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.
International Desk reports on the aftermath of unrest in the Solomon Islands, as New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea deployed peacekeepers.
Justin spoke to Griffith University's Dr Tess Newton Cain about the situation.
On their weekly chat, Justin and Health Minister Andrew Little talked about the traffic light system and the Government's plan for the Omicron variant.
International Desk reports on the unrest in the Solomon Islands.
Justin also talked to Professer Graham Le Gros of the Malaghan Institute on the pediatric Pfizer vaccine.
Producer Joe Wilkins spoke to NZEI's Liam Rutherford on funding for learning support.
He also talked to the New Zealand Initiative's Roger Partridge on changing the way to teach children reading, and the New Zealand Hostel Association chair Brett Duncan on the future of backpacker hostels in New Zealand
The government said children aged five to eleven could soon be eligible for a pediatric version of the Pfizer vaccine before the end of next month, pending Medsafe approval.
Professor Graham Le Gros is an immunologist and the Programme Director of Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand and he told Justin it is important for vulnerable young children to get the jab.
Joe speaks to the Chair of the New Zealand Hostel Association and Board of BYATA Member, Brett Duncan, on the situation we see with hostels in New Zealand and the governments reactivation package. The government has introduced a reactivation for Auckland this summer but is that enough for backpacker hostels?
A report has said the way reading is taught in New Zealand needs to fundamentally change. The report from the New Zealand Initiative found that one in five of New Zealand’s 15-year-olds do not have the reading competency to enter the workforce, further their education, or productively participate in society according to the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Joe speaks to Roger Partridge from NZ Initiative on the matter.
Today officially marks the first day of summer here in Aotearoa. With good weather ahead, Kiwis are flocking to the beaches to enjoy the summer. New Zealand's famed surf beaches are bound to be on many holiday bucket lists, but it is important to remember they can be deadly if we are not careful.
Christina spoke to surf life saving New Zealand CEO, Paul Dalton, about surf safety and how we can protect ourselves in the water this summer.
Yesterday, it was announced that Christopher Luxon, MP for Botany, is the new Leader of the National Party and Nicola Willis, List MP, is the Deputy Leader. This latest leadership vote came after Judith Collins was ousted from her position last week by a vote of no confidence from the National Party caucus.
For 95bFM listeners, Luxon taking the top position may have been a little surprising. On November 12 2021, as part of our weekly interview with the National Party on the Friday Wire, Luxon was asked whether he wanted to be the National Party leader in the future. Luxon answered, laughing, "No. I'm very focused on doing what I'm doing... I'm one of those people that do it day by day, job by job, and that's what I'm trying to do". A mere 17 days later, Luxon is elected the new leader of the Party.
National has been looking for a refreshed leadership team for some time now. Will Luxon's very short term in parliament and CEO background, alongside Willis' long-term history with National and more liberal point of view be what the Party needs to revitalise their policies and bring voters back?
News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston interviews Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland Jennifer Lees Marshment about the new National Party leadership team. Jennifer explains who Luxon is and what her thoughts are on the “liberal” pairing of Luxon and Willis.
This week Zazi and Brooke talk about the Christopher Luxon being elected the new National Party Leader and the new Omicron coronavirus variant.
In the first half, the two talk about the announcement yesterday that Christopher Luxon has been elected the new National Party Leader, alongside Nicola Willis as Deputy Leader. Zazi asks Brooke what the feeling around parliament was after the announcement, if Brooke believes Christopher Luxon is experienced enough for this role and whether she believes this new leadership will result in more National Party voters.
In the second half, Zazi speaks to Brooke about the new coronavirus variant. Brooke shares how concerned she is about the new variant for Aotearoa, and talks about vaccine access in both developed and developing countries.
Today, the Anti-Vivisection Society put out a press release talking about the transparency around the University of Otago’s animal experimentation. The Anti-Vivisection Society has been investigating the University of Otago to expose them for their cruel and unethical experiments that have been conducted on animals.
Zazi spoke to the Executive Director of the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society, Tara Jackson. They spoke about the investigation in more detail, what proof NZAVS has on unethical experiments being conducted at the University of Otago and how this investigation could help change the way scientists and researchers treat animals.
Zazi then reads a written statement sent to her from the University of Otago media and communications team, which responds to the allegations the NZAVS are making.
This week on the Wednesday Wire, the show kicks off with Zazi speaking to the Executive Director of the New Zealand Anti-Vivisection Society, Tara Jackson, discussing their recent investigation on the University of Otago’s treatment towards animals that are experimented on.
Then, Jemima speaks to University of Auckland political commentator, Jennifer Lees Marshment, about Christopher Luxon taking over as the new National Party Leader.
After that, Zazi has her regular talk with ACT's Brooke van Velden, where they talk about Christopher Luxon being announced as the new National Party Leader and the new Omicron coronavirus variant.
Then, Christina talks to the CEO of Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, Paul Dalton, about the organisation’s recent surf safety report and how we can keep ourselves safe this summer.
And finally, Christina has her regular segment Dear Science with AUT Marcus Jones. They talk about the new variant of Covid-19 spreading across the globe; chat about a record number of people using the Hubble telescope; and discuss the unfortunate side effect of anti-flood barriers in Venice.
Consultation on Auckland Council’s proposed changes to Auckland’s dog rules opened on Monday and close on the 23rd February. Additionally, over the weekend, a large vegetation fire broke out on the slopes of Auckland's Māngere Mountain.
Producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about both of these topics.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a major reshuffling of ministerial portfolios within the National party.
Among the most notable portfolio changes was handing over Dr Shane Reti’s role as minister of health to Transport Minister Simeon Brown and the appointment of Nicola Willis as Minister of the newly created portfolio of Minister of Economic Growth, a title formerly known as the Minister of Economic Development.
The cabinet reshuffle has led to concerns about the fate of Health NZ and Aotearoa’s healthcare sector, noting that Shane Reti had over 20 years of experience working in medicine, whereas Simeon Brown has none.
The reshuffle also comes shortly after a recent poll by the Taxpayers Union showed that National’s approval rating had fallen below 30%, the lowest rating they’ve received while in government since 1999.
For their Weekly Catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March about the Cabinet reshuffle and the implications it may have for the healthcare sector and economy.
They also discussed the government’s new free speech legislation for Universities and the ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli Defence Force.
Aotearoa has recently faced multiple wildfires across the motu, from West Auckland, all the way to Bulls.
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Tom Rutherford about these recent blazes, and what needs to be done in the future to mitigate these events.
As well as this, they also discussed the country’s second highest ranking police officer: Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming, being suspended amidst an investigation, as well as the recent ceasefire in Gaza.
For Dear Science this week, our expert Dr Cushla McGover chatted to us about lost photos being unveiled of a giant horned dinosaur, analysing for the restoration of a 2100 year old Alexander the Great mosaic, and cartilage similar to bubble wrap.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
The Eaton and Palisades fires, the two major fires making up the Los Angeles fires, are now the two most destructive wildfires in Southern California history.
The fires have sparked significant debate about insurance in high-risk natural disaster areas as thousands of Californians lost their home insurance not long before the fires.
And president-elect Donald Trump has returned to the centre stage of United States foreign policy in the weeks leading up to his inauguration.
Trump has threatened to annex Greenland and Canada as well as reclaim the Panama Canal for the United States.
For States of the States this week Wire Host Caeden spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about both of these topics.
As part of its submission on a Local Government New Zealand issues paper exploring electoral reform, Auckland Council has expressed its support for a four-year electoral term.
In exploring local government reform, the LGNZ paper also looks at public understanding of local government, public awareness of candidates and policies, and voting methods for local elections, raising questions about who’s responsible for improving these areas and what the future of local government voting might look like.
For the first interview of 2025, producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about Council’s LGNZ submission as well as Council’s general plans for 2025.
Submissions on the controversial Treaty Principles Bill were set to close last week, when on the final few days of submissions the portal to submit suffered technical difficulties.
Due to this, many people were unable to send in their submissions on time. Parliament made the decision to extend the submission period to make up for the issue. With thousands also handing their submissions in person.
The bill is estimated to have had more than 300,000 submissions prior to the original deadline, making it the most highly submitted on bill in history.
For the weekly catchup with the Green Party Evie spoke to Ricardo Menendez March about the submission process.
They also talked about the contested Regulatory Standards Bill which has also recently come into the spotlight.
The submission period for the Treaty Principles Bill was due to close last week, however, due to mass amounts of last minute submissions leading to software issues, the deadline was extended to 1 pm on Tuesday, 14th January.
Similarly, the submissions for the consultation period on the regulatory standards bill ended yesterday, another bill primarily pushed by David Seymour and the ACT party that would change how the government processes legislation.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor spoke to him about these bills and how the party plans to operate in 2025.
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