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.
Winter means a tough time for many in our city here in Auckland. With temperatures steadily dropping and the cost of living steadily rising, keeping warm and well-fed is a daily concern for many. Gratis is an initiative that takes leftover food from cafes around the city and helps to feed those who most need it in our cities. On the Wire this week, guest producer Frances Wright caught up with Team Leader Natalie Wendzich to talk about the initiative.
A recently published meta analysis of literature explores the roaming distance of feral cats. One of the authors, Cathay Nottingham, joined Stella to discuss the state of knowledge in the field.
Frances speaks to European correspondent Cameron Mulgan. This week they cover Boris Johnson’s survival through a vote of no confidence, the Northern Ireland Protocol bill, the UK looking to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, the first round of French Parliamentary elections, moves in Europe to combat e-waste from USB charger ports and limit the sale of petrol cars.
Welcome to another week of The Wire with Stella Huggins!
This week, the Tomorrow’s World segment makes a special guest appearance on the Wednesday Wire. This week Stella and Isla give us an 11 minute degree on genetics with Dr Anna Santure.
Alex speaks with ACT party deputy leader Brooke Van Velden about Fair Pay Agreements and ACT’s response to increasing gang violence.
Stella speaks to Cathy Nottingham, a PhD candidate at the University of Auckland about her recently published research on feral cat roaming distances.
Eurovision returns with an update on the war in Ukraine, Boris Johnson’s survival through a vote of no confidence, the Northern Ireland Protocol bill, the UK looking to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, and much more. European correspondant Cameron Mulgan chats to Frances.
Finally, Stella speaks to Debra Ashton, SAFE's CEO, about a recent drowning of livestock during a live export off the coast of Sudan.
A tragic drowning occurred on Sunday, as an overladen ship crammed with 15,800 sheep capsized on Sunday off Sudan’s Red Sea coast. Today Stella spoke with Debra Ashton, CEO of SAFE, the nation’s leading animal rights organisation about it, and the state of live export regulations in Aotearoa.
In mid-May, the world was shocked when an armed man entered a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and opened fire on ordinary shoppers. It soon became clear that the shooting was a white-supremisist terrorist attack. The shooter cited talking points from a new sector of the far-right to justify his actions: this ideology is called ecofascism.
Jack spoke to author and activist Byron Clarke, an expert on the far-right and disinformation, to find out what ecofascism is and why we should be concerned about it.
Bethlehem College, a Christian school in Tauranga, has recently come under fire for asking parents to sign a statement of belief, saying marriage is between a man and a woman.
LGBTQ+ advocates have condemned this practice, calling it discriminatory and homophobic.
The Ministry of Education has since told the College that they must remove the anti-same-sex statement in their Charter, or they will consider a formal intervention.
However, several ex-students of the College have since come forward with allegations of homophobia and discrimination at the school.
Christina Huang spoke to Shaneel Lal, Co-Founder of End Conversion Therapy in NZ, who launched a petition that received almost 6000 signatures at the time of this interview, for the Education Review Office to investigate the school.
On the Wire with Christina, Marcus Jones kicked off the show with Dear Science, discussing the end of particle physics and why the Tonga volcanic eruption was so explosive.
Christina spoke to political scientist Dr Lara Greaves about Labour’s Cabinet reshuffle on Monday.
She also spoke to End Conversion Therapy co-founder Shaneel Lal about allegations of homophobia at Bethlehem College and their treatment of LGBTQ+ students.
Aneeka had her regular catch up with the National Party’s Dr. Shane Reti, where they discussed gangs.
Christina talked to Dr Jarrod Gilbert, a sociologist from the University of Canterbury about New Zealand's war on gangs.
And finally, Jack spoke to Byron Clarke about the far-right's adoption of conservationist ideology.
Gangs, gang violence, drugs, organised crime. We're seeing a lot of this in the headlines recently, and a lot of fear surrounding gangs in Aotearoa is perhaps one reason why politicians are keen to flex their political muscle and introduce increasingly punitive laws. However, recent research has shown these laws haven’t worked in the past whenever there was a media frenzy about gang violence. Christina spoke to Dr Jarrod Gilbert, a sociologist from the University of Canterbury.
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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