriers that stop people riding bikes, so people can keep using their bikes – for the planet, for climate change, for safe live-able cities and for mental and physical health.
Bike Auckland have recently partnered with Project 529 to tackle bike theft with the launch of a new bike registration and recovery system called 529 Garage. This week on the Wire, Frances caught up with Gabriel Gati who is on the leadership team with Bike Auckland and spoke about bike theft in the city and what this initiative of 529 Garage might do to reduce it.
If you are interested in getting your bike registered with 529 you can send an email to 529@bikeauckland.org.nz, visit www.529garage.co.nz or find their app by searching 529 Garage.
Shortly before the show Prodcuer Alex chatted with Green MP Teanau Tuiono about how the omicron outbreak is affecting Maori and Pasifika communities and what the government can do better.
This week on EuroVision European Correspondent Cameron Mulgan joins us to tell us what’s going on in Europe. This week Cameron and Frances spoke about the developments in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who has just returned to the UK after being detained in Iran for nearly six years and a little about what’s happening with the music scene in the wake of Brexit over there.
On Tuesday, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission released its latest report on mental health and addiction in Aotearoa. The report looks at the performance of these services between 2016 and 2017, and between 2020 and 2021. Christina spoke to the Commission’s Chief Executive Karen Orsborn about the report and the Commission's subsequent policy recommendations.
The Panama Papers, which were leaked 5 years ago, and revealing a shocking truth. Overseas businesses were exploiting New Zealand's tax incentives to avoid paying taxes.
Trishil Dahya took this opportunity to speak with Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark about his proposed business transparency bill, and how companies will be affected with these measures being put in place.
Today on the Wire, host Christina caught up with AUT Professor Marcus Jones for Dear Science. They talked about Russian and Ukrainian geopolitics reaching the International Space Station, an electrical circuit board that can learn on its own, and the implications of mapping the genome of an IVF embryo.
Producer Trishil Dahya spoke with Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clarke about a proposed bill to bring transparency around the tax and business affairs of foreign and domestic companies.
Christina talked to Karen Orsborn from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission about their latest report on mental health and addiction in Aotearoa.
And finally, Christina spoke to Vivien Whyte and Lily Chen from Thursdays in Black about rape culture and sexual violence in the University of Auckland.
Recently, the Herald revealed that a woman, who was a student at the University of Auckland, had been sexually assaulted by another student from her university of hall of residence. The perpetrator was reprimanded and prohibited from contacting the victim, but eight months on, he remains enrolled at the university.
Christina spoke to Vivien Whyte and Lily Chen from Thursdays in Black about the incident. They discussed rape culture on campus and the university’s response.
Last week, the government announced that they would begin an official review of the Waitangi Tribunal and the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975.
The government has said that the review is to ensure the Waitangi Tribunal remains effective and relevant, however, a number of Māori and treaty law experts have referred to the review as an attack on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles.
In that same week, the government announced that they would be investing $774 million towards improving the redress process for survivors of abuse in state care in Budget 2025.
However, going against one of the key recommendations of both the Royal Commission and the Redress Design Group, the government will not be looking to set up a new redress scheme for abuse survivors.
And the government recently passed amendments to the Wildlife Act that would permit the “incidental killing” of certain native wildlife species by companies during lawful activities like construction and development.
For our weekly catchup with the Green party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March for the party’s take on all of these issues.
In 2014, Victoria University of Wellington made an official promise to divest $650,000 worth of investments in fossil fuel companies which, at the time, comprised of 2.1% of the University’s total investments.
However, more than 10 years on, a student-led investigation found that the university still held significant investments in companies like Exxon Mobil and SHELL through third-party investment managers.
A year after a successful petition by Students for Justice in Palestine Pōneke calling on the university to divest funding from Israeli companies, a group of students from Climate Action Victoria University of Wellington have made renewed calls to the university to divest from fossil fuel companies.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Hugh Acton, a member of Climate Action Victoria of University of Wellington, who’s launched a petition calling on the university to disclose their investments in companies involved in fossil fuel production and to divest from them immediately.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
National Party MP Catherine Wedd recently filed a private members bill that would look at restricting social media use for young people, mainly those under 16. While the bill has received some criticism from the ACT party, other parties such as Labour have agreed that legislation around this issue is important.
At the end of April New Zealand First MP Jenny Marcroft put forward a private members bill forward that would seek to define the word ‘woman’ in New Zealand law. The bill was received with criticism from opposition parties and the general public, who say the bill is drawing on transphobic sentiments to distract from more important issues.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues, starting with the potential social media restrictions.
Last week, the controversial Pay Equity Amendment Bill passed under urgency.
The bill makes drastic changes to the Equal Pay Act 1972, making the criteria for equity claims stricter, and could can the 33 existing claims, affecting 150,000 female workers.
The passing of the bill has faced significant opposition from the Labour Party, Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori, over concerns this bill would set women back, and resulted in nationwide protests.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the passing of the Pay Equity Amendment Bill, and how this would impact marginalised communities.
They also spoke about the Ministry of Education releasing the draft relationships and sexuality education, or RSE, framework, for students years 0 to 13, and the party’s concerns regarding this.
But first, they discussed the Pay Equity Amendment Bill
The ACT Party has defended the Government’s controversial move to pass changes to pay equity law under urgency — a move that immediately halted all current claims and raised the bar for future ones. The Government argues the new rules will provide more “clarity” and prevent costly legal disputes, while unions and advocates say the bill is a rollback of hard-won gains for women in low-paid sectors.
Critics also slammed the lack of consultation and the speed of the legislative process, while questions are raised over whether the move was made to plug a hole in the upcoming budget. For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about why ACT supports the Pay Equity Amendment Bill, and whether it risks undermining efforts to close the gender pay gap.
They also discussed a National Party member’s bill that would ban under-16s from using social media — a proposal ACT has declined to back for now. National says the ban would protect young people’s mental health, while ACT argues it raises serious questions about freedom of speech and parental responsibility.
International relations experts are fearing a major conflict between India and Pakistan after sharp, escalating tensions, following a deadly terrorist attack in militarised Kashmir that killed 26 people.
Kashmiris have a long history of oppression. In modern times, this has been as India and Pakistan fight over the region while Kashmiris fight for independence.
Human Rights Watch reports on Kashmir reveal examples of forced displacement, sexual violence, disappearances and allegations of torture and death in custody.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Rohan Davis about the recent terrorist attack and ongoing military escalation, as well as the historical and political context of the Kashmir crisis.
Davis is a video essayist on YouTube from Kerala, India, who covers Indian history and politics.
The government has changed pay equality laws, halting all existing claims and reducing the number of workers who can argue for better pay based on gender discrimination.
New figures show the unemployment rate has remained unchanged from last quarter at 5.1%.
And National has put forward a member's bill proposal that would ban social media for under-16s.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Earlier this week, defence Minister Judith Collins announced that $2 billion would be set aside in this year’s budget to replace the Defence Force’s maritime helicopters.
This would be outside the additional $12 billion dollars that the government will be investing in the Defence Capability plan and would include another separate $1 Billion investment in the defence force over the next four years.
In that same week, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith recently announced that Cabinet had reinstated a total ban on prisoners voting in general elections, overturning laws under the previous Labour government allowing prisoners serving less than three years to vote.
And Green Party MP Steve Abel recently added The Animal Products (Closing the Welfare Gap) Amendment Bill to the biscuit tin, which would ensure that imported products in New Zealand met our animal welfare standards.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Greens MP Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss all of these issues.
Winter is coming, and so is a projected increase in respiratory illnesses and COVID cases. Schools are particularly notorious breeding grounds for such diseases with children being more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.
Ultimately, this results in teachers also being subject to COVID and respiratory illnesses at a higher rate than other professions, and an increased number of teachers leaving the profession due to long COVID symptoms is worsening Aotearoa’s already severe teacher shortage.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Tara Forde from Aotearoa Covid Action, to discuss a petition of hers calling for the government to prevent the spread of COVID in our schools by making improvements to school air quality and improving accessibility to Booster Vaccines and Rapid Antigen Tests.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
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