Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Castor Chacko, Alex Fox, Emmanuel Orange, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Last week, resource consents were approved for a $3.5 billion AI Data Centre to be constructed near Invercargill. While most of the commentary around the data centre is discussing how it could benefit New Zealand’s economy or connectivity, few are discussing the potential environmental ramifications.
While the consent applications aren’t public, data centres overseas have been known to have varying degrees of environmental impact, including pulling drinking water out of communities and farmlands and subsequently creating droughts and increasing temperatures.
To evaluate how a data centre could operate in New Zealand, News Director Castor spoke to director of Pūtahi research, a consulting firm specialising in water and climate resilience, Daniel Collins.
Last Thursday, the Employment Leave bill, which aims to replace the Holidays Act, passed its first reading in Parliament. The bill will reform annual and sick leave calculation, changing from a lump sum system, to an hourly calculation scheme.
While New Zealand workplace relations and safety Minister, Brooke van Velden claimed the bill is meant to simplify leave calculations, criticisms of the bill's other potential impacts have emerged.
Those who work irregular hours will receive less leave, it's been proposed a full day in lieu won’t be provided for people working shorter shifts on public holidays, and leave for people on ACC compensation would be cut.
In response the Public Service Association has called on MPs to sign a pledge to oppose the law change and ensure workers aren’t left worse off.
To explain this pledge and why the PSA opposes the changes in the bill, producer Thomas talked to PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.
Last week, Heinz Watties announced plans to close its factories in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, and cease packing at its frozen lines in Hastings. This will leave 350 workers without jobs in an already tough job market.
Additionally, many seasonal employees, who have worked in the factories for decades, could be left redundant without financial compensation. Concerns have been raised about potential ripple effects the closures will have on the economy, with 220 growers in the Canterbury region alone relying on supplying the Christchurch Factory.
To discuss the consequences of these decisions and what more the government could be doing to protect workers and local New Zealand production producer Thomas talked to E tū Union Director for manufacturing and food Finn O’Dwyer-Cunliffe.
In February, Australian politician Pauline Hanson made headlines for an interview with Sky News where she suggested there are no “good” muslims.
Additionally, an independent report from last year found anti-Muslim incidents in Australia had “skyrocketed” since the start of the war in Gaza.
This has been amplified by the charged political environment in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack, and the government’s subsequent Plan to Combat Anti-Semitism, which conflated anti-Semitism with criticism of the state of Israel.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Research Fellow at Deakin University, Dr Ali Mamouri, about this rising Islamophobia in Australian politics and its consequences.
Labour has reshuffled its portfolios ahead of the election this year.
The Royal Commission Inquiry into Covid-19 has released its final report for phase two of the inquiry.
And the Education and Workforce Select Committee has released its final report on online harm and young people.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, I spoke to MP and member of the Education and Workforce Committee Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.
Last year, the govenment announced siginificant budget cuts to the school lunch programme formerly known as Ka Ora, Ka Ako, reducing the funding available per meal and reshaping how the programme is delivered in schools. Now, New Zealand's Healthy School Lunch Programme covers only a quarter of schools based on the Equity Index, reaching about 240,000 students, so more than half of children experiencing food insecurity do not attend school that recieve the programme.
New research by Dr Kelly Garton, a research fellow in the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland, and a spokesperson for Health Coalition Aotearoa, compares New Zealand’s programme with Brazil’s national school meal system, which has been running for over 70 years and is considered a global gold standard.
Producer Pranuja spoke with Dr Garton about what New Zealand could learn from Brazil’s approach to school meals, and what a stronger programme here might look like.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about Labour’s portfolio reshuffle ahead of the election, phase two of the Royal Commission Inquiry into Covid-19, and the results of the select committee inquiry into social media harm and young people.
For International Desk this week, they spoke to Deakin University Research Fellow Dr Ali Mamouri about rising islamophobia in Australian politics.
For City Counselling this week, News Director Castor spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about March Madness and changes to PC 120.
And Producer Pranuja spoke with Dr Kelly Garton from the University of Auckland on her recent article comparing New Zealand's Healthy School Lunches Programme to Brazil’s. We discussed the budget cuts to New Zealand's lunch programme and what we could learn from Brazil’s long-running national free school meal scheme.
In the past couple of months, the United States military has successfully decapitated two foreign regimes, capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Military action in Iran is still underway, but the Trump administration already appears to be eyeing up its next target: Cuba. Trump recently said that regime change in Cuba is now “just a question of time,” and that it may or may not be “a friendly takeover.”
Producer Toby spoke to Dr. Paul Taillon about the prospect of regime change in Iran and Cuba. They discussed the history of American involvement in these countries and the differences between what Trump is currently doing and previous attempts at regime change
Recently, the government legalised their practice of clawing back welfare money from people who receive an ACC claim, leaving thousands of people in debt to the Ministry of Social Development, (MSD).
Last week, we also saw mixed messaging from the government over Iran. One such case saw the Prime Minister claim that those affected by the crisis would receive automatic visa coverage, contradicting his immigration minister.
Finally, a review of the Clean Vehicle Standard could be the final nail in the coffin of the previous Labour government's policies to build an electric vehicle market in New Zealand if the current government chooses to repeal the policy that fines importers who do not also bring in a high enough ratio of electric vehicles.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Green Party’s response to the government's messaging on Iran, and the review of the clean vehicle standard, but began by talking about the legislation permitting the clawing back of welfare support from ACC recipients.
The Covid 19 Pandemic saw wide-reaching policy interventions to save lives, keeping our hospital open and emergency beds available. Over the course of lockdowns, traffic lights, vaccines and mandates, the government at the time found that increasingly vocal opposition grew in response to their efforts.
This opposition grew into a severe division that marked that period of time can be seen to this day.
The groups protesting the pandemic control measures often viewed these restrictions as conspiratorial threats or vast overreach that infringed their rights, while supporters of the governments actions saw them as neccessary steps to save lives.
Following an inquiry into our pandemic response done by the Labour government that found appropriate actions were taking and no wrongdoing, momentum grew in certain minor parties for another look.
This week, we saw the release of this with the release of a second inquiry.
To get her perspective on the second inquiry, Wire host Manny spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, Doctor Siouxsie Wiles, about the Covid 19 inquiry and her takeaways on social trust and cohesion.
This week, the government announced another change to Plan Change 120, Auckland’s plan for future housing developments across the city. Originally, the plan proposed a minimum housing capacity of 2 million homes, but many in central suburbs raised concerns that intensification could harm the character of their neighbourhoods. In February, the government lowered the minimum capacity to 1.6 million, which Auckland’s council and mayor spoke out against.
Despite the disagreement, council developed new plans for the 1.6 million capacity. This week, however, the government announced plans to lower the minimum capacity further to 1.4 million, forcing council to make further changes to the plans.
Also these past few weeks we’ve seen disagreements between the government and council over how best to manage the fuel crisis. The government has focused on payouts to middle and lower class families with children, but Mayor Wayne Brown says a better solution could involve subsidising public transport.
To discuss each of these issues, News Director Castor spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey.
About a month ago, Wednesday Wire host Manny spoke to a researcher sounding the alarm over the state of our primary healthcare, here and globally.
Across the globe, services meant to be the first port of call for health issues such as dental, GPs and pharmacists, were found to be increasingly under stress as costs grow and the workforce fails to keep pace with demand.
Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners Workforce Survey in 2022 raised concerns: Over half of GPs were planning to retire within the next decade, a declining number of GPs work in GP run practices and filling that gap is an increasing number of corporate healthcare providers.
As the holder of the Green parties Primary Healthcare Portfolio, our Green Party interviewee is the perfect subject to discuss his parties platform on the subject.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, we talk primary healthcare, it’s current state in Aotearoa, the issues it faces and where the Green Party would like to take it.
Last week, Minister for Conservation Tama Potaka announced an update on the Predator Free 2050 strategy, which aims to rid New Zealand of rats, possums and stoats. Five and a half million dollars of funding was set aside by the government with the aim of making Wellington the first predator free city in the world within the next ten years.
This week on Green World, Wire producer Liam spoke to James Russell, professor of conservation biology at the University of Auckland, about the progress and impact of Predator Free projects in Wellington and nationwide.
Fuel prices across the country are rising, and concerns over a potential fuel shortage are growing. In response, the government announced the national fuel response plan late last week. The plan has four stages, named Watchful, Precautionary, Managed, and Protected. The last two remain under consultation, and we’re currently under only the first.
Analysts have criticised the plan for being vague, especially in later stages, and the early stages for not doing enough. The Watchful stage involves increased monitoring, data publications, coordination, and an ad campaign encouraging people to reduce fuel consumption.
The government has responded to most critiques by comparing its response to that of the previous Labour government to COVID, which they have repeatedly criticised. They say government intervention is the wrong way to deal with a crisis, an idea which many have questioned.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News Director Castor asked him about the fuel crisis, what the government’s doing, and how the previous government plays into all of this.
Last week saw public transport usage in Auckland reach a 7 year high, on account of high fuel prices across the country. While high usage bodes well for public transport, the network is facing difficulties around overcrowding. In addition, Auckland Transport is pushing for central government support to lower fares, which ministers have rejected.
Auckland Council has also conducted a review into its resource management consenting processes, and found multiple spots for improvement.
And central government has announced dog control law reforms, which Auckland Council has welcomed given its extensive existing operations in animal control.
To discuss each of these issues, News Director Castor spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson.
The Government has announced a support package to address rising fuel prices.
And the McCains processing factory in Hastings is set to close in January 2027, but it is not yet known how many workers and growers will be affected by the closure.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked about both of these topics.
Back in 2020, two new guidelines were introduced to support schools in teaching Relationships and Sexuality Education. The guidelines were introduced by the then Associate Education Minister and New Zealand First MP, Tracey Martin, after reports from the Education Review Office showed inconsistencies in how schools taught this subject - alongside significant gaps. The new guidelines brought greater emphasis to sexuality and gender diversity, Māori and Pacific views of sexuality, the use of digital technologies, and information about relationships and sexuality education for disabled learners.
However, the current government scrapped these guidelines as part of a coalition agreement with New Zealand First, who campaigned on removing the guidelines, which they called ‘woke gender ideology.’
The new proposed guidelines for relationships and sex education are significantly different to those introduced back in 2020.
For this week’s Get Action, Producer Theo spoke to Leonie Morris from Te Wāhi Wāhine o Tāmaki Makaurau - the Auckland Women’s centre - on their petition to bring back Te Tiriti-based, inclusive relationships and Sexuality education in schools.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
The crisis growing at the pump is ramping up in seriousness as the conflict in Iran continues to escalate.
This week saw US President Donald Trump make further threats to destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure that is yet to be bombed and - in turn - Iran continues to target the Gulf states and block the Strait of Hormuz, preventing any exports from this critically global hub
This blockade is preventing over a third of the world's nitrogen fertilisers and a fifth of the global supply of oil and liquefied natural gas from leaving the region, while both sides' bombing campaigns are causing widespread destruction to infrastructure, which means we may not see a return of some oil and gas fields for years to come.
In Aotearoa, the costs of fuel have seen steep rises, soon to be spread across the economy as everyone's back pocket is hit, and attention is now being turned to fuel reserves with fears that we may see imports decline.
To face the moment, the Green Party has put together a collection of proposals which they have sent in an official letter to the National Party and between the two parties, they’d have enough votes to pass.
For our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, Host Manny dug into this letter, the Greens proposals, and why they are reaching out to the Nats.
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