Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
The United Nations hosted Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) 2024 is taking place in Geneva this week, with Aotearoa’s Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission in attendance.
Particularly, the commission will be commenting on Aotearoa’s historical approach to indigenous rights in Aotearoa as well as the approach of the current government.
Wire host Castor spoke to Te Kāhui Tika Tangata’s indigenous rights governance partner, Dayle Takitimu, about the EMRIP assessment and what it could mean for our current and future governments.
From 2026 the government will introduce standardised testing for reading, writing and maths across all primary schools.
Year one students will be required to sit phonics tests at 20 and 40 weeks of schooling and years 3-6 will be required to take PAT and e-asTTle. Around 60% of schools already use this type of testing.
The reason for the introduction of testing is to improve education levels which are not up to standard, according to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Education minister Erica Standford stated testing is important to keep parents informed about their child’s progress. Stanford continued that the tests will allow teachers and principals with the data to track in aggregate their school’s performance.
Producer Elle spoke to Faculty of Education and Social Work PhD student Tom Pearce about the policy.
For Dear Science this week, Wire host Castor chatted to Professor Allan Blackman about fighting cancer with gold nanoparticles, trends in the melodies of popular music, and NASA’s Mars mission crew.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Castor spoke to MP Sam Uffindell about the residential tenancies amendment bill and tolls on the roads of national significance.
He also spoke to Dayle Takitimu from Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission about indigenous rights in Aotearoa.
Producer Elle spoke to the University of Auckland’s Tom Pearce about standardised testing in primary schools.
She also spoke to Massey University’s Professor Joanne Hort about New Zealanders’ use of spices.
This story mentions eating disorders and disordered eating.
A new study from researchers at the University of Auckland has found that there was an increase in hospital admissions for eating disorders during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The study found that 10-19 year old girls with diagnoses of anorexia nervosa had the most significant increase; and that Māori had proportionately more hospital admissions for eating disorders than others.
Admissions for other mental health disorders mostly stayed the same or decreased during the pandemic.
Josef spoke to Dr David Menkes, an Academic Psychiatrist at the University of Auckland and co-author of the study, about the study’s findings and what can be done to avoid similar spikes in the future.
If you need support, talking to someone you know or contacting formal support services can be helpful. For support, call the Eating Disorder Association New Zealand 0800 2 EDANZ or (09) 5222 679. Or you can free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason
The government’s plan to introduce boot camps for youth offenders and other more punitive law and order reforms have come under fire by experts for failing to address the root causes of crime and antisocial behaviour in Aotearoa.
The recently implemented measures and rhetoric from the government have prompted a variety of discussions about how Aotearoa can properly tackle youth crime, the resources public agencies have to address and the measures that have worked so far.
Oto spoke to Aaron Hendry, a youth worker and co-founder of Kickback, to discuss the government’s recent youth crime reforms, and the measures that have worked in the past that the government should be looking into instead.
Children in New Zealand have among the highest rates of screen use in the world, with Māori and low socioeconomic-background young people over-represented.
A group of researchers have come up with advice on children’s screen use to better assist educators in Aotearoa to balance health risks of digital technologies with educational benefits.
Wire host Sofia spoke to the lead author, masters researcher at the University of Auckland and paediatric physiotherapist, Julie Cullen, about this advice, starting the interview asking her about the main risks this research identified that are of concern when it comes to digital technology use by children and young people.
For their weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, Wire host Sofia speaks to ACT MP Cameron Luxton about ACT invoking the ‘agree to disagree’ provision over the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, the government’s plans to ‘flood’ the country with more housing, and the Easter Trading Bill.
She also speaks to University of Auckland senior lecturer of Architecture and Planning, Dr Elizabeth Aitken Rose, about the government’s plans to address the housing crisis
And she speaks to masters researcher at the University of Auckland and paediatric physiotherapist, Julie Cullen, about advice for children’s digital technology use in kura.
Producer Oto speaks to youth worker Aaron Hendry from Kickback to discuss the best approaches to tackling youth offending.
Producer Josef speaks to Academic Psychiatrist, David Menkes about the rise in hospital admissions for eating disorders during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last week, Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced six key changes to housing policy to "flood" the country with new homes. These include freeing up land for development, removing unnecessary planning barriers and relaxing standards.
Wire host Sofia spoke to University of Auckland senior lecturer of Architecture and Planning, Dr Elizabeth Aitken Rose, about the government’s plans to address the housing crisis in light of Bishop’s announcements last week.
She started the interview asking her what the key changes Bishop announced were.
The World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference is taking place in New York later this month, hosted by Seneca Nation.
The conference was started by Ngāti Pikiao in 2016 and invites community organisations, advocates, and leaders to come together to discuss the challenges and solutions of suicide prevention for indigenous communities.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Quack Pirihi (Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai), founder of Mana Āniwaniwa, about why they’re fundraising to go to the conference.
You can tautoko their mahi on their instagrams @quackpirihi and @manaaniwaniwa
The Supreme Court of the United States has reached international news for recent, controversial judgements. This includes for granting Trump immunity for his role in the January 6th insurrection, and the overturning of Chevron which could have huge consequences for things like environmental protection laws.
These decisions are part of a recent series of Supreme Court decisions that overturn decades of judicial and legislative progress from the 20th Century, infamously including Roe v Wade in 2022.
Wire Host Caeden speaks about these recent, and longer-term decisions, from SCOTUS with University of Auckland History Professor Jennifer Frost.
They started by asking why the recent SCOTUS rulings are so significant.
The Healthcare exec Brian Thompson was shot dead by a masked assailant last week.
The crime has gained significant controversy and attention online, with many using it to restart the debate on the inequities of the United States healthcare system.
And this week Yale University was the latest college to commit to divesting from weapons manufacturing after a student vote.
For State of the States this week Wire Host Caeden speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about both of these topics.
The government as announced their plan for the Cook Strait ferry a year after they scrapped Labour’s plan, including cancelling the ferries the Labour government had ordered.
And a new report from the Ministry of Social Development has revealed nearly a quarter of beneficiaries are not receiving their correct entitlements.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
For City Counselling this week, producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Shane Henderson about proposed time-of-use charging to solve congestion problems in Tāmaki and Council selling their remaining Auckland Airport shares last week.
The Green party recently released He Ara Anamata - the Green party’s emissions reduction plan.
The document covers more than 10 areas of the economy and energy Sector that a Greens-led government would be looking to adapt to minimise carbon emissions and protect the natural landscapes of Aotearoa.
It also comes 5 months after the government released their own draft emissions plan. Numerous experts pointed out that the government is behind on their own plan’s targets to meet the crucial emissions budget for 2031-2035.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the party’s new emissions reduction plan and how they would address climate and the economy in a greens-led government.
Last election, one of the National Party’s main campaign promises was to be ‘tough on crime’, promising to increase police coverage and penalties for crimes. A target was set to increase the number of police officers by 500 by November 2025, however some police leaders today say this goal is unrealistic.
The government also announced this week some shakeups to insulation standards, which they say should make houses more affordable.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor spoke to him about police staffing targets and new insulation standards.
This week on Dear Science, our expert Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about what latrines teach us about people, climate variation affecting Chinese dynasties, and invasive species becoming threatened.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
Last week it was revealed that two of the ten participants in the government's pilot bootcamp programme were on the run.
The youth were two months into the community rehabilitation phase of the programme, following the three month youth justice residence phase. Both teens were found in the weekend, but had allegedly reoffended, and are now set to come before the court.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, who have been heavily advocating for this programme, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about this incident.
She also talks to him about proposed changes to employment law which would give employers the power to dismiss workers earning over $180,000 without the employee refuting the decision.
And finally, she talks to him about David Seymour’s incumbent run as Deputy Prime Minister, which is set to begin in May of next year.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about changes to Auckland Transport’s responsibilities, nationwide bus and train fare hikes, and concerns over the opening of the City Rail Link.
For State of the States this week, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'aoso from the Yale Daily News about President Biden's decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was due to be sentenced next week for three felony charges.
They also discuss Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, who is the latest in a long list of unorthodox picks for government positions from Trump
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