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.
Research into conditions such as Fetal Growth Restriction has been limited in scope as pregnant women are unable to be tested on. Through development in virtual organ research, the virtual placenta was devised to simulate clinical research to take place and assess the risks of conditions like FGR on pregnant women and the likely survival of the child.
Trishil Dahya spoke to Doctor Alys Clark about her research and how it led to the development of the virtual placenta. The conversation also touched on the future application of virtual organ research and virtual clinical trials.
30% of women suffer from Urinary Incontience. The condition makes the bladder overactive, with the sufferer being unable to control their pelvic floor muscle movement.
Trishil Dahya spoke to Doctor Jennifer Kruger about her research and how it led to the development of the femfit. The Femfit is an instrument that women use to correct their pelvic muscle exercises, and in the process, recover from Urinary Incontience. The conversation also touched on the societal view of women who experience Urinary Incontience.
On the Tuesday Wire, Christina spoke to AUT Professor Marcus Jones for Dear Science. Today, they discussed Russia’s exclusion from the global scientific community, new variants of Covid-19, and when the pandemic might finally be over.
She also spoke to Professor Robert MacCulloch from the Univeristy of Auckland about Christopher Luxon’s State of the Nation speech at the weekend, and the economic breakdown of the National party’s proposed tax cuts.
Trishil spoke to Dr Alys Clarke from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute about her research into a virtual placenta. The application of the placenta will allow for clinical trials to occur during pregnancy.
Trishil also spoke to Professor Jennifer Kruger into her research into the femfit technology. The tech is designed to assist women with urinary incontience with exercising their pelvic floor muscles.
And finally, Christina spoke to Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith from Massey University the representation of sex workers in the media, and the stigma attached to the sex industry nearly twenty years after sex work was decriminalised in Aotearoa.
Nearly twenty years after Aotearoa decriminalised sex work, the stigma and stereotypes attached to sex workers and the industry persist. In particular, the representation of sex work in the media has reproduced negative ideas about sex work, despite a general societal shift to greater acceptance of sex work as work. Christina spoke to Dr Gwyn Easterbrook-Smith from Massey University about their new research into the representation of sex work in the media, and the stigma surrounding sex work in Aotearoa.
In his State of the Nation speech on Sunday, leader of the National Party Christopher Luxon outlined national’s economic agenda for if they get elected in 2023. This includes lowering taxes and repealing many of the taxes Labour has introduced since taking power in 2017. Christina spoke with Professor Robert MacCulloch, a professor of economics at the University of Auckland, about the proposed tax plan and what it means for the economy.
Conflict in Ukraine continues, with Russia using more military force in the area and putting nuclear weapons on “high alert”. Samuel Hickey, a Research Analyst at the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, spoke with Charlie about the current attacks on nuclear power plants in Ukraine. He further discussed the potential impacts of nuclear weapons and the distribution of them.
The critical workers exemption scheme was announced last month, meaning people working in sectors such as food production, supply chain, transport and news media can still come into work if they’re a close contact of Covid-19. However should workers be able to stay home if they feel unsafe?
Sam Clark spoke to Green Party MP and spokesperson for workplace relations, Jan Logie.
Last week, the Sunscreen Product Safety Bill was passed, which requires manufacturers to meet SPF ratings or face fines up to $600,000. This bill is from Bay of Plenty MP and former National leader, Todd Muller.
Sam Clark spoke to him this morning about the Bill, as well as further measures we could take in New Zealand for sun protection.
Samuel Hickey from the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation discusses Russia’s weapons and nuclear power plants.
Dr Anna Brooks from the University of Auckland speaks about long covid.
Dr Jennifer Gadd from NIWA and Melanie Kah from the University of Auckland discuss hazardous chemicals in the environment
Greens MP, Jan Logie discusses the new 'critical workers exemption scheme' and labour rights.
And National MP, Todd Muller speaks about the passing of his sunscreen standards bill. It had unanimous support, which is rare for an opposition member.
Tomorrow’s World is back!
This week Isla and Stella look into "What's carbon neutral? The Sustainability of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics."
New Zealand’s tracing system of hazardous chemicals seems insufficient according to a new report released by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Charlie spoke first with Dr Jennifer Gadd, Aquatic Chemist at NIWA, about the report and the current regulations around chemical importation. Secondly Melanie Kah, associate professor at the University of Auckland, spoke about the risk of not tracking chemicals and how the system can be improved.
Last year, Auckland Council removed 30% of bins from public places with the hopes of saving about $9.5 million over an eight year period. While the council didn’t foresee an increase in littering, last week Stuff published an article sharing the frustrations of residents who observed a growing litter problem in council parks.
Illegal dumping has also been on the rise across Auckland.
With more than 1300 reports per month, the cost of retrieving illegally dumped items is about $2.7 million every year and rising.
Also Mayor Wayne Brown has announced that he wants to see Auckland become the “premier tech city” of New Zealand to boost our global influence and reputation—-- calling on the government to establish the new Advanced Technology Institute here, which he says could play a key role in guiding new start-ups, so ideas don’t ‘die on the vine’.
Beginning with the problem of rubbish in Auckland, Producer Sara started by asking Julie Fairey if she believed the removal of bins was to blame for increased littering
International pressure is mounting against Israel for the 11-week-long and ongoing blockade of aid into Gaza.
The few aid trucks that have been let into Gaza have not been distributed, according to the United Nations.
It comes as cases against Israel in the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court (ICC) for existing violations of international law remain ongoing.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Professor Donald Rothwell from the Australian National University Law School about the aid blockade and response in international law.
Today is Budget Day, the day the government releases their spending plans for the next year.
The embargo on the budget lifts at 2pm, however, there have already been several pre-budget spending announcements.
Earlier this week, the debate on the Privileges Committee report into the Treaty Principles Bill haka, led by Te Paati Māori, was deferred.
Opposition MPs have raised concerns that because the debate has been deferred, the Te Paati Māori co-leaders may not be back in time to vote on the budget.
For our weekly catch-up with Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni, Wire Host Caeden asked about all of these topics.
Yesterday the debate in the privileges committee regarding the suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi was adjourned until after the upcoming budget announcement.
The Privileges Committee Report and recommended punishments for the three Te Pāti Māori MPs were issued last week for the Haka they performed during a parliamentary session in November 2024 in opposition to the ACT party’s Treaty Principles Bill.
In that same week, the Green party recently issued a call to the government to scrap the Regulatory Standards Bill after the Waitangi Tribunal found that the Bill breaches the Crown’s Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.
And the government recently passed the Social Security Amendment Bill, which the government says would support people into employment and off benefits, however, opponents of the bill have said it could harm beneficiaries and lower income New Zealanders.
For our weekly catch up with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez-March about all of these issues.
Just under two weeks ago the government passed the pay equity amendment bill under urgency. This bill would change existing pay equity legislation to make it more restrictive, which the government says will save billions of dollars.
The process was originally introduced to address issues of pay inequity between sectors. While the Equal Pay Act mandates that people working the same job are paid the same regardless of gender, Pay Equity is meant to ensure industries dominated by women are not paid less than similar industries dominated by men. The process has worked by allowing applicants to compare their positions with positions in other sectors with similar workloads, skills, or experience.
The government’s changes will limit the criteria for comparators, allow only industries with over 70% women in the workforce as opposed to the previous 60%, and removing the ability for the authority to award back pay, among other changes.
These changes have been met with criticism from rights organisations, advocacy groups, and opposition parties. In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the government’s reasoning behind the Pay Equity Amendment Bill.
The Waitangi Tribunal review into the controversial regulatory standards bill has found that the Crown would be in breach of Treaty principles if it were to introduce the regulatory standards bill to Parliament without more consultation with Māori.
Because of this the tribunal has called for an immediate halt to be put on the bill.
Despite this, the bill is set to be introduced to Parliament today.
The recommendation came after following a one day urgent hearing from the Waitangi Tribunal last week, which was pushed forward from June 6, after it was revealed the bill would be introduced to Parliament today.
Critics of the bill fear it will work against Māori rights and interests. However, the ACT Party, fronted by Minister for Regulation, David Seymour simply say the Tribunal is ‘incorrect’.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court to unpack this further. Discussing why they contest the tribunal’s review, and where they plan to take the bill from here.
We also spoke about the government launching a review into the Waitangi Tribunal, which is heavily backed by ACT - David Seymour saying the tribunal needs to be ‘put in its place’.
Last week, the Privileges Committee recommended Te Pāti Māori co-leaders, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, be “severely censured” with a 21-day suspension, with Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi Clarke facing a 7-day suspension for their haka during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill.
Telling RNZ, Judith Collins - the chairperson of the Privileges Committee, says the ruling was unprecedented because the “situation was unprecedented” and said the decision was not taken lightly.
Te Pāti Māori’s lawyer says the punishment given to the MPs is an “absolute disgrace”.
For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to her about this, and how she is feeling heading into the debate of the report tomorrow.
We also discussed the Waitangi Tribunals recommendations regarding the Regulatory Standards Bill.
But first, we discussed the Privileges Committee's recommendations.
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:
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.
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