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.
Operation Burnham was a mission undertaken in Afghanistan by New Zealand Special Air Service troops in 2010. An inquiry into this mission was launched following allegations made in the book Hit & Run, by the journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson. The book alleged that members of the Defence Force killed six and injured fifteen Afghan civilians and the events were later covered up by the military. The inquiry was launched in April last year, however the lawyers representing the Afghan villagers have launched legal proceedings for a judicial review in the investigation as they do not think the inquiry is being carried out the way it should be. Olivia spoke to lawyer Deborah Manning who is representing the villagers about the judicial review.
Producer Sherry talks to Alesha Ahdar on her theatre show My Kuia, and on the representation of LGBTQ+ Māori and Polynesian creatives, bridging the intergenerational gap, and current struggles within the community.
The School Strike 4 Climate Action NZ is happening this Friday in Aotea Square, and throughout the rest of the country. This day has been organised by students and helpers for school children to strike from school to show politicians they are taking their futures seriously, and treating climate change for what it is - a crisis. These kids are between 8-18 and their demands include:
Passing an ambitious and effective Zero Carbon Act that gives New Zealand a coherent long term plan to get to carbon neutrality by 2050;
Keeping the effect of global warming and its consequences for all living things on this planet in mind when making decisions for the future;
The paths to reaching our emission targets being fast tracked, well planned and transparent so the New Zealand public is aware that progress is being made and can hold the Government to account;
Ceasing all exploration and extraction of more fossil fuels immediately. We already have more in our reserves than we can afford to burn to avoid catastrophic climate change. We need to invest in renewable energy alternatives now;
Regulating emissions from agriculture, which account for almost half of our emissions, and for which there is currently no plan.
Sophie Handford is one of the young people organising the strike and Lillian Hanly spoke with her to find out more about how these strikes came about given the current Fridays for Future movement in Sweden that was started by Greta Thunberg (and the same in Belgium, just on Thursdays). Thunberg decided she would strike every Friday until the Swedish policies provided a safe pathway well under 2-degrees Celcius, in line with the Paris Agreement. The point behind it is that students are asking what the point is of studying for a future that may not even exist at this point, and why spend a lot of effort to become educated, when our governments are not listening to the educated?
But back to Aotearoa. Sophie was catching a train at the time and during the interview hopped off the train and onto a bus which you’ll hear, Lillian decided to leave this in as a testament to the actioning of alternatives to carbon use.
On Dear Science today with Marcus Jones we talk about not being exposed to enough germs, woolly mammoths and an all female space walk.
The School Strike 4 Climate NZ is coming up on Friday and we speak with Sophie Handford, one of the organisers, about how this all started.
Sherry talks to Alesha Ahdar about the show My Kuia and they discuss the space for Queer Māori and Polynesian people in creative arts.
We have a report from Louis Laws about the Reclamation Festival at Ihumātao to give some context to the delivery of their petition to parliament yesterday.
And lastly, our Economic Anxiety with Rod Oram feature is back with part 4 - where might another crisis come from?
Yesterday, a petition was delivered to parliament by Save Our Unique Landscape, the group occupying the land at Ihumātao and opposing the sale of the land to Fletcher. The petition demands the government take action to stop the development of the land and return it to mana whenua. A couple of Saturdays ago, there was a Reclamation Festival at Ihumātao hosted by mana whenua as a way of bringing people together to understand and celebrate the kaupapa behind the occupation. Louis Laws went along and made this report.
The full show podcast for Tuesday the 12th of March, 2019. Featuring segments with Author and Policy analyst Owen Gill, Head of the Local Board, Pippa Coom and Dr. Huhana Smith. The International desk also delves into the condition of Burkina Faso.
At a Turning Point w / Owen Gill is a mini series about the development of Auckland, with questions emerging from his book. This episode, we start by introducing his book, him and a few initial responses to the work.
Last Friday was International Women's Day which is celebrated annually as focal point of women's rights. This year Jemima noticed the presence of gender equality discussions on social media sky rocket around International Women's Day and wanted to learn more about whether a social media post truely combats gender inequality. In this interview, Jemima speaks to the President of the National Council of Women, Vanisa Dhiru, to answer this question.
This month, a number of council body reforms have come into effect in the Auckland Council, fulfilling Mayor Wayne Brown’s promise to address issues and implement community feedback into the council’s format.
The three new divisions in the Auckland Council to improve organisation include the Auckland Urban Development Office, the Property Department, and an Economic Development Office, each of which are intended to make decision making more effective and accessible to the public.
As well, with the persisting cold temperatures and rainy weather hitting Auckland this Winter, I wanted to discuss the topic of homelessness in Auckland’s city centre, and to what extent the council is working to support those rough sleeping in the CBD
Public hearings as part of phase two of the Royal Commission into COVID-19 took place in Auckland this week.
The second phase of the inquiry has a stronger focus on lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and the impact of the Covid-19 response on business and the economy.
And yesterday, an independent reference group set up by the Ministry of Environment shared their recommendations for climate adaptation legislation.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Arena Williams about both of these topics.
Recently, a study was conducted by researchers at the University of Southampton which uncovered a shift in the circulation of the Southern Ocean.
The study showed that the shift would draw up more salt water from the deep ocean, subsequently accelerating the loss of ice in the Antarctic and leading to an increase of sea levels and global heating.
The week before, the government allowed the terrorist designation given to the far-right ‘Proud Boys’ group to expire, effectively decriminalising the act of funding or openly supporting the group here in Aotearoa.
And, just yesterday Finance Minister Nicola Willis confirmed a number of changes to Family Boost which she said would help families with the cost of living.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
The Southerner was a passenger express train in the South Island running between Christchurch and Invercargill from 1970 to 2002.
The train was eventually closed due a decline in passenger numbers and subsidies, although it was briefly revived in May this year for four days as part of a tourist experience.
Recently, a group of campaigners from Save our Trains launched a petition calling on the government to restore the Southerner train route as a more accessible form of travel for South Islanders.
Wednesday Wire Host Oto spoke with Dave Macpherson from Save Our Train - Southern, to discuss his petition and why the Southerner should be restored.
Hearings on the regulatory standards bill are currently underway, with around 23,000 total submissions both written and oral. Early analysis of the submissions estimated 88% percent are in opposition, while only 0.3% are in support.
The bill has been pushed by Minister for Regulation and ACT Party leader David Seymour, who says it should support the government to reduce regulation and ensure the protection of individual rights and private property. The bill has been criticised for not including clauses around Te Tiriti o Waitangi or environmental protections. It has also been criticised for potentially undemocratic elements, placing large amounts of control in the hands of the unelected Ministry for Regulation.
In our weekly catch-up with the National party, Wire host Castor asked Tom Rutherford about the regulatory standards bill in light of the select committee hearings and new criticisms.
Recently, the government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mayors of Auckland, Otago, and Western Bay of Plenty Councils over the government’s expectations of City and Regional Deals. These deals aim to tighten the partnership between central and local governments.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to MP Cameron Luxton about what to expect heading forward regarding the relationship between local, regional, and central government.
They also discussed last week's Youth Parliament.
Youth Parliament provides the opportunity for 143 rangatahi aged 16-to-24 as Youth MPs, representing MPs across the political spectrum, and Youth Press Gallery members, to understand the country’s political processes, understand how government works, and replicate the Parliamentary process.
Youth MPs had previously accused event organisers of ‘censoring’ their speeches. This follows the MPs being asked to remove elements of their speeches that were critical of government policies, such as the Treaty Principles Bill and pay equity.
However, The Ministry of Youth Development has come out saying the way they communicated their wishes with Youth MPs could have been clearer and more concise. The general manager of the Ministry, John Robertson, says reviewing speeches and suggesting changes was a part of the process, but these recommendations are not enforced.
They also spoke to Luxton about these accusations, and whether they are tantamount to censorship.
Finally, they discussed calls by over half of the Youth MPs represented in this year's Youth Parliament, from across the political spectrum, renewing calls for the voting age to be lowered, to allow 16-to-17-year-olds the right to vote.
5 ACT Youth MPs, including the Youth MP representing Cameron Luxton, Fletcher Brown, had signed a letter calling for the voting age to be reduced.
This follows the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that found the current voting age is unjustified age discrimination and goes against the Human Rights Act 1993.
They also discussed these renewed calls to lower the voting age.
As the youth parliament is set to take place this week, a number of youth MPs have spoken out claiming they have been asked to change or remove elements of their speeches which criticise certain political figures or current topics like environmental action, pay equity and the treaty principles bill.
Youth Organisation Gen Z Aotearoa founder Nate Wilbourne was asked to edit parts of his speech calling out Ministers Shane Jones, Tama Potaka and Penny Simmonds on their role in environmental destruction.
He said “When your voices are edited to remove criticism, when ministers are shielded from being named, when we're told that our lived experiences are too political, that is not neutrality – that is protection of the status quo.”
As well this week, on July 1st a number of changes came into effect including the government’s Kiwisaver contributions and eligibility, the rate in payments for sole parents and through ACC, Healthy Homes standards, and procedures for receiving the job seeker benefit.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Sara asked Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics
Following Israel and the US’ large-scale attacks on Iran, and Israel’s continued war on Gaza, this has raised the question on the future of international order.
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to the Executive Director of the Britain Palestine Project, Dr Brian Brivati, about this turning point in international order, and what we should expect heading forward.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has suggested to the local government forum that regional councils may be abolished, stating that
"After the upcoming changes to the Resource Management Act, I doubt that there's going to be a compelling case for regional government to continue to exist.“
Regional councils across Aotearoa are responsible for matters relating to natural resource management, flood control, and biosecurity.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said effectiveness between different councils is varied, and that councils generate too much bureaucracy and are “too focussed on vanity projects”.
As well, in order to make the most of local and central investment into Auckland’s growing city, the government is asking Auckland Council to increase the housing development allowance around key Central Rail Link stations in the lead up to the project’s completion.
Seeking to amend the resource management act, the government hopes to increase housing height and density around Mount Albert and Baldwin Avenue stations, allowing upzoning of ten stories around these areas, in addition to allowing upzoning of fifteen stories around Maungawhau, Morningside and Kingsland.
Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics, starting with the proposal to scrap regional councils.
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