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 the World Health Organisation declared a polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea.
The Papua New Guinea government has activated its emergency response supported by the Australian Government, the WHO and UNICEF.
The government has modified it’s response after a similar outbreak in 2018. The new response involves mass vaccination campaigns, enhanced surveillance of transmission and better localised community engagement.
I spoke to the University of Auckland’s Associate Dean Pacific Sir Colin Tukitonga about the outbreak, what the response looks like on the ground and what lessons we can take from the Pacific when it comes to vaccinations at a time where New Zealand’s vaccination rates are the lowest in the OECD.
There have been reports recently that indie promoters across the city have been told to immediately cease postering in the city by Auckland Council.
Auckland Council has cited a higher number of complaints and their signs bylaw which technically makes these posters promoting indie gigs illegal. However, an informal arrangement between both parties meant that enforcement action was rarely taken
At the same time Auckland is a UNESCO city of music with the city’s independent music scene being renowned globally, so today I wanted to ask Councilor Shane Henderson about Auckland Council’s rationale and see why they have suddenly changed their approach when it comes to gig posters.
There has also recently been some commentary from Auckland Business Chamber head Simon Bridges about the state of Auckland’s regional economy.
He wants the central government to renew investment to stimulate the economy and extend a helping hand to struggling industries. At the same time regional economies in the South Island seem to be showing signs of economic recovery while Auckland still contends with the country’s highest unemployment rate.
So I asked Councilor Shane Henderson about how Auckland Council can stimulate that growth and how that growth can have equitable benefits across the entire city.
Promoters in Auckland’s independent music scene have been “shocked” after Auckland Council has started taking enforcement action against gig posters in the CBD.
These posters are often self designed and self printed by promoters in order to ensure that there is a high level of engagement in Auckland’s independent music scene which has often been described as the “lifeblood” of the CBD.
However, the council has been receiving an increased amount of complaints about posters and has cited the signs bylaw as reason enough to take this enforcement action.
They have also been told that promoters can pay to use advertising space and use social media to advertise their gigs.
Producer Sanat wanted to understand how the community was feeling about this action and whether the alternatives posed by council are actually feasible, so he spoke to promoter Lara Marie about gig postering in the CBD.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about yesterday’s teacher strike, Indian Independence Day celebrations in Tāmaki Makaurau, and concerns about safety and rehabilitation in Mt Eden Prison.
For International Desk, they spoke to Olga Pantos, a research scientist at PHF Science with a PhD from Newcastle University, about the failure to negotiate a global plastics treaty at the United Nations last week.
And they spoke to University of Auckland PhD candidate Annabelle Cranswick about efforts to protect the Bryde’s whale and why they’re moving further out in the Hauraki Gulf.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sanat spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about Auckland Council’s recent enforcement action against gig posters in the city and Auckland’s broader economic recovery.
He also spoke to Indie Music Promoter and founder of JunkMail Lara Marie about what Auckland Council’s enforcement action means for the community and what she believes is the path forward on this issue.
And he spoke to the University of Auckland’s Associate Dean Pacific Sir Colin Tukitonga on the recent outbreak of polio in Papua New Guinea and the lessons we can learn from the Pacific Islands when it comes to community vaccination response.
Yesterday, secondary teachers took part in a one-day strike due to stalled pay talks.
Teachers have rejected the government’s offer for a 1% pay increase per year for three years, and a doubling of the number of days teachers can be called to work when schools are closed.
The 15th of August marked India's Independence Day, and celebrations across Indian communities in Tāmaki Makaurau took place over the weekend.
And a new watchdog report has revealed 62% of Mt Eden prisoners are in voluntary segregation due to feeling unsafe.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.
Last week's United Nations talks to negotiate a global plastics treaty failed after a consensus couldn’t be reached.
This led to major disappointment from several countries, as well NGOs, who called the failure a “blow to multilateralism.”
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Olga Pantos, a research scientist at PHF Science with a PhD from Newcastle University, about the failure to negotiate.
Wherever you’re listening to this, it’s quite unlikely that you arrived at that location by walking there. How do we know this? Because, according to a 2018 census, 82.8% of trips made in Auckland were by car. And that’s despite most New Zealanders understanding that walking has many benefits. It keeps us healthy, reduces stress, and produces zero carbon emissions.
So why don’t we walk more? Well, Dr. I-Ting Chuang, a Senior lecturer at the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, conducted a study to look into why people in Auckland and Hamilton are so dependent on cars, despite many areas fitting the conditions of being an ideal walking location.
Producer Max spoke to Dr. I-Ting Chuang, to understand what her research found about our dependence on cars and what we could do to build a walking culture.
In November 2019, the autonomous region and island of Bougainville held a referendum to decide whether they should express a desire for independence, instead of continued autonomy as a part of Papua New Guinea. The result of the vote saw a landslide 97.7% majority vote for independence and would see Bougainville seek to replace South Sudan as the newest country in the world.
Yet, despite this, Bougainville remains an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea six years later. The difficult transition period has resulted in political tensions rising between the island and Papua New Guinea. However the recent signing of the Melanesian agreement in June is seen by experts as a significant step towards independence for Bougainville.
To talk about why this situation has dragged on for so long and what we can expect moving forward, Producer Max spoke to Gordon Nanau, the head of Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about the party's support for the five unions taking the Government to the High Court over their pay equity law changes, The final cost of the iRex ferry project’s cancellation and The Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill passing in Parliament.
And he spoke to Stephen Hoadley, a retired professor in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland about the outcomes of the Trump-Putin summit that happened over the weekend.
Max spoke to Dr I-Ting Chuang from the University of Auckland, to discuss why people in Auckland and Hamilton aren’t walking as much as they should.
And he spoke to Gordon Nanau from the University of Auckland, to talk about the ongoing situation between the autonomous region of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea.
Over the weekend, the highly discussed summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was held in Anchorage, Alaska to discuss the terms for an end to the war in Ukraine.
The summit, lasting of total of less than three hours, resulted in no ceasefire terms or any formal deals being achieved. Putin’s conditions for an end to the war remained unchanged, with Trump walking away from the summit ruling out Ukraine’s NATO membership or reacquisition of Crimea.
Ukraine, who were excluded from the summit, criticised it’s direction, with many critics describing it as an optics victory for Putin.
Oto spoke with Stephen Hoadely, a retired professor in international relations and politics at the university of Auckland, to discuss the outcome of the summit, as well as the possibility of another summit between Putin and Zelenskyy to be held in the future.
Earlier this week, Councillor Julie Fairey moved a resolution to investigate Auckland Council’s involvement with companies that are complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
And this week, Auckland Council launched an AI virtual assistant to report issues such as graffiti, roaming dogs, and noise complaints.
For City Counselling, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown announced the signing of a new ‘City Deal’.
The deal will see closer partnership between the central government and Auckland Council, coordinating planning in areas such as infrastructure and transportation.
The deal will see a long-term partnership between the government and council, with regular meetings and cooperation on strategies for innovation and transportation, with reviews of sporting venues such as Eden Park and the Auckland Tennis Centre.
However, the deal has been critiqued by some as being a collection of promises without any new funding.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, he and producer Theo discussed the signing of the Auckland City Deal, and how the Green Party would work with Auckland Council on issues such as transportation and infrastructure.
Last week, the Government and Auckland Council agreed on the ‘Auckland City Deal’, which seeks to enhance co-ordination between the two bodies to enable better investment in the city to get the most out of what Mayor Wayne Brown has called the ‘Engine’ of the economy. This will see better communication between the mayor and prime minister, co-operation on certain legislation, and funding.
The weekend also saw Cyclone Vaianu hit the country, with parts of the country facing damage and flooding. The government now has the job of responding to the damage, and deciding what needs to change, looking forward to future cyclones.
This week, Host Alex spoke with National Party MP Ryan Hamilton about each of these topics.
Last week, the Ministry for the Environment together with Stats New Zealand released Our Freshwater 2026, a major report on the state of Aotearoa’s freshwater systems based on decades of data. The report highlights both long-term improvement and deterioration of waterways nationwide, with particular focus on groundwater sources and the impacts of agricultural land use and the climate crisis on water quality.
I spoke to Troy Baisden, co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists and Adjunct Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, about what the findings of this report mean and also about the strengths and limitations of freshwater reporting.
Over the past week, the conflict in Iran has seen consistent U-turns as the United States continues to change its strategy in the war. On Wednesday morning, US President Donald Trump threatened Iran, saying "a civilisation will die tonight", just hours before agreeing to a two-week ceasefire with Tehran.
This ceasefire is now in doubt, however, as Israel has escalated its bombing campaign in Lebanon, killing hundreds since it was signed, and Trump announced this morning that the US will block the Strait of Hormuz after failed peace talks with Iran in Pakistan.
Amidst all of this, New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the day of Trump's threats and wouldn't condemn the comments. Some New Zealanders are concerned by the country's limp response to these illegal threats and actions against Iran.
Also this month, the Act Party has continued to call for the abolition of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, after it was announced that a complaint about online site The Platform and its host, Sean Plunkett, would be looked at by the authority.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party's Simon Court, producer Thomas asked him about the ceasefire in Iran, the US blocking the Strait of Hormuz and the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
Over the past few weeks, the government has been hesitant to call out the US and Israel for their role in the recent conflict in Iran. While Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has called for all parties to comply with international law, he refrained from explicitly addressing either aggressor. Only in the past week has Luxon offered any criticism, calling Trump’s Iran policy “unhelpful” and Finance Minister Nicola Willis “alarmed” at Trump’s comments around destruction of civilisation in Iran. Labour has criticised the government for its lack of a hard stance.
Also this past week has seen funding for the Tukituki water security project secured, which could see flooding for significant amounts of conservation land in the Hawke’s Bay. The project could also see acceleration under the Fast Track Approvals bill, which Labour has also criticised since its inception.
Lastly, Auckland Council has repeatedly called for additional support for public transport amidst the fuel crisis. Despite these calls, the government has yet to deliver.
To discuss each of these topics and what the Labour party could bring to the table, News Director Castor spoke to Labour MP Shanan Halbert.
A record number of Aucklanders are using public transport amidst rising fuel costs. The average number of users is up 10% from the same time last year.
And yesterday, Watercare lifted its boil water notice for the suburbs of Hillsborough, Mt Roskill, Royal Oak, and Three Kings after 2 days under the notice.
The notice was due to a detection of bacteria on Monday, which a Watercare investigation found was caused by a single water quality monitoring tap.
For City Counselling this week, The Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about these topics.
This morning, with negotiations continuing to stall and his own deadline for ending the war approaching, US President Donald Trump threatened civilisational destruction on Iran if they did not concede to the US demands. Whether a sincere threat or an act of brinkmanship may remain unclear, as just before Trump’s deadline, Trump claimed a two week ceasefire had been agreed to.
Last week, the Green Party released their housing policy - a home for everyone. It takes a welfare-based approach, pitching rent controls, reversing tax breaks on the bright line test, and a public housing building program.
For our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, Wire host Manny asked about the gravity of Trump's threats on Iran, but began with the Greens' housing platform.
Cabbage, mull, buds, dak, smoke, skunk, hash, chronic, grass, pot, cannabis. It’s the fourth most used recreational drug in New Zealand, coming in behind caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. Back in 2020, alongside the general election, voters were asked in a non-binding referendum whether they supported a proposed cannabis legalisation and control bill. The result was a vote opposing the legalisation of cannabis by a thin margin.
Currently, medicinal cannabis is available via prescription, but cannabis otherwise remains illegal to use, distribute, or produce.
For this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke to Patrick and Colden from the Reeferendum 2026 campaign, on their petition to legalise cannabis and reform drug laws and policing in Aotearoa New Zealand.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
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