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.
Recently, a study was conducted by researchers at the University of Southampton which uncovered a shift in the circulation of the Southern Ocean.
The study showed that the shift would draw up more salt water from the deep ocean, subsequently accelerating the loss of ice in the Antarctic and leading to an increase of sea levels and global heating.
The week before, the government allowed the terrorist designation given to the far-right ‘Proud Boys’ group to expire, effectively decriminalising the act of funding or openly supporting the group here in Aotearoa.
And, just yesterday Finance Minister Nicola Willis confirmed a number of changes to Family Boost which she said would help families with the cost of living.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
The Southerner was a passenger express train in the South Island running between Christchurch and Invercargill from 1970 to 2002.
The train was eventually closed due a decline in passenger numbers and subsidies, although it was briefly revived in May this year for four days as part of a tourist experience.
Recently, a group of campaigners from Save our Trains launched a petition calling on the government to restore the Southerner train route as a more accessible form of travel for South Islanders.
Wednesday Wire Host Oto spoke with Dave Macpherson from Save Our Train - Southern, to discuss his petition and why the Southerner should be restored.
At a recent summit in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a number of options for New Caledonia’s potential statehood, following island-wide unrest last year over voting reforms that led to 14 deaths.
One of the options proposed by Macron involved granting New Caledonia “associated statehood” status, where the island would be largely self-governing while still being linked to the French state.
Wednesday Wire Host Oto spoke with Gordon Nanau, co-head of Maori and Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland, about Macron’s proposal to grant New Caledonia associated state status, and what this would mean for the Island’s indigenous Kanak population who have largely been seeking independence from France.
For Dear Science, our expert, Daniel Thomas chatted with us about rice arriving in the Pacific, native forests sinking carbon, and seaweed used for grooming orcas.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the regulatory standards bill in light of it going to select committee.
Producer Faith spoke to Larisa Hockey from the Long COVID Kids organisation about the effects of Long COVID on children, and how the issue should be addressed.
She also spoke to the CEO of Cannabis Clinic NZ, Dr. Waseem Alzaher, about the stigma around medicinal cannabis.
New research shows that two thirds of Kiwis believe there is still a stigma around medicinal cannabis usage, and that users are still subject to negative stereotypes.
Producer Faith spoke to Dr. Waseem Alzaher from Cannabis Clinic NZ about the stigma, and what steps need to be taken to normalise its usage.
A recent study from the University of Otago shows that more than twenty percent of children in Aotearoa who’ve been infected by Covid-19 still suffer persistent, ongoing symptoms.
Producer Faith spoke to Larisa Hockey from the Long Covid Kids organisation about how long covid affects children, and how children are specifically at risk.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to MP Cameron Luxton about the government’s expectations for City and Regional Deals, and Youth Parliament.
Joel speaks to the Chief Executive of Retail NZ, Carolyn Young, about proposed changes to increasing the penalties for shoplifting and trespassing from businesses.
And Producer Samantha speaks to Caroline Perry Director of the Brake road safety charity about the government reverseing lower speed limits implemented under Labour and the potential danger this poses to children.
Under the previous Labour government speed limits were lowered nationwide, however the current National lead coaltion goverment these changes have been reveresed.
This reversal was done without community or local coucil approval and has been criticised for potentially putting children in danger, particularly around schoolds. Children are at much higher risk or injury and death in vehicular collisions than adults, and that risk rises more and more as speeds increase.
To discuss these changes Producer Samantha spoke to NZ Director of Brake, Caroline Perry, about the potential danger to children that these changes pose.
Recently, Justice Minister, Paul Goldsmith, and Associate Justice Minister, Nicole McKee, have announced tougher changes to those caught shoplifting, and those being trespassed.
Of the proposed changes to shoplifting include instant fines, the maximum punishment for theft being increased.
Of the proposed changes to trespassing include those being trespassed at one location of a business with multiple locations, such as a franchise, to be trespassed from multiple locations, increasing the maximum fine for someone refusing to leave, and increasing fines for anyone refusing to give out personal information.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Chief Executive of Retail NZ, Carolyn Young, about these potential changes, and what this could mean for retailers, and businesses as whole.
For our weekly catch up with the Labour Party, Producer Sara speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about the ‘censorship’ of youth MPs in Parliament this week, as well as some of the financial changes that came into effect on July 1st
For City Counselling, Sara speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about the government’s idea to scrap regional councils, as well as their request for the approval of up to fifteen storey buildings around CRL stations.
For International Desk, News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to the Executive Director of the Britain Palestine Project, Dr Brian Brivati, about the potential shift in international order, looking at Israel’s and the US’ recent attacks on Iran, and Israel’s continued war on Gaza.
And Sara speaks to the Chair for the Safety of Women and Children Leonie Morris, about the disestablishment of Te Pūkotahitanga.
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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