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.
The next local election will take place this year on Saturday 8 October. The local elections determine the representatives of each city council, including the Mayor and the elected members of the District Health Boards. News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to Mayoral candidate Efeso Collins about his anouncement that he would bring fares-free public transport to Tāmaki Makaurau if he is voted in as Mayor. They discuss why he is running for Mayor, why free public transport is important and how it could be made possible, and why Aucklanders should get involved by voting or standing in local government elections.
Today on the Tuesday Wire, Jemima Huston speaks to Manukau Ward Councillor Efeso Collins about running for Auckland Mayor in this year's local elections and his campaign policy to make public transport free in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Emily Bell investigates what it is like to rent a house in New Zealand as a univeristy student. She speaks to three students from across the country, Green Party renting spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick, and a spokesperson from Renters United about this ongoing issue.
Finally, Jemima chats to University of Auckland Associate Professor Kerry Gibson to discuss the impact of social media on youth mental health.
This week on the show, producer Charlie speaks to Dr Robert Patman from the University of Otago and Dr Nick Smith from the University of Canterbury about the Russia-Ukraine crisis after Russian military forces have started to place themselves around the Ukraine border.
She also talks to Dr Andrew Chen from the University of Auckland about managing Covid-19 from home following yesterday's record breaking 2522 cases.
On her very first Wire, producer Emilia speaks to the Green Party's Social Development spokesperson, Ricardo Menendez March, about the Green Party's call for an urgent increase in public housing following a report from the Salvation Army that defines the housing crisis as a 'catastrophe'.
Finally, Charlie talks to CEO of Predator Free NZ, Jessi Morgan, and CEO of SAFE NZ, Debra Ashton, about the SPCA's call for cat law reform.
The Green Party is calling for an urgent increase in public housing following a Salvation Army report which described the current situation as a 'catastrophe'. Emilia spoke with Green Party Social Development spokesperson Ricardo Menendez March about this issue.
Currently Russia is moving more forces up to it's border with Ukraine, with Western powers concerned that an invasion may ahppen any day now. Dr Robert Patman of the University of Otago discussed with Charlie the current situation of what's happening at the border and why this is occuring. Dr Nick Smith of the University of Cantebury also spoke on the situation looking at past events and how this military move compares.
The SPCA is calling for a reform on cat laws. Charlie spoke to Debra Ashton, CEO of SAFE NZ, about how the reofrm could effect our cats for better or worse. Jessi Morgan, CEO of Predator Free NZ, also discussed the issue, focusing on the environmental impacts of the reform and how this could help cat population.
With New Zealand's new Omicron phases strategy the rules around isolation have changed, with people now being able to home-isolate. Dr Andrew Chen from the University of Auckland spoke with Charlie about what you can do to ensure you are prepared for home-isolation.
Back in December, Kiwi Rail announced that same-day passenger services crossing New Zealand such as the Auckland to Wellington Northern Explorer Line and the Picton to Christchurch Coastal Pacific.
Communities around the country have come together to form the Save Our Trains Campaign to push for the continuation of cross-island train lines.
The movement has already seen some success, with KiwiRail reaching out to its supporters with surveys about the Northern Explorer. Liam Hansen chatted with spokesperson Paul Callister about the movement and what’s coming next.
This week on our fortnightly chat with Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson, Jessica Hopkins asked about Siren Battles in West Auckland that have been disrupting residents in Te Atatū and Massey.
They also discussed what the Auckland Council is doing to support those who have had their income affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
This week on the show, host Jessica Hopkins speaks to Ella Shepherd from Abortion Rights Aotearoa about the Safe Areas Ammendment Bill.
She also joins Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson for their regular chat. They discussed Siren Battles in West Auckland, support for people who have had their income affected by COVID-19 restrictions, and Celine Dion.
Producer Liam Hansen speaks to Paul Callister from Save our Trains about bringing back the Northern Explorer and Coastal Pacific Train Lines.
He also chatted to Claire Black from OutLine about increasing calls for a Rainbow Ministry to be set up in Aotearoa.
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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