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.
Producer Alex and Dr Shane Reti of the National Party discuss how the government can do more for Pacific peoples during the pandemic. Pacific peoples have suffered infections at a rate eight times higher than non-Maori and four times higher than Maori. Dr Shane issued a press release on Saturday calling for greater collaboration between government and faith and community leaders, as well as action on housing, to try and combat this. We discuss this in greater detail.
This week on the Wire, Frances and producer Alex kick off with the new weekly segment 'EuroVision'. Europe Correspondent Cameron Mulgan updates Frances from the ground about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and we talk a little about International women’s day celebrations in Europe.
Alex speaks with National’s Dr Shane Reti about how the government can do more for Pacific peoples during the pandemic and Frances talks to Professor Maurice Curtis from the University of Auckland about a big new study that’s come out on the effects of covid-19 on the brain
Then Alex has his weekly chat to the ACT party’s Brooke Van Velden, this week about what the “cooling” housing market means for first home buyers and whether the NZ-UK FTA signed last week is a good precedent for future trade deals. He also speaks with Dr. Bodo Lang about what the Commerce Commission's report on the supermarket sector means for consumers.
At the end of the show we farewell our News and Editorial Director, Jemima, as she heads off on a new adventure. That's us for this Wednesday!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
On Tuesday, Aucklanders checked the updated property valuations of their house, for many to find declines in value by 10s of thousands of dollars —- on average, by 9% from when they were last done in 2021.
According to the Council. rating valuations were based on market trends and recent sales activity, as of May 1 2024.
Wayne Brown said in response to the decreased values, “The economy's been faltering for a while, and It's really driven by government policies rather than Auckland's policies,”
Also, as we get closer to 2026 and the completion of the City Rail Link, Aucklanders have expressed various concerns about the standard of completion, including incorporation of public feedback.
I discuss the incorporation of the wider neighbourhood in Mt Eden at the Maungawhau station and the dismissal of public perspectives at the K Road station
New Zealand and key allies have imposed sanctions on two “extremist” Israeli politicians for their role in “inciting violence against Palestinians” in the West Bank.
However, opposition parties, including Labour as well as the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, are calling for further action to be taken against Israel.
It comes after Israel kidnapped 12 pro-Palestine activists on international waters, who were intending to break the aid blockade and reach Gaza.
And earlier this week, the National Business released their annual rich list.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, I spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about these topics.
Los Angeles is approaching a week of protests against ICE, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Over 200 protestors have been arrested since the protests began, and restrictions have been placed on protestors, including a curfew.
The White House has sent 2,000 members of the National Guard to the city already, and another 2,000 are expected to be deployed. This is despite California Governor Gavin Newsom attempting to stop their deployment.
For International Desk, I spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about the protests.
The Green party recently made renewed calls to the government to sanction Israel for its illegal occupation of Palestine following the seizure of the Madleen, a vessel that aimed to deliver food and medical aid to Gaza.
The vessel, which was en route to Gaza, was intercepted in the Mediterranean by the Israeli Defence Forces before being rerouted to Israel with all those on board, among whom was Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford recently announced the Parent Boost Visa, part of the government’s self-described commitment to supporting parents living overseas to visit and stay with their families here in Aotearoa.
And, over in the United States, 2000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles in response to protests opposing the city’s recent immigration raids.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about all of these issues
Currently, 19 out of 38 OECD countries use incineration as a form of waste management.
With the process leading to a range of negative impacts, such as air pollution, Co2 emissions and respiratory illnesses, Aotearoa has luckily remained incinerator free.
However, calls have been made by some activists to strengthen New Zealand’s legislation to ensure that incineration facilities are not opened up in Aotearoa.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Sue Coutts from Zero Waste Network New Zealand to discuss a petition calling on the government to keep New Zealand Incinerator-free.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
These past few weeks in politics have seen various issues that we spoke about in our weekly catchup with the National Party.
First up, at the Aotearoa Music Awards, National MP Chris Bishop was heard making disdainful remarks such as “what a load of crap” during a performance by singer Stan Walker.
Second, Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngārewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi were recently suspended from parliament for 21 days for their haka protesting the Treaty Principles Bill. The penalty is far harsher than any previous penalty for an MP, raising questions about whether it is justified or sets a dangerous precedent.
Finally, the government recently announced a new visa for parents of migrants, allowing them to come to New Zealand for a longer period of time than traditional visitors without having to acquire residency.
Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues in our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, starting with Chris Bishop’s comments at the AMAs.
As per coalition agreements, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, has been sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, taking over from NZ First Leader, Winston Peters.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about Seymour’s new position, and what this means for the party.
They also discussed accusations Seymour made regarding submissions to the Regulatory Standards Bill.
In an interview with Guyon Espiner, Seymour claimed that 99.5% of the submissions against the Regulatory Standards Bill were driven by ‘bots’ and were ‘fake’ submissions.
Seymour later clarified to RNZ that by bots, he was meaning “online campaigns” creating “non-representative samples” that do not represent the public’s opinion.
The Ministry of Regulations received roughly 23,000 submissions on the bill. Of the submissions. Of the submissions, 0.33% were fully or partially supporting the bill, with 88% being against the bill.
Finally, they discussed the recommended suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs’ Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke standing.
But they, we discussed David Seymour as Deputy Prime Minister.
The recommended suspension for Te Pāti Māori MPs, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, over the MP’s haka in Parliament during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill last year.
Co-leaders Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi will be suspended from the House for 21-days, with Maipi-Clarke facing a seven day suspension. This is Parliament's harshest sanctions in the country’s history. Prior to this, the longest suspension an MP had faced in Parliament was three days.
The debate had previously been delayed so that the MPs could participate in the Budget debate — however, both co-leaders were not present at the debate.
During the debate MP Tākuta Ferris said that the debate was not about the haka, but at the heart, it was the House continuing to ignore Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori sovereignty, and that the “racism” in the House is hardly being hidden.
For our weekly catch-up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the suspension, and what’s next for the party.
They also discussed NZ First Party Leader Winston Peters’ comments regarding Waititi’s moko, referring to the MPs moko kanohi as “scribbles”. He was asked to apologise by the Speaker, which he did.
But first, they discussed the suspension of the MPs.
Auckland Transport are seeking community feedback on a proposal for a new T3 transit lane on Mount Smart Road to relieve congestion during peak times heading towards the Royal Oak roundabout.
Between better public transport systems, a ‘time of use’ charge, and different ways of managing Auckland traffic, Producer Sara asks Councillor Julie Fairey about how Auckland Council hopes to reduce peak-time congestion as the city’s population grows.
She also talk to Julie Fairey about the recent allocation of funds to community-led projects through Ngā Hapori Momoho. This year, the grant which aims to “improve financial security, improve health outcomes, and grow community and intercultural connection” has approved funding for eleven community groups, six of which are either Māori organisations or delivering ‘strong Māori outcomes’.
Sara begins with questions about Auckland central congestion.
*unfortunately the audio quality on Julie's end is poor
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