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.
Geoff Simmons is the leader of The Opportunities Party, the political party founded by Gareth Morgan before the last election, that failed to win a seat in Parliament. This is despite a strongly fought election campaign that saw them ultimately end up with 2.4 percent of the Party vote.
Host Stewart Sowman-Lund sat down with Geoff in the 95bFM studio to talk about the Party's election prospects and the state of politics in New Zealand.
New Zealand was ranked the seventh most gender equal country in the world by the latest World Economic forum report on gender equality. However, many industries in New Zealand remain unbalanced. Grace speaks with Eva Sherwood, chair of Techwomen and board member of NZTech about the gender gap in New Zealand's tech sector.
ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa are starting a campaign similar to the In Her Shoes website from Ireland which highlights personal stories of women seeking abortions. It is an effort to combat stigma around the issue and instead increase education and conversation around it. Terry Belamak is the National President of the pro-choice group ALRANZ in NZ whose purpose is to ensure everyone has the freedom to decide for themselves whether or not to receive abortion care. Lillian Hanly spoke with Terry about the campaign as well as the history of ALRANZ and the progress of the pro choice movement itself.
If you wish to share your story, you can contact ALRANZ on info@alranz.org or directly message them on the Abort the Stigma Facebook page.
Welcome to Board Games, where we shall roll the dice on an array of local issues in our new weekly chat with the head of the Waitematā Local Board, Pippa Coom, and her support cast on the board.
Tune in from this week on to learn about every thing from what a local board actually does to what's happening in the waitemata electorate, from what's included in an area development plan to how you can get involved in local politics. Climb the ladders and get your local knowledge past go every tuesday wire with your hosts Oscar and Lisa!
Here is our first episode where we get to know the basics!
The full show podcast for the Wire show of Tuesday the 5th of March.
On Today’s show, we have a fair few items. Mitch talked to Dr Mels Barton about Sea Week, The Community Garden has migrated from Thursdays and this week we were joined by Tim from The Warren up on Cross St in Central Auckland, we have a new segment as well called Board Games, tune in to find out more and finally, we go to the international desk to talk about USA and North Korea nuclear talks and Algerian Protesting.
On the show today Lachlan speaks to Robin Wilson Whiting from First Union about unfair wages in retail. Jemima talks to Green Party co-leader James Shaw about the party's new Strengthening Democracy Bill. Oscar speaks to Catherine Delahunty of West Papua Action Auckland about unethical imports of kwila wood. Jemima wraps it up with Worry Week by talking to AUSA Engagement Officer Emily McDonald about university orientation and student engagement.
Official figures show almost 18,000 retail workers are on minimum wage, currently $16.50 an hour. FIgures also show 67 percent of retail workers see it as their career. First Union is fighting for the living wage through their worth it campaign, arguing retail is valuable work that often goes unnoticed. The campaign has included negotiations with employers, public information campaigns, and picketing. Lachlan spoke with Robin Wilson Whiting of First Union about retail workers’ wages and their recent picket of a supermarket, first asking her what conditions were like for retail workers currently.
Veteran activist John Minto will be walking the last North Island kilometre of his ‘Walk for Palestine’ today. Taking a life long stance on activism, John is walking to build awareness and support for the Palestinian struggle. He has walked over 1700 kilometres from Cape Reinga to Wellington since the 14th of December, and this next leg of his journey will take him onto the South Island, where he encourages supporters to join him. Louis spoke with John on why he’s behind this crisis as well as the journey he’s made so far...
Fireworks may arguably be a strange occurrence in the history of Aotearoa. Since their introduction in colonial times and the traditions of Guy Fawke, which has little to no relevancy at all for New Zealanders, the notion has become something of a explosive display in celebration on public holidays & in private use. But the dangers & risks to others are abundant. Especially pets. So the Auckland City Council is lobbying for a ban on private sales, in which a public consultation found 80% of the 8000 submissions were in favour of the ban. Ila Christianson spoke with Auckland City Councillor Cathy Casey, who is petitioning for the vote about her stance on the ban.
Last week, Te Pāti Māori MP, Takutai Kemp, passed away at the age of 50.
She had previously taken leave from Parliament last year, due to suffering from kidney disease.
Following the announcement of Kemp’s passing, the House adjourned early in the week out of respect for Kemp, her whānau, loved ones, and Te Pāti Māori.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to him about the passing of Takutai Kemp.
They also discussed the Regulatory Standards Bill.
Last week, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, created multiple posts on his Instagram, accusing individuals, such as academics Dr George Laking, Dame Anne Salmond, and Metiria Turei, as well as Labour’s Willie Jackson, of suffering from "Regulatory Standards Derangement Syndrome".
In response to this, Wellington Mayor, Tory Whanau, wrote to the Prime Minister, accusing Seymour of “attempting to stifle academic opinion and any dissenting opinion.” She added that Seymour’s acts breached Sections 2.53 and 2.56 of the Cabinet Manual.
Section 2.53 calls for Ministers to "conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the office," while Section 2.56 requires ministers to act to the highest level of ethical and behavioral standards.
As well as this, they discussed the bill receiving over 130,000 public submissions, but only being allocated 30 hours for these submissions.
Last week, the council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Committee said they would be seeking to implement a number of recommendations that improve emergency readiness for disabled populations.
Following a hui last year where community members were invited to bring forward issues relating to future planning for natural disasters, Sara was interested to hear about how the council is taking suggestions on board.
As well, Auckland Council has been considering proposals to mitigate flood risks around the Wairau catchment, including one which would see the reduction of the size of the Takapuna Golf Course, to convert the space into a flood catchment.
Producer Sara spoke to Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson on both of these topics, firstly by asking him to discuss the desired outcomes relating to emergency preparedness for disabled people, and the council’s first steps to implementation
Zohran Mamdani has all but won the Democratic Primary in New York City after key competitor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
Mamdani will now be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
His campaign was built on cost-of-living, where Mamdani presented himself as an authentic, Democratic Socialist, grassroots campaign leader.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to 95bFM reporter and South Asia correspondent Sanat Singh about Momdani’s win, what this means for the communities he represents, and where to from here.
A reported 131,000 submissions were made on the Regulatory Standards Bill.
The Bill, proposed by the ACT party, includes a set of principles outlining “responsible regulation.” Notably, it does not include any mention of either version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Last weekend, hundreds of Destiny Church members marched on Queen Street in a rally that they called “in defence of faith, flag, and family.”
And the Labour Party has criticised the framing of a poll question by the Taxpayers Union/Curia on whether or not Cook Islanders should retain automatic New Zealand citizenship.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Recently the Green Party commissioned independent legal advice to look into the government’s $200 million investment in new gas fields that was carried out last month and found out that the investment was in breach of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS).
NZ First MP Shane Jones recently announced that he’d be drafting a member's bill to force Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement, which would prevent hapū from negotiating separate commercial redresses and remove any reference to hapū sovereignty from the settlement terms.
And the Green party recently issued a call to the New Zealand government to condemn the US strikes on Iranian Nuclear facilities, almost a week after Iran and Israel had both been trading missile strikes between each other.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Hūhana Lyndon to get the party’s take on all of these issues
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.
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.
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