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.
Autistic students are nearly three times more likely to be suspended from school than their nonautistic peers, finds a New Zealand study that linked data from more than 730,000 students. However, the researchers also revealed that autistic students who received high-need Ongoing Resourcing Scheme funding had significantly lower odds of being suspended compared to autistic children without these funds.
Joe spoke to Nick Bowden, a research fellow from the university of Otago, who was a part of the study.
This weekend, Australians will be heading to the polls to have their say as to who should be their prime minister. The two big players are the Liberal-National Coalition with Scott Morrison at the helm and Anthony Albanese with the Australian Labor Party.
Emilia Sullivan spoke to Professor Jennifer Curtin from the University of Auckland about what we should expect from this year's election.
Today is Budget Day, which means many sectors are eagerly awaiting what share of the pie they’ll get for the upcoming year. One issue in particular at the forefront at the moment is accessibility to sustainable transport such as electric vehicles, public transport, cycling, and walking.
To get his thoughts on how sustainable transport should be funded, Emilia Sullivan spoke to Dr. Tim Welch from the University of Auckland.
Our regular chat with Andrew Little is back. The audio corrupted on Tuva’a’s interview, so he will be reporting on his chat with Andrew Little about pre-budget announcements on mental health, as well as the funding towards the Mana Ake programme.
Joe will be speaking to Professor Carrie Leonetti from the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, about the Government’s family violence prevention plan and how it may be inadequate. He’ll also be speaking to Nick Bowden, a Research Fellow from the University of Otago, about how kids with autism are getting suspended from school at higher rates. He also speaks to Seton Butler from the Veterinary Council of New Zealand about Canine Cough symptoms being present in Aotearoa.
Emilia will be speaking to Dr. Tim Welch about whether today’s budget will get people out of their cars and into more sustainable transport options, and she’ll also be chatting with Professor Jennifer Curtin about this weekend’s Australian federal election.
Stella speaks to Laura Boren, science adviser at DOC about the more general rules of Aotearoa when it comes to wildlife in urban areas. Successful conservation efforts mean that we’ll start coming into contact with such wildlife more often as populations increase.
On this week's Wednesday Wire, producer Alex speaks with ACT party deputy leader Brooke Van Velden about the budget, with a specific focus on mental health.
Stella speaks with Matt Boyd, director of Adapt Research about the predicted effects of nuclear war in New Zealand.
Frances is back with Eurovision, speaking with Cameron Mulgan about the war in Ukraine, NATO applications from Sweden and Finland, McDonalds leaving Russia, Mask-wearing in Europe at the moment, the outcome of the Swiss Frontex vote, and the segment's namesake; EuroVision results.
Stella speaks with Forest and Bird’s George Hobson about an increase in dotterel populations in the Hawkes Bay.
Finally, Stella talks to Laura Boren, science adviser at DOC about citizen interactions with wildlife as conservation efforts bring animals further into urban areas.
One of our regular segments continues this week, where we chat with one of our most important minor parties about the hot topics of today, and tomorrow. Alex speaks with Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden of the ACT Party about the Budget, with a specific focus on mental health.
As international conflicts continue, the likelihood of nuclear war looms. Matthew Boyd, director of adapt research, speaks to Stella on the topic, specifically centred around his recently published paper Sustained Resilience: the Impact of Nuclear War on NZ and how to Mitigate Catastrophe.
The Hawke's Bay Regional Council commissioned a team to survey dotterel populations in the region. The team led by ornithologist Nikki McArthur walked 320km of coastline, and found that the population had doubled in the past decade, from 86 birds to 222. It was completed in 2021, and the results have just been released. Stella speaks to George Hobson, the chief policy lead for Forest and Bird youth, about the increase.
This week Frances talks to European correspondent Cameron Mulgan about the war in Ukraine, NATO applications from Sweden and Finland, McDonalds leaving Russia, Mask-wearing in Europe at the moment, the outcome of the Swiss Frontex vote, and the event of the year, EuroVision results.
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
95bFM 
