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.
On the 8th of November, a wildfire tore through 3000 hectares of Tongariro National Park, before being extinguished four days later.
The fire resulted in multiple walks in the region to be closed, including the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. However, as of today, many of these tracks have reopened.
However, the full extent of the fire on the region’s ecosystem is yet to be fully investigated.
On Friday, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to George Perry, a Professor in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland, about this wildfire, and how detrimental this fire will be on the region's ecosystem, from what we are currently seeing
A few weeks ago, Kelston Boys High School in West Auckland said they were at the front of an unsupported, attempted takeover to turn the school into a charter school.
As well as this, more recently, the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport, a charter school set to be established next year, was signed with a trust that did not exist.
Amendments have also been made to the Education and Training Act, removing a clause requiring school boards give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The move has seen backlash from the National Iwi Chairs Forum and a growing number of schools, who have launched a petition against the move.
Finally, the controversial Regulatory Standards Bill has passed its third reading and is now set to be implemented into law.
The bill previously received 156,000 public submissions, with 98.7% of those voicing their opposition to the bill.
For our weekly catch-up with ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to him about these topics.
They started off by asking Court about Kelston Boys High School and the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport, and how concerning these developments are for the ACT Party.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about charter schools, changes to the Education and Training Act, removing school boards’ responsibilities to adhere to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the Regulatory Standards Bill passing into law.
Producer Alex spoke to Greenpeace Campaigner Gen Toop about the passing of the Regulatory Standards Bill into an Act last week, and what it means for corporate interests over the environment in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Joel spoke to George Perry, a Professor in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland, about the recent Tongariro wildfires that have devastated the region.
And Alex spoke to Professor in Public Health at the University of Auckland, Chris Bullen, about New Zealand dropping in the Global Tobacco Interference Index rankings, and what that means for smoking policy and health in Aotearoa.
Last Week, the government passed the regulatory standards bill into the regulatory standards act. Long controversial, failing to pass in its first three readings and subject to enormous opposition in submissions during the process, the law is the child of David Seymour’s ACT party.
But now that this law has passed, these serious concerns are of urgency. Particularly there are loud concerns and criticisms of the primacy granted to corporate interests, in the face of te Tiriti o Waitangi and the environment.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Greenpeace Campaigner Gen Toop about the bill passing, what it means for the environment, and what should be done in the face of this policy threat.
Last week saw the release of the Global Tobacco Interference Index. In it, Aotearoa ranked 53rd in the world - a whopping 52 places down from two years ago.
This ranking two years ago was reflective of our robust anti-smoking laws - since the current coalition government has repealed them, however, that reputation has come seriously into question. These rankings now serve as a warning about the role that the tobacco industry plays in health policy, and New Zealand’s failure to manage smoking and tobacco lobbying.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Professor of Public Health at the University of Auckland, Chris Bullen, about the ranking, Tobacco influence in the government, and what it says about Smoking in New Zealand as a whole.
Similar to how Prime Ministers choose who their cabinet members are, the Mayor last week announced his appointments for committees in Auckland Council.
Committees are powerful pieces of the Auckland Council machine, determining the direction on key policy issues around community assets, budgeting, transport and housing.
Notably different to his approach last term, the Mayor has opted to appoint key allies to committee chair roles. These are councilors who have had a good working relationship with the mayor over the last three years and will mean that there are less roadblocks when it comes to advancing his agenda.
At the same time the Mayor and Central Government are responding to increased complaints about anti-social behaviour in the CBD by considering laws and bylaws that would ban homelessness.
Critics of this policy note that such laws would not address the key drivers to poverty and housing need and would simply endanger those individuals experiencing homelessness further.
Thursday Wire Producer Sanat talked to Councilor Shane Henderson today about these committee appointments and this proposed ban on homelessness.
The infrastructure commission has identified that there is a $210 billion dollar infrastructure deficit in New Zealand. Unfortunately, due to the lack of available capital New Zealanders lose out on the advantages of high quality infrastructure and the wealth it can generate for the public good.
To respond to this Kiwisaver Manager Simplicity has created a new company called Infrakiwi. This company would be listed on the stock exchange and would only allow for New Zealanders to invest in it. This company would own and operate key infrastructure assets, generating long term risk adjusted returns and jobs for New Zealanders as well.
Thursday Wire Producer Sanat spoke to Simplicity’s CEO Sam Stubbs about this proposal and what it means for future generations of New Zealanders
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about the expulsions of two Te Pāti Māori MPs, concerns about police leadership, and Chris Hipkins ‘socialist’ label.
For International Desk, they spoke to Youth Environmentalist Sumaya Mohammed and Lead on the Youth Climate Justice Project Aoife Daly about youth participation at COP30.
For City Counselling, Producer Sanat talked to Councillor Shane Henderson about a proposed ban on Homelessness in the CBD and new committee appointments inside Auckland Council.
He also talked to Kiwisaver Provider Simplicity’s CEO Sam Stubbs about their new infrastructure proposal called Infrakiwi.
This week was the start of the COP30 climate talks in Belém, Brazil.
Young people from across the globe are heavily involved in climate campaigning, but many face obstacles in being able to attend COP, particularly in being involved in the actual decision-making.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Youth Environmentalist and member of the Youth Climate Justice Project, Sumaya Mohammed, who is attending COP next week, about young people's experiences with the climate talks.
They also spoke to Aoife Daly, Professor of Law at University College Cork and Lead on the Youth Climate Justice Project, about her research into youth participation at COP.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about government ministers announcing they are considering banning rough sleeping in Auckland’s CBD, recent unemployment figures, and the government’s action plan to combat meth usage.
For this week's Get Action, Producer Manny spoke to JT from Touch Compass on their petition to Say YES to “Access” #YesToAccessNZ | Words shape world on their petition to replace inclusion with access.
Manny spoke with Jason Mika, Professor of Māori Management at the University of Auckland, about the ructions within Te Pāti Māori.
And News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with Professor John Morgan, The Head of the School Critical Studies and Education at the University of Auckland, about his article on Newsroom his belief that the country is seeing a collapse of the second curriculum accord.
Tāmaki Makaurau’s council budget is among those impacted by the proposal of a rates cap, considering Tāmaki’s average 5.8% annual rates increase across the 25/26 financial year.
Youth homelessness is a growing concern as discussions continue around “move on” orders for those without housing in Auckland’s CBD.
And the Skycity Convention Centre is set to open in 2026, with high hopes for what it may bring for Tāmaki Makaurau after its prolonged development.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Counsellor Fairey about these topics.
The Trump administration has caused issues of significant food waste due to a range of its policies, including immigration raids, tariffs, cuts to food assistance programmes, and the destruction of food for programmes like USAID.
This has had huge consequences, including environmental impacts, as well as impacts on the estimated more than 47 million people in the US who don’t have enough food to eat, and those who have relied on US foreign aid that has been cut.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, Provost Associate Professor in Environment, Development & Health at American University, about these issues.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
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Recently, the government has announced some major reforms to how regional councils operate, with regional councillors proposed to be replaced by boards made up of city and regional mayors, and potentially even Crown-appointed representatives, called combined territories boards, or CTBs.
As well as this, Health Minister, Simeon Brown, has called for the decentralisation of Health New Zealand, with the expectation that the entity focuses on deliveries closer to the front-line, additionally expecting a plan to do so by the end of the year.
For our weekly catch up with the National Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to MP Stuart Smith about these topics, starting with the regional council.
From today until the 4th of December, a conference will be held in Queenstown that will look into pest management and how best to protect native species.
The event not only brings experts in the sector from Aotearoa, but will also involve Australian experts as well.
Tuesday Wire Host Sara spoke to Dr Sze-Wing Yiu, a Wildlife Ecologist at the Bioeconomy Science Institute, about this week’s conference, and what to expect.
The government has recently announced some major reforms to how regional councils operate, with regional councillors proposed to be replaced by boards made up of city and regional mayors, and potentially even Crown-appointed representatives, called combined territories boards, or CTBs.
The ‘shake-up’ of regional councils has left concerns that the move would water down environmental regulations at a local level, reduce Māori and iwi voices in decision making, and would result in central government overreaching into local politics.
As well as this, Parliament’s Justice Committee has recommended passing the Electoral Amendment Bill, albeit with some amendments
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about both of these topics, starting with the changes to regional councils.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka announced the government’s release of the new social housing investment plan which aims to shift to a “needs-based, data driven approach”.
The new flexible fund includes $41 million dollars in operating funding over the next four years, and the government have stated they expect to support up to 770 social homes and affordable rentals in the initial phase.
As well, Health Minister Simeon Brown last week announced a Cabinet decision to stop new prescriptions for puberty blockers for young people identifying as trans or experiencing gender dysphoria.
The rule, in effect from 19th of December, is based on recommendations from a UK National Health Service review which determined that the evidence to the benefits or risks of the treatment was “remarkably weak”.
The government is expected to pause new prescriptions until the outcome of a clinical trial being conducted in the UK, expected to be completed in 2031.
Wire Host Sara spoke with MP Carl Bates about all of these topics, firstly by asking about the flexible fund which will replace the so-called ‘patchwork of programmes’ in place for social housing.
Christmas Lights at MOTAT - experience Auckland’s most magical Christmas lights - heritage trams, festive music, Santa visits, and thousands of sparkling lights Tickets at MOTAT.NZ.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
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