Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Castor Chacko, Oto Sequeira, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Four climate activists were arrested and seventy protesters were trespassed after blockading operations at Bathurst Resources’ Stockton coal mine for more than sixty hours.
The protest targeted the Australian-owned mine which is planning an expansion of activities approved through the government’s new fast-tracked consent process.
While Resources Minister Shane Jones has justified the coal expansion as important for domestic energy needs and economic growth, activists assert that the government is wrongly “doubling-down” on fossil fuels when they should be scaling up renewable energy.
Producer Sara spoke with Adam Currie, a climate activist from 350 Aotearoa and one of those who was arrested for disrupting operations at the coal mine this week.
She started the interview by asking what the main goal of the protest was
The Government announced its proposals for updating the Waste Minimisation Act and the Litter Act today. The proposals would combine these two Acts into one, extend producer responsibility and permit local government to use its share of the waste disposal levy on a wider range of activities unrelated to waste.
Labour party MP, Rachel Brooking, criticised the proposal for failing to include any mention of establishing a circular economy. However, Sue Coutts, an advocate for Zero Waste Network Aotearoa says that the proposal is a step in the right direction.
Greenpeace recently conducted an investigation into the meat processing corporation, JBS, which concluded that the company had failed to meet its deforestation-free commitment.
The Brazilian multinational is the largest meat processing enterprise in the world and largely operates in the Amazon Rainforest, where they have been accused of contributing to illegal deforestation, mistreating their livestock and even spreading zoonotic diseases.
In 2020, JBS announced their plan for zero deforestation by this year, which included a monitoring system for their suppliers. However, the Greenpeace investigation found that the company had made little progress on their commitment and was continuing to contribute to the Amazon’s deforestation.
Oto spoke to Amanda Larsson - Senior Campaign manager for Greenpeace Aotearoa, about their investigation into JBS and how they plan to hold them accountable for their deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Oto speak to him about Simeon Brown’s Health Infrastructure Plan, the downgrading of climate change in the new Defence Capability Plan and the recently announced extension of military assistance to Ukraine.
He spoke to Amanda Larsson - Senior Campaign manager for Greenpeace Aotearoa, about Greenpeace’s investigation into meat processing corporation JBS and their role in the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
And he spoke to Sue Coutts, an advocate for the Zero Waste Network about their take on the government’s proposal to update the waste minimisation act.
Max spoke to the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa co-chair, John Minto, about the PSNA appeal to New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, in which they requested that New Zealand initiate the call for an internationally enforced “no-fly” zone over Gaza.
On the 22nd of April 2025, the Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa, or PSNA, wrote to the New Zealand Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, requesting that New Zealand initiate the call for an internationally enforced "no-fly" zone over Gaza.
PSNA Co-Chair, John Minto, said that it would be "a small but practical step to blunt Israel's continuing genocidal attacks on Palestinians".
Producer Max spoke with John Minto, to talk about the appeal to Foreign Minister Winston Peters, New Zealand's commitment to the region, as well as the impact it would have if New Zealand were to take action.
Yesterday, at the age of 88, Pope Francis passed away from stroke and heart failure. As head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis was also known for being outspoken on various rights issues, including around immigration, refugees, climate change, and the occupation of Palestine.
The next pope is expected to be decided over the coming weeks, with multiple people seen as frontrunners for the position.
To discuss the life, accomplishments, and death of Pope Francis, Wire host Castor spoke to senior lecturer of theological and religious studies, Dr. Nick Thompson.
The Environmental Protection Authority is gathering information on how tattoo inks are manufactured, distributed, and used in Aotearoa to determine whether existing regulations are appropriate and effective.
In 2020, the European Union restricted and banned several substances commonly found in tattoo inks due to the potential risk of adverse effects.
Although such effects are very rare, the Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao wants to examine whether their regulations should better align with international standards.
Producer Amani spoke with Manager of Hazardous Substances Reassessments at the Environmental Protection Authority, Shaun Presow, to find out more on this.
A recent study of 156,000 has shown that New Zealanders should be aware of the differences between Australian work culture, before considering crossing the ditch.
The study has found that Australia pales in comparison to New Zealand regarding a workplace being fair regardless of race, age, and sexual orientation, with only 51% of those saying they consider their workplace as a psychologically and emotionally healthy environment to work in.
This comes as there has been a surge in New Zealanders leaving to Australia, with Stats NZ findings from 2023 showing a net migration loss of 44,500.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the general manager of Great Place to Work New Zealand & Australia; a global human resources research and certification organisation, Rebecca Moulynox, about these findings, and what New Zealanders should consider before working in Australia.
For Dear Science our expert Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about dimethyl sulphide found on the exoplanet k2-18b, plants farming nickel, and turning rain into electricity.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about reserve bank budget cuts and new classroom developments in Auckland.
They also spoke to Senior Lecturer in theological and religious studies, Dr. Nick Thompson from the University of Auckland about the passing of Pope Francis and its implications.
Producer Amani spoke with the Environmental Protection Authority’s Shaun Prescow about the manufacture of tattoo inks in New Zealand.
And News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Great Place to Work New Zealand and Australia’s Rebecca Moulynox about a new study showing poorer working conditions in Australia compared to New Zealand.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about Casey Costello’s Te Whatu Ora language directive, consultation opening on the new relationship and sexuality education draft framework, and the Treaty Principles Bill being voted down at second reading.
For International Desk, they spoke to Jean Lantz Reisz from the University of Southern California Law School about the removal of Kilmar Abrego García from the United States without due process.
Wire Producer Sara spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson for City Counselling about council amalgamation and the roles available in Auckland Council in this year’s local elections.
And she spoke to Dr Olivier Jutel from the University of Otago on the use of AI in political content, specifically ACT’s recent social media post.
Last week, the government announced that they would begin an official review of the Waitangi Tribunal and the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975.
The government has said that the review is to ensure the Waitangi Tribunal remains effective and relevant, however, a number of Māori and treaty law experts have referred to the review as an attack on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles.
In that same week, the government announced that they would be investing $774 million towards improving the redress process for survivors of abuse in state care in Budget 2025.
However, going against one of the key recommendations of both the Royal Commission and the Redress Design Group, the government will not be looking to set up a new redress scheme for abuse survivors.
And the government recently passed amendments to the Wildlife Act that would permit the “incidental killing” of certain native wildlife species by companies during lawful activities like construction and development.
For our weekly catchup with the Green party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March for the party’s take on all of these issues.
In 2014, Victoria University of Wellington made an official promise to divest $650,000 worth of investments in fossil fuel companies which, at the time, comprised of 2.1% of the University’s total investments.
However, more than 10 years on, a student-led investigation found that the university still held significant investments in companies like Exxon Mobil and SHELL through third-party investment managers.
A year after a successful petition by Students for Justice in Palestine Pōneke calling on the university to divest funding from Israeli companies, a group of students from Climate Action Victoria University of Wellington have made renewed calls to the university to divest from fossil fuel companies.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Hugh Acton, a member of Climate Action Victoria of University of Wellington, who’s launched a petition calling on the university to disclose their investments in companies involved in fossil fuel production and to divest from them immediately.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
National Party MP Catherine Wedd recently filed a private members bill that would look at restricting social media use for young people, mainly those under 16. While the bill has received some criticism from the ACT party, other parties such as Labour have agreed that legislation around this issue is important.
At the end of April New Zealand First MP Jenny Marcroft put forward a private members bill forward that would seek to define the word ‘woman’ in New Zealand law. The bill was received with criticism from opposition parties and the general public, who say the bill is drawing on transphobic sentiments to distract from more important issues.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues, starting with the potential social media restrictions.
Last week, the controversial Pay Equity Amendment Bill passed under urgency.
The bill makes drastic changes to the Equal Pay Act 1972, making the criteria for equity claims stricter, and could can the 33 existing claims, affecting 150,000 female workers.
The passing of the bill has faced significant opposition from the Labour Party, Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori, over concerns this bill would set women back, and resulted in nationwide protests.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the passing of the Pay Equity Amendment Bill, and how this would impact marginalised communities.
They also spoke about the Ministry of Education releasing the draft relationships and sexuality education, or RSE, framework, for students years 0 to 13, and the party’s concerns regarding this.
But first, they discussed the Pay Equity Amendment Bill
The ACT Party has defended the Government’s controversial move to pass changes to pay equity law under urgency — a move that immediately halted all current claims and raised the bar for future ones. The Government argues the new rules will provide more “clarity” and prevent costly legal disputes, while unions and advocates say the bill is a rollback of hard-won gains for women in low-paid sectors.
Critics also slammed the lack of consultation and the speed of the legislative process, while questions are raised over whether the move was made to plug a hole in the upcoming budget. For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about why ACT supports the Pay Equity Amendment Bill, and whether it risks undermining efforts to close the gender pay gap.
They also discussed a National Party member’s bill that would ban under-16s from using social media — a proposal ACT has declined to back for now. National says the ban would protect young people’s mental health, while ACT argues it raises serious questions about freedom of speech and parental responsibility.
International relations experts are fearing a major conflict between India and Pakistan after sharp, escalating tensions, following a deadly terrorist attack in militarised Kashmir that killed 26 people.
Kashmiris have a long history of oppression. In modern times, this has been as India and Pakistan fight over the region while Kashmiris fight for independence.
Human Rights Watch reports on Kashmir reveal examples of forced displacement, sexual violence, disappearances and allegations of torture and death in custody.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Rohan Davis about the recent terrorist attack and ongoing military escalation, as well as the historical and political context of the Kashmir crisis.
Davis is a video essayist on YouTube from Kerala, India, who covers Indian history and politics.
The government has changed pay equality laws, halting all existing claims and reducing the number of workers who can argue for better pay based on gender discrimination.
New figures show the unemployment rate has remained unchanged from last quarter at 5.1%.
And National has put forward a member's bill proposal that would ban social media for under-16s.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Earlier this week, defence Minister Judith Collins announced that $2 billion would be set aside in this year’s budget to replace the Defence Force’s maritime helicopters.
This would be outside the additional $12 billion dollars that the government will be investing in the Defence Capability plan and would include another separate $1 Billion investment in the defence force over the next four years.
In that same week, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith recently announced that Cabinet had reinstated a total ban on prisoners voting in general elections, overturning laws under the previous Labour government allowing prisoners serving less than three years to vote.
And Green Party MP Steve Abel recently added The Animal Products (Closing the Welfare Gap) Amendment Bill to the biscuit tin, which would ensure that imported products in New Zealand met our animal welfare standards.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Greens MP Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss all of these issues.
Winter is coming, and so is a projected increase in respiratory illnesses and COVID cases. Schools are particularly notorious breeding grounds for such diseases with children being more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.
Ultimately, this results in teachers also being subject to COVID and respiratory illnesses at a higher rate than other professions, and an increased number of teachers leaving the profession due to long COVID symptoms is worsening Aotearoa’s already severe teacher shortage.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Tara Forde from Aotearoa Covid Action, to discuss a petition of hers calling for the government to prevent the spread of COVID in our schools by making improvements to school air quality and improving accessibility to Booster Vaccines and Rapid Antigen Tests.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
95bFM 
