Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Sara Mckoy, Max Micheel, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Joe speaks to Steven Agnew, a senior Lecturer from the University of Canterbury about ending persistent disparities for Pasifika students in regards to literacy skills. He also speaks to Katie Pickles, a Professor of History from the University of Canterbury, about Jane Goodall joining Barbie’s ‘inspiring women’ series and how this ties in with Barbie being an antithesis of feminism given the company’s controversial representation of women.
Liam will be chats to Michelle Johnstone from the Amalgamated Workers Union about dangerous housing conditions for migrant workers, as well as Rober Patman from the University of Otago about the United States Senate passing a major democrat climate and health package.
Tomorrow’s World is back! Isla and Stella speak to Keoni Mahelona from Te Pūnaha Matatini about using machine learning to revitalise Te Reo Māori.
Teanau Tuiono’s bill launched today would strike an anti-Pacific racist law from the country’s books.
The Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill would restore the right to citizenship for people from Western Samoa who were born between 1924 and 1949, as had been promised to them.
David speaks to Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono talking about Restoring the West Samoa Citizenship Removed By Citizenship Act 1982 Bill
Trishil speaks to Shane Henderson for our regular City Counselling segment discussing the Planning Committee meeting on housing and a pay rise for Auckland bus drivers to address staff shortage
David also speaks to Adam Currie, a protest organiser speaking on the Greenwash lecture protests
Trishil also speaks to Professor Basil Sharpe on the falling fuel prices observed across the country this week.
Auckland Council's recent planning committee meeting took place last night.
The focus was on mass housing reforms, which could see rates of housing re-intensification rise across Tamaki Makaurau.
To learn more about the decisions made, Trishil took over the segment from Liam this week and spoke with councillor Shane Henderson on our regular City Counselling segment. The conversation touched on the pay rise for bus drivers in Auckland in a measure to combat staff shortages.
Rejoice! While fuel prices have yet to return to pre 2022 levels, it has freefallen down to an average of $2.70 a litre at the pumps in Auckland.
For example, yesterday afternoon saw prices fluctuate across the country with Waitomo on Tinakori Road in Wellington charging $2.59 a litre; Caltex on Newton Road in Auckland charging $2.65; and in Christchurch, Waitomo on Fitzgerald Avenue charging $2.47.
Further drops are expected on the horizon, in part due to the crude oil stock price falling from 110USD to around 96 USD over the past week. Another factor could be the fuel tax excise, which has been extended to January.
To learn more, Trishil spoke to Economics Professor Basil Sharp about the trends and contributing factors to the fall in prices.
Protesters disrupted a Z energy lecture yesterday, hosted by Auckland University. They accused the event, entitled “transition to a low-carbon future”, of greenwashing, and the university of giving a platform to one of New Zealand’s biggest carbon producers.
David spoke with protest organiser Adam Currie about what happened.
New Zealand sexual health service, The Burnett Foundation, and Dr Peter Saxton from the University of Auckland submitted a letter to the government yesterday, urging them to vaccinate vulnerable communities against monkeypox now. Stella spoke to Joe Rich, Chief Executive of the Burnett Foundation, about the content of the letter.
Welcome to the Thursday Wire! This week on the show…
Tuva’a has his weekly catch up with Andrew Little. Stella speaks to the head writer of Shortland Street, Jessica Joy Wood, about Shortland Street’s creative involvement with the campaign to recruit nurses.
Frances brings us Greendesk, speaking with Gabrielle Feather, a PhD student at the University of Tasmania about climate anxiety.
Stella speaks to Dr Nick Cradock-Henry from Manaaki Whenua about the government’s National Adaptation Plan. Stella speaks to Joe Rich, chief executive of the Burnett Foundation, about their call to the government for vulnerable populations to be vaccinated against monkeypox.
The government released our first National Adaptation Plan yesterday, which details how kiwis could respond to climate change. Stella spoke to Dr Nick Cradock-Henry, Lead Scientist of social and ecological resilience at manaaki Whenua, about the NAP.
Yesterday, Minister of Health Andrew Little proposed a suite of initiatives to help combat health worker shortages and ease pressure on the New Zealand health system.
Emily spoke with New Zealand Nurses Organisation President Anne Daniels about the measures and how they might impact health care workers.
From Dec 27 to Jan 18, all train lines across Tāmaki will be shutting down for summer maintenance, a closure which is expected to be the last of its kind ahead of the opening of the City Rail Link.
The current measles outbreak in Tāmaki is being continually monitored, with exposure sites being updated daily on info.health.nz. The public are encouraged to track whether they’ve been in possible contact with the virus, and get up to date on any vaccinations to limit possibilities of transmission.
Auckland Council are supporting arts initiatives across the summer months, with Music in the Park kicking off in early January, and Movies in the Park following in February.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about these topics, and also asked for comment following the attack by two gunmen at Bondi Beach earlier this week.
Yesterday, the latest six-monthly survey of housing support providers under the National Homelessness Data Project, or NHDP, showed that homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled in the year to September. The report also found that 14 of the 21 agencies interviewed reported an increase in homelessness.
As well as this, Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 has taken effect. And according to an interim report into social media harm, a social media ban for children in New Zealand is worth exploring further.
And last week the Government announced the replacement of the Resource Management Act, or RMA. The coalition said its replacement will slash red tape and supercharge growth.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the Government’s new RMA reforms and a potential social media ban in New Zealand.
But first they discussed the latest report on Auckland homelessness.
The Parliament’s Workforce and Education Committee has released an interim report on an inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders face online. The government has recently announced an overhaul of the Resource Management Act and introduced two new bills in its place, the Natural Environment Bill and the Planning Bill.
For our weekly catch-up with the National Party, Producer Vihan spoke to MP Carl Bates, who is also the Deputy Chairperson of the Workforce and Education Committee, about the new findings of the interim report, the new Natural Environment Bill, and the Fast Track Approval Amendments Bill.
The government has announced the overhaul of the Resource Management Act (RMA), which will be replaced by two different bills, the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill. The RMA is set to be fully replaced by 2029.
The RMA, which has been in effect for 34 years, is polarising across the political spectrum.
In announcing the reforms, RMA Reform Minister, Chris Bishop, says that “pretty much everything” will be quicker and less costly under the new regime.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about this overhaul of the RMA.
They also discussed The Education and Workforce Committee’s interim report on the harms young people experience online, with a majority recommending a ban on social media for under-16-year-olds.
But first, they discussed the overhaul of the RMA.
On Sunday, “Block the Ban” held a protest against the government’s decision to ban new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria.
The United Nations’ committee for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination has released a report warning that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights.
And last week, the government rejected the recommended methane emissions targets.
This is despite officials warning against the government doing so, stating that lowering methane emissions targets could increase New Zealand’s contribution to global warming.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.
Safety measures on public transport are of growing concern this week following the fatal and unprovoked attack that took place on route 76 in East Tāmkaki on Monday night.
Earlier this week there were also multiple critical incidents that occurred simultaneously across Auckland’s West Coast beaches and waterways, seeing an unusually high deployment of emergency services and surf lifesavers for this early in the summer.
Swedish home and furniture retailer Ikea opened in Sylvia Park a week ago today, drawing huge excitement for many.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about these topics.
Last week was scrutiny week, where Parliament focuses entirely on holding government agencies and ministers to account, to check-in on how well the Government is performing.
Many of the questions surrounding scrutiny week have been focused on climate change, with many recent reports highlighting the Government’s questionable decision-making.. The biggest headline was that the coalition had chosen to reject all three of the climate change commission’s recommendations to strengthen New Zealand’s emissions targets.
Along with this, the United Nations released a new report, where they’ve warned that New Zealand is at serious risk of weakening Māori rights and entrenching disparities for the indigenous population. In the 14-page report, the UN expressed concerns over multiple government policies affecting Maori, including the disestablishment of the Maori Health Authority, cuts to public funding for Maori services, and minimising the role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the report released by the United Nations, but first they discussed Scrutiny Week and the Government’s recent climate change decisions.
The government is pausing the new prescriptions of Puberty Blockers to gender diverse and transgender young people from the 19th of December onwards, following a similar move by the UK after the results of the NHS’s Cass Review.
Wire Producer Flo spoke to activist Lauren Craig about the effects of the legislation, her petition “Reverse the decision to deny transgender and takatāpui young people access to puberty blockers” against the changes and the wider political motivation for the policy.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here
The biannual Scrutiny Week took place in Parliament last week, with meetings across select committees and government departments focussed on scrutinising the outcomes of government work.
These include hearings on ministries like Health, Housing, Environment and Justice.
Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Carl Bates about Scrutiny Week, firstly by asking him to talk about the meetings he was involved in
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