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.
Earlier this week, 26 climate scientists wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, accusing the government of ignoring scientific evidence of methane emissions and urging him to work towards reducing emissions.
The letter also criticised the government’s method of reducing emissions to the level of “no additional warming”, a concept approved by the Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb, to keep New Zealand’s contribution to global heating at the levels they were in 2017.
However, Chris Luxon reportedly dismissed the open letter, referring to the climate scientists as “worthies” and insisting that the government was managing methane emissions better than "every other country on the planet,” despite the fact that New Zealand has one of the highest per-capita methane emissions rates in the world.
Oto spoke to Amanda Larsson, Senior Campaign manager for Greenpeace Aotearoa about the open letter sent to Christopher Luxon by 26 climate scientists, Luxon’s reaction to it and the concept of “no additional warming.”
Like the rest of the world, we are currently living in a time of economic uncertainty. Economists are forecasting the NZ dollar’s decrease in value, and there have been debates about whether the official cash rate should decrease.
Professor Robert MacCulloch is one of the academics that believe the OCR should stay as is. Producer Faith spoke to MacCulloch about his stance.
The government’s 2025 budget still seems to be very topical. Despite many academics criticising the budget for taking money out of of the pockets of those less well-off, the government has also received praise for their investment in abuse redress and care reform- with them allocating $774m to the victims of abuse in state care.
Producer Faith spoke to Professor Jodi Gardner from the University of Auckland’s Law Faculty about how the investment will benefit this victims, and what she thinks the government should do to ensure practical solutions are put in place
For Dear Science, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about discounting claims of life on k2-18b, stories of a mysterious ninth planet, and 'The Blue Danube' heading to outer space.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the new defence spending in 2025's Budget and where everything’s going to go.
They also spoke to the General Manager at Forest and Bird, Richard Capie, about the disestablishment of Predator Free 2050.
Producer Faith spoke to Professor Robert MacCulloch from the University of Auckland’s School of Business and Economics about the official cash rate (OCR), and whether or not it should drop.
She also spoke to Professor Jodi Gardner from the University’s Faculty of Law about how the government’s Budget 2025 will invest in abuse redress and care reform.
One of the less discussed announcements in 2025’s budget was the disestablishment of Predator Free 2050. The project was announced by former Prime Minister John Key in 2016, with the ambitious goal of complete pest eradication in Aotearoa.
The government’s contributions to the mission were funneled through ‘Predator Free 2050’ a government-funded organisation created to support conservation projects and technologies. These projects funded through Predator Free 2050 will not be affected by the organisation’s closure, and will instead be passed on to the Department of Conservation. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says the change will increase efficiency and reduce duplication.
While it’s good news that the funding won’t be affected on paper, the Department of Conservation is already struggling to manage its existing commitments. With these additional responsibilities, the future of the Predator Free mission has become less certain.
To discuss conservation in Aotearoa and how this cut will affect the Predator Free mission, Wire host Castor spoke to General Manager at Forest and Bird, Richard Capie.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about Budget 2025, particularly its impact on rangatahi, and the Regulatory Standards Bill.
For International Desk, they spoke to Greenpeace campaigner Juressa Lee about the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference.
For this week’s City Counselling, Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson on Auckland Council’s recent approval for new development in the city centre, as well as the latest updates in the Western Springs speedway v stadium debate
For her second topic, of national and global military spending, she spoke with Massey University Defence and Security Associate Professor Anna Powles, as well as Peace Movement Aotearoa coordinator Edwina Hughes.
Global military expenditure reached a record high of two point seven trillion dollars in 2024, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. This is the tenth consecutive year that military spending has increased across the world.
Last week’s Budget announcement, as with declarations of investments earlier this year, in which $12 billion was committed to defence over the next four years, with an aim to reach 2% of GDP, demonstrate the New Zealand government’s interest in keeping up with global standards.
Peace Movement Aotearoa have called this central government decision “deplorable”, as the same budget made cuts to crucial social services, and has underinvested in urgent issues within sectors like health, climate action, and infrastructure.
Producer Sara spoke with Massey University’s Associate Professor in the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Anna Powles, about why both global and national military spending is increasing despite other crucial areas needing investment.
Sara also spoke with Peace Movement Aotearoa co-ordinator Edwina Hughes about the effects of this increased militarisation taking priority over efforts to address humanitarian issues.
She began her interview with Associate Professor Anna Powles, by asking what some of the key drivers of this increased global military spending are.
From 9th June, the United Nations Ocean Conference is being held in France, which is co-hosting the event with Costa Rica.
More than 50 world leaders are expected to attend, with 1500 delegates from almost 200 countries.
The conference follows the world’s first deep-sea mining application for the international seabed, which was submitted to the United States government as opposed to the United Nations regulator.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Juressa Lee (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Rarotonga), seabed mining campaigner at Greenpeace, about the conference.
Could a water crisis be in the pipeline for Aotearoa?
Sewage contaminating Oyster farms in Auckland, as well as more periods of extreme rainfall due to climate change, has highlighted the lack of investment in water infrastructure over the past couple decades.
Dan Hikuroa, an associate professor at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland, upholds a traditional Māori view of water as a sacred taonga, as something to be treasured, rather than being framed as a property right and commodity.
To talk about what we should change to protect our water in Aotearoa, Producer Max spoke to Dan Hikuroa.
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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