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.
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Dr Tatjana Buklijaš, about the fast track legislation within the context of democratic participation on infrastructure decisions.
For State of the States, our weekly 95bFM US election coverage, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso on yesterday’s Harris/Trump Presidential debate and Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris.
It recently came to the public’s attention that the Inland Revenue Department had been providing social media firms with the personal details of taxpayers to be used in marketing campaigns.
While the IRD have tried to reassure taxpayers that their details were anonymised using a hashing process that would replace the letters in their names with numbers, many have raised concerns about the potential privacy implications that could come with their personal data being sold to social media companies, as well as the efficacy of the hashing process itself.
Wire Host Oto spoke to Gehan Gunasekara, Associate Professor in Commercial Law at the University of Auckland, to discuss the IRD’s selling of taxpayer data to social media firms and its potential implications.
For our weekly catchup, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to The Green Party's Ricardo Menéndez March about recent changes to the treaty principles bill to include acknowledgements to Iwi and Hapu, government pay parity cuts for relief ECE teachers and concerns over Nicole McKee’s gun law reforms.
For our bi-weekly segment Get Action! Wednesday Wire Host, Oto, spoke to ActionStation’s Kareana Kee, about their petition calling for TVNZ to review their coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Producer Sasha spoke to spokesperson from Student Justice for Palestine Pōneke, Frank Mackenzie, about the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation divesting in Israeli bonds.
and Oto spoke to Associate Professor in Commercial Law at the University of Auckland, Gehan Gunasekara, to discuss the implications of the IRD sharing taxpayer data with social media firms.
Following a consistent year of pressure, the Victoria University of Wellington has announced its divestment from all Israeli government bonds and shares. The foundation has previously reported having close to $50,000, which they have divested following major Student sit ins and pushback.
The divestment is only the first step in a long process of boycotting Israel, however there is continued student backing and a recent petition attempting to further progress the severing of ties to Israel.
Producer Sasha spoke to spokesperson for Student Justice for Palestine Poneke, Frank Mackenzie about how continued student pressure led to University of Victoria Wellington divesting from Israeli bonds and stocks.
Last week the government announced its new transport plan, focusing primarily on car and road developments and their flagship ‘roads of national significance’. This focus on roads and car developments has led the government to pull funding from other areas, such as public transportation, walkways, and cycleways.
Last week, the commerce commission also released its first annual grocery report, identifying issues with a lack of competition in Aotearoa’s grocery sector and increased prices faced by consumers. The report advises that the problems stem from a lack of regulation, which enables the supermarket giants to act as they please.
This week in our catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to Katie Nimon about the government’s new transport plan and the commerce commission’s first annual grocery report.
Researchers have estimated that Long Covid could be costing the New Zealand economy $2 billion a year.
The finding follows an Australian study which calculated the economic impact of Long Covid in Australia.
Producer Josef spoke to Professor of Health Economics Paula Lorgelly about the study, Long Covid, and what New Zealand can do about its economic costs.
For Dear Science this week, we chatted with our expert Professor Allan Blackman about genetic fingerprinting, mobile phones not being linked to brain cancer, and how eating habits can make you live longer.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Katie Nimon about the government’s newly announced transport plan and last week’s grocery commission.
They also spoke to Professor of Māori Studies Margaret Mutu of Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, and Ngāti Whātua, about Cabinet’s reviewing the first draft of ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill.
On the Green Desk, Jack Marshall talked to Dung Beetle Innovations’ Dr Shaun Forgie about dung beetles and New Zealand's issues with manure.
And producer Josef spoke to Professor of Health Economics, Paula Lorgelly, about the economic impacts of Long COVID.
The ACT Party’s treaty principles bill was a hot topic during the election campaign last year, and made it into the coalition agreement, with the National party committing to support it to the first reading.
The bill has met controversy since the campaign, criticised by Māori leaders for its potential to remove Māori from decision making processes entirely. Recently, a group of 440 Christian leaders also spoke out against the bill in an open letter to MPs asking them to vote against the bill.
Wire host Castor spoke to Professor of Māori Studies Margaret Mutu of Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, and Ngāti Whātua, about Cabinet’s reviewing the first draft of ACT’s treaty principles bill and its potential impacts on Māori.
Last Thursday, following a six day tangihanga to honour the passing of Kīngi Tūheitia, a new Māori monarch was selected.
That monarch is his youngest child and only daughter, Kuini Nga wai pono i te po. Kuini Nga wai is 27 years old making her the second-youngest Māori monarch to be appointed, and only the second female monarch of the Kiingitanga.
Kuini Nga wai’s ascension to the throne signals a new era and forward movement for the Kiingitanga.
Producer Evie spoke to University of Auckland kaiārahi, Waikato descendant, and whānau of the Kiingitanga, Tui Kaumoana-Steedman about how Kuini Nga wai was selected for the role.
They also discussed how she may take the Kiingitanga in a new direction, what issues she’ll be aiming to highlight, and how her rule may have an effect on Aotearoa as a whole.
Last week, Statistics Minister Shane Reti announced plans to scrap the nationwide census moving forward. The census is the largest statistical survey done in Aotearoa, and provides the bulk of population data used in research and decision-making. Reti says the census is “no longer financially viable” and will be replaced with a combination of smaller annual surveys and administrative data.
While the change looks good on paper, there are concerns around how the change in data collection could affect representation of marginalised and minority groups. Census data tends to be more protected from bias than administrative data and smaller surveys, meaning there are more opportunities for misrepresentation. Some statisticians are particularly concerned about the potential exclusion of marginalised rural communities.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked him about the census decision and its implications on marginalised and minority groups.
Associate Health Minister, David Seymour, has recently announced changes to Psilocybin and Melatonin availability.
Psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms, will be available for certain patients suffering from poor mental health outcomes. Melatonin, which is used for insomnia and jetlag, is set to be available over the counter.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about this move, and the potential accessibility concerns with accessing these medications.
They also discussed taxpayers set to be funding newly-funded cancer medicines for private facilities.
Finally, they discuss opposition parties criticised Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, over a lack of transparency regarding the effectiveness of boot camps for youth offenders, especially as boot camps have received a boost of $30 million, despite the pilot programme still being ongoing.
But first, they discussed Psilocybin and Melatonin.
Housing intensification is a key priority for Auckland Council as Auckland's population is forecast to reach 2.3 million by 2050.
But as planning for growth continues, some Auckland residents have expressed concern about the approval of developments in areas on flood plains or particularly prone to natural disasters.
With Kāinga Ora selling homes as ‘high risk investments’ in areas which were impacted by flooding in recent years, and 15 percent of all granted consents for new builds by Auckland Council being on floodplains, I spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about how the council is taking into account these issues for the coming years.
Last Saturday, over 2,000 protests took place across all 50 American States against President Donald Trump.
The protests coincided with Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the US Army, and they served as a direct response to the military parade in Washington, DC.
The organisers of the protests say they aimed to reject “authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarisation of our democracy.”
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Jeremy Pressman, Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut about the protests and the backlash towards them from the Trump administration.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently spoke to media saying that the government would announce reforms to the Holidays Act that would impact sick leave entitlements for part time workers.
Under the suggested changes, sick leave entitlements would be processed under an accrual system, meaning that part-time workers working half the hours of their full-time counterparts may only earn half of their previously entitled sick leave.
In that same week, a directive was recently given to Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ to give private hospitals 10-year outsourcing contracts to perform elective surgeries.
And earlier this week Associate Education David Seymour announced a review of the funding for early childhood education.
For our weekly Catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez-March about all of these issues.
Last week, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston announced plans to double the tourism value by 2034, with increased funding to support the country in reaching this goal. The funding is primarily targeted at increasing the marketing of New Zealand tourism overseas, which has been met with mixed reactions from tourism operators in Aotearoa, many of whom have been struggling with existing tourist numbers.
Also this past week, the New Zealand government imposed sanctions on two Israeli ministers for ‘inciting extremist violence’ against Palestinians. While the move has received cross-party support, opposition parties such as the Greens and Te Pāti Māori have criticised the government for not taking further action against Israel.
In our weekly catchup with National's Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues, beginning with the new tourism funding.
This week on Dear Science our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about characterising liquid carbon, a New Zealand led cleanup in Antarctica, and plants making their own pesticide.
The ACT Party has recently announced that candidates standing in local elections, if elected, will oppose attempts to mitigate emissions at a local level.
ACT Local Government spokesperson, Cameron Luxton, says council’s should “focus on what they can control,” and not “costly symbolic declarations”.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about this move.
We also discussed the government’s sanctions on Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
New Zealand has joined countries such as the UK, Australia, Canada, and Norway, in banning Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over allegedly “inciting extremist violence" against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and “undermin[ing] peace” for a two-state solution.
Finally, we discussed changes being made to the proposed anti-stalking laws.
But first, we discussed ACT candidates opposing attempts to mitigate emissions at a local level.
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