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.
On Monday, Auckland Council staff were sighted taking belongings such as tents and sleeping bags from rough sleepers at the Grafton United Cricket Club ground.
This is happening at a time where the amount of rough sleepers on Auckland’s streets has increased 90 percent since last September and 15 percent of those leaving emergency housing are going straight to homelessness.
On Tuesday, Auckland Council’s Community Committee received updates on the state of homelessness in the city and discussed what the Council’s response will be.
For City Counselling this week Producer Sanat spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about the worsening homelessness in the city.
Sanat started by asking about the incident on Monday and whether Auckland Council is doing enough to respond to homelessness.
Recently, a study was published by Australia’s Museums Victoria Research Institute, examining deep sea ecosystems around Aotearoa’s waters.
The study mapped the global distribution of brittle stars, which are closely related to starfish, the links between deep-sea ecosystems from Iceland to Tasmania and the impacts of climate change and deep sea mining on said ecosystems.
95bFM Tuesday Wire Host Sara spoke with Sadie Mills, invertebrate collection manager at Earth Sciences New Zealand, to discuss what this research means for understanding biodiversity beneath the waves especially within the context of climate change and deep-sea mining
The Israeli founded and based company SodaStream is the most popular sparkling water maker in New Zealand, supplying sparkling water machines to over 400,000 households in Aotearoa, with around 30% of families using one to make beverages at home.
The company has also had involvement in the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, previously having a factory in the Ma'ale Adumim settlement in the internationally recognised Palestinian west bank.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke with Brandon Johnstone, a BDS coordinator at Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa about a petition calling on retailers and stockists to swap out SodaStream for more ethical alternatives.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
Last week, the government announced that they’d be scrapping same-day election enrolments, alongside a number of other changes to electoral laws.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said that current electoral laws were “placing too much strain on the system” and increased the time needed for the vote count.
Earlier this week, the Climate Change Commission released its annual monitoring report on emissions reductions, which showed that Aotearoa New Zealand was on track to meeting its first emissions budget for the period of 2022-2025, but not towards meeting future budgets around the 2050 period.
And the Greens recently launched a petition calling on Rail Minister Winston Peters to reinstate passenger rail services across the country.
For our weekly catchup with the Green party, Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about the government’s move to scrap same-day election enrolments, the Climate Change Commission’s recent annual monitoring report on emissions reductions and the Greens petition to reinstate passenger rail services across the country.
And for this week’s Get Action! He spoke with Brandon Johnstone, a BDS coordinator at Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa about a petition calling on retailers and stockists to swap out SodaStream for more ethical alternatives.
Max spoke with Dr Catherine Morgan from the University of Auckland, to talk about the new project to develop an AI tool that can predict dementia risk.
Tuesday Wire Host Sara spoke with Sadie Mills the invertebrate collection manager at Earth Sciences New Zealand about a study looking into deep sea species in Aotearoa’s waters
About 70,000 people are currently affected by dementia in New Zealand. Because of this, the healthcare cost of the neurological condition is around $274 million per year and is expected to double by 2050. But what if we could predict who was most at risk, years before obvious symptoms appear?
At the moment, health professionals can struggle to assess whether a person is likely to get dementia, based on reports of their memory loss and ability to function from patients and families. As a result, a $4 million project, which includes a team of experts from the University of Auckland and Singapore, has begun to create an AI tool that can identify a person’s dementia risk.
To talk about how this new AI tool would work, as well as how it might impact the future of prevention and treatment of the neurological condition, Producer Max to Dr Catherine Morgan, a senior research fellow from the University of Auckland.
The growing usage of AI deepfakes has been for a number of different reasons… Whether it’s just for fun, or to jeopardise someone’s career, these AI-generated images, videos, and voice recordings have become more accessible and easy to make.
Deepfakes have been used for financial fraud, during election campaigns to taint the reputations of mostly female candidates, and also to spread propaganda and misinformation.
However, Denmark has proposed a law to grant individuals copyright over their own face, body, and voice. Although the move has been hailed as world-leading, and a step forward to address the harms of AI deepfakes, it has drawn criticism for not being effective enough. It has also provoked concerns about the act of copyrighting one’s likeness to the same degree as intellectual/artistic property. Producer Faith spoke to Professor Alex Sims from the University of Auckland’s commercial law department about the proposition, and its effectiveness.
On Friday, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced various changes to the electoral system in New Zealand which he says seek to make the process of voting more efficient and effective for future elections.
These include the closing of enrolment 13 days before the official election day, prohibiting the provision of food and drink at polling booths, and a reinstatement of a total prisoner voting ban.
A number of Labour and Greens party politicians have been among those to criticise the changes as a disenfranchisement of voters which will make democratic engagement in New Zealand more difficult.
As well, last week the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development released the latest iteration of the Homelessness Insights Report which reveals that there has been a quantifiable rise in homelessness across Aotearoa.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development's latest Homelessness Insights Report shows that there has been an increase in homelessness across Aotearoa.
In particular, the report — like other research including a report from Ihi Research last year — highlighted a disproportionate impact of homelessness on Māori and Pacific populations, as well as women and younger demographics.
Tuesday Wire Host Sara was interested in delving into the correlation between these findings about homelessness and health outcomes for the populations who face exacerbated impacts.
She spoke with both Manaaki Rangatahi spokesperson Brooke Stanley, and Māori health researcher Dr Madeline Shelling about the impact of homelessness on Māori and Pacific health.
Her first interview is with Brooke from Manaaki Rangatahi.
She also spoke with Madeline Shelling. I started by asking her to talk about how this latest report connects to previous research on the impact of homelessness on Māori.
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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