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.
In the 1960's the South Island Kōkako bird was considered extinct by the Department of Conservation (DoC), yet claims of sighting the bird continued to pop up until the DoC declared the bird to no longer be extinct, however, they do not have sound evidence to prove it is alive. The South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust is leading the search and raising awareness for the bird. They are encouraging people who may be in the South and Stewart Islands to record any sightings or sounds of the bird and send it their way. The first person to provide clear evidence that the South Island Kōkako will be rewarded $10,000. Emily Bell spoke to Inger Perkins, the mananger of the South Island Kōkako Charitable Trust about the search and what people should look out for.
Today on the Wire, Emily Bell speaks to Doctor Amanda Kvalsvig, an epidemiologist at the University of Otago campus in Wellington, about the debate about N95 masks and how important they are.
The move to the red setting has posed a serious hit to the music and arts industry, with all events over 100 people being cancelled and many artists losing out on work. Jemima Huston interviews event directors John Minty from Splore, Matthew Davis from The Others Way and Dan Hesson from Freqs Out East about their cancellation and postponement decisions. Jemima also speaks to musician and artist Jazmine-Mary about the letter they have written to the Prime Minister asking for support for artists and performers who have lost their jobs in the face of the red setting.
Finally, Emily talks to Manager of the South Island Kōkako Trust Inger Perkins about the search for the South Island Kōkako bird and how the public can get involved.
Following the government’s announcement that Aotearoa would move to the red setting of the traffic light system on Monday 24 January, a number of events were forced to cancel or postpone. This is yet another massive blow to the music, arts and events industry, whose artists and workers have spent the last two years of the pandemic struggling to find consistent work and promoters have had to cancel or change the dates for their events multiple times.
News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston reaches out to a few people working in the performance art sector who have been impacted by the red setting. Firstly, Jemima speaks to Director of Splore John Minty, Director of Freqs Out East Dan Hesson and Director of The Others Way Mathew Davis, who are all promoters for summer festivals that have had to cancel or postpone due to the shift to the red light setting. They discuss how the pandemic has affected events and whether the exisitng events support schemes are enough to get the people involved in the industry through the Omicron outbreak.
Secondly, Jemima chats to artist and musician Jazmine Mary who says there is no support available for artists who have effectively lost their jobs under the red setting and cannot access the wage subsidy. Jazmine has penned a letter to the Prime Minister and submitted a parliamentary petition request to call for support for artists and musicians in Aotearoa unable to work under 'red'. They explain what sort of financial support is needed and how the public can help their call for action from the government.
To check out the follow up podcast on this issue, click here.
Despite New Zealand having 12 native species of mosquitos, little is known about these insects. Te Papa Museum is beginning its third year of the annual mosquito census to gather more information on these native creatures. Anton Hovius, a scholarship student from the University of Wellington, spoke with Charlie about the data, mosquito migration, and how you can turn an itchy bite into a valuable piece of information.
Non-profit charity Child Matters claim that not enough is being done to reduce the prevalence of child abuse in New Zealand. They argue that although policy-makers talk about change a lot, they have failed to properly help vulnerable kids.
Louis talked to Child Matters' Chief Executive Jane Searle about the lack of change, what needs to be done, and the impacts of intergenerational trauma.
Federated Mountain Clubs celebrated its 90th-anniversary last year. With over 20,000 members across the country, it has been involved in a number of important conservation movements and projects, including the protection of isolated wilderness areas.
Louis spoke to Federated Mountain Clubs' president Jan Finlayson about the club's history, what it means to be a tramper, and her personal involvement.
Louis spoke to Child Matters' Chief Executive Jane Searle about the changes needed to reduce child abuse rates and Federated Mountain Clubs' President Jan Finlayson about their 90th anniversary.
Charlie was joined by Make Good's founder Jacinta Fitzgerald and fair&good's Prasanna Nara about the impacts of fast fashion, as well as University of Victoria's Anton Hovius about a recent mosquito census.
Fast fashion and over-consumption of fashion items has become a prevalent issue in the past few years. With hundreds of kilos of textile waste filling up New Zealand’s landfills each year, sustainable fashion is necessary for fashion to be an ethical product. Charlie spoke with Jacinta Fitzgerald, founder of Make Good regarding clothing wastage. Prasanna Nara, Communications Manager for fair&good, also spoke with Charlie to discuss sustainable fashion strategies.
This summer, Drowning Prevention Auckland are highlighting why waterfalls are dangerous and not recommended for swimming.
I spoke to Chief Executive Nicola Keen-Biggelaar about their water safety initiative at Hūnua Falls that aims to raise awareness of these risks, and the importance of having water safety education from a young age.
Auckland Transport's reduced services affected many returning to work this summer, and there have been calls for public transport schedules to return to normal.
Jessica Hopkins spoke to Auckland Counciller Shane Henderson about plans to increase transport options for West Auckland in 2022. But we started off our interview by catching up with Shane on what he got up to over the New Years break.
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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