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.
First Union & New Zealand Tramways Union are striking against their employers, over rejections of pay offers from NZ Bus.
Tension began two years ago when the national government, who brought in a tendering process that made councils compile in taking the lowest paying bus operators, drove rates down by 30%. Wages were cut for bus drivers, with contracts they are locked into, & now tensions have come to ahead.
This week NZ Bus drivers were seeking better pay and conditions by refusing to collect fares last week from Monday, making it very cheap for commuters. However, this has now resulted in those drivers being suspended.
Wire producer Louis spoke to Union First’s Organisers about the strike today ...
The government is planning on introducing new speed limits around schools, and more changes as part of their ‘Road to Zero’ Road Safety Strategy. Deb Rawson spoke with Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter about these proposed changes, and what they mean for the public.
November 29th was the International Women Human Rights Defenders Day. On this day Amnesty International released a report highlighting how Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) are often vilified and abused for their work.
Amnesty's Head of Global Human Rights Defenders Programme, and Head of Global Relief Programme, Guadalupe Marengo, calls in from the UK to speak with Deb Rawson about the report, and experiences of WHRDs.
This week on Monday Wire, for the weekly chat with the Green party, co-leader Marama Davidson explains the foregin donations policy and euthanasia bill. Then, Sherry speaks with dietitian Lucy Carey, author of a report publised in the New Zealand Medical Journal criticising the use of BMI tests for pre-schoolers.
Deb speaks to Amnesty’s Head of Global Human Rights Defenders Programme, Guadalupe Marengo, about Women Human Rights Defenders. She also speaks to Associate Minister of Transport Julie Ann Genter about safer speed limits being introduced around schools.
And, lastly, Louis reports on the bus strikes currently happening, and has a chat with First Union.
The National Party’s, Chris Penk, joins host, Laura Kvigstad to keep us up to date on all the national news. This week they discuss the National Party's concerns around governments' infrastructure spendings. Then, they chat about the foreign donations bill and the draft bill for the cannabis referendum.
Next, Producer Rachel Simpson speaks with Minister of Health David Clark on the Cancer Control Agency.
After that, the Commerce Commission released its report into fuel prices. Producer Murray Dennett speaks with Commerce Commission Chair, Anna Rawlings on the report's conclusion.
Then, Rachel speaks with Terry Bellamak, Abortion Law Reform Association New Zealand National president NHS Report on Women’s Health and it’s recommendations.
And Finally, in another segment of neutral corner, Benjamin J Goldson looks at the media treatment of the recent NATO summit and some hot mic comments about Trump.
With a final report by the Commerce Commission on fuel prices publicly released, 95bFM producer Murray Dennett spoke to Chairperson Anna Rawlings about their findings.
This week's topic is the recent NATO summit in London, England, which attracted controversy for Justin Trudeau's candid comments about American counterpart Donald Trump.
Britain’s National Health Service, also known as the NHS, has released a report on the state of women’s health in the UK.
The report recommends measures the NZ Ministry of Health should consider when implementing the pending abortion law reform legislation.
Rachel Simpson spoke to ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa president Terry Bellamak about how to meaningfully incorporate women's rights into the healthcare system. They discuss issues with accessiblity, privatised healthcare, and what the NHS report suggests for women's health in the future.
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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