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.
The government has recently announced that Te Pūkenga is set to return to ‘regional governance,’ re-establishing 10 polytechnics that were merged under the previous Labour-led government.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to MP Simon Court about these developments with Te Pūkenga.
They also discussed Labour MP, Camilla Belich’s member’s bill — the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill, passing its second reading.
In the government, National are in support of the bill, however, New Zealand First, and ACT, are not. We discussed why ACT are not supportive of the bill, despite their coalition partner, National, being in support.
But first, they discussed the re-establishment of the 10 polytechnics that were previously merged under Te Pūkenga.
In recently released research from the Child Poverty Action Group, the research shows low-income families below the Income Floor are struggling to pay for bare essentials.
Below the Income Floor refers to the minimum income needed to live and belong.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Isaac Gunson, a spokesperson from the organisation, about these findings.
According to a new journal article by Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, Carrie Leonetti, the Family Court is using poor-quality evidence in rulings.
On Friday, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Leonetti about her findings and what implications using faulty evidence has on the children involved in these cases.
The government has announced that Te Pūkenga is set to return to ‘regional governance,’ re-establishing 10 polytechnics that were merged under the previous Labour-led government.
In 2020 under the previous Labour-led government, 16 polytechnics and nine industry training organisations were merged into the mega-institute Te Pūkenga, as a “head office”. Despite this, the polytechnics were allowed to maintain their unique images and continue operating.
Vocational Education Minister, Penny Simmonds, announced the move, to establish a vocational education system that is “locally led, regionally responsible, and future-focused”.
The move has faced backlash. The Tertiary Education Union’s national secretary, Sandra Grey, says the move would be a disaster for regional education and that the sector is being treated as a “political football”.
For our weekly catchup with the Labour Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with MP Shanon Halbert, about this move from the government.
They also discussed Te Pāti Māori members expressing concerns over Labour’s choice of running MP Peeni Henare in the upcoming Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.
Te Pāti Māori media liaison, Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, says a vote for Henare would be “wasted,” as Henare already has a seat in Parliament. She has called for people to vote for Te Pāti Māori’s candidate, Oriini Kaipara, so that there would be two Tāmaki Makaurau-based Māori MPs in Parliament.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to MP Shanon Halbert about the re-establishment on TEN polytechnics that were previously merged under Te Pūkenga, and Te Pāti Māori members accusing the party of being ‘greedy’ for running MP Peeni Henare in the upcoming Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.
For this week’s City Counselling, Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about her recent biking accident and her hopes for road safety in Auckland, as well as the recently released State of the City report.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Natasha Lindstaedt from the University of Essex on the backslide of democracy in Georgia, particularly due to Russian influence, and the public response.
Joel spoke to Tom Wilkinson, a PhD Candidate in History at the University of Auckland, about Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, nominating US President, Donald Trump, for a Nobel Peace Prize.
And on Monday, Producer Sam spoke to Peter Adams, a Professor in the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland, about the government’s alcohol levy, in light of recent lobbying by the alcohol industry.
On the 25th of June, our regular City Counselling guest Julie Fairey was involved in a road collision while she was biking in her local area. Fairey wrote about the close call, which she says could have been a lot worse, in a piece published in the Spinoff, as a reinvigoration of her previous advocacy around the need for road safety measures that improve how safely and efficiently Aucklanders can get around the city.
As well, this week we’ve seen the release of the State of the City report, which compares Auckland on metrics including opportunity and prosperity, culture and experience, place and connectivity, innovation and knowledge, and resilience and sustainability.
The report found that we are ‘falling behind’ other cities, with the biggest emphasis placed on our poor economic productivity in comparison with similar locations.
Producer Sara spoke with Julie Fairey about both of these topics, firstly by asking her what motivated her to write about her recent collision.
A number of experts have raised concerns recently regarding the “way too friendly” relationship between alcohol industry lobbyists and policy makers responsible for alcohol restrictions and laws in New Zealand.
While we have had an alcohol harm-reduction levy in place for over forty years, some experts including University of Auckland School of Population Health Professor Peter Adams, believe that this levy isn’t as positive as it seems.
As alcohol lobbyists have been granted input and influence in the development of alcohol policies, Adams says that the levy is actually a smokescreen that allows the industry to profit from alcohol consumption without tangibly addressing its harms to the population.
On Monday, Producer Sam spoke with Professor Peter Adams about this topic.
As the climate and sustainability crises continue to worsen and corporations and governments refuse to act the question must be asked, do we need to rethink our entire society? From one built on resource extraction for profit, to one built around sustainable local living.
Producer Sam spoke to Professor of geology at the University of Auckland, Phil Shane, about the sustainability of our society.
Once a beacon of democratic progress, Georgia is at risk of sliding into authoritarianism, particularly due to Russian influence.
Six opposition leaders face criminal charges, and the major opposition parties have been banned, while “Georgia Dream”, the political party in power, faces allegations of corruption and voter fraud.
However, the party faces increasing opposition within Georgia, including mass protests over their pro-Russia laws.
82% of Georgians feel their country is in crisis, with 78% directly citing the Georgian Dream political party as the cause.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Essex, about Georgia’s anti-democratic crackdowns and public response.
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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