Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Castor Chacko, Alex Fox, Emmanuel Orange, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Ireland is to become the first country in the world to include mandatory cancer warning labels on alcohol products. A move that has been hailed as world-leading.
Aotearoa hasn’t followed their lead just yet, but Marlborough winery Villa Maria Estate have complied, by putting the warning on all their bottles getting sold in Ireland.
Many public health experts have praised these moves, and believe it’s time for us to address alcohol issues, here in Aotearoa. Producer Faith spoke to public health expert Dr. Karen Wright from the University of Auckland about these decisions, and what further steps we need to take.
*Correction: The banning of alcohol sold after 9 pm in Auckland off-licenses is an Auckland Council policy, not a government policy.
The government’s $231m boost for breakthrough technology has drawn praise for being a step forward, but scientists, researchers, and academics have criticised the risks involved– and how the money was reallocated.
Producer Faith spoke to Professor Nicola Gaston from the University of Auckland about the investment, and the potential opportunities it will create.
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata - The Human Rights Commission, are calling for cross-party support for slavery laws.
This follows members' bills from both sides of the House to tackle modern slavery.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner for the Commission, Professor Gail Pacheco, about these calls.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Joel, spoke to MP Simon Court about the re-establishment of 10 polytechnics that were under Te Pūkenga and Labour’s Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill.
Joel spoke to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner for the Human Right Commission, Professor Gail Pacheco, about the commission’s calls for cross-party support for effective legislation to tackle modern slavery.
Joel spoke to the Communications and Campaign Manager for Child Poverty Action Group, Isaac Gunson, about recently released research from the organisation, that families below the income floor are struggling to cover basic necessities.
Joel spoke to Carrie Leonetti — an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, about her research showing the Family Court is using ‘junk’ evidence.
Finally, Joel spoke to Jessica Haugh from the University of Auckland, about her Master’s thesis into sexual harm prevention in Aotearoa’s music industry.
The government has recently announced that Te Pūkenga is set to return to ‘regional governance,’ re-establishing 10 polytechnics that were merged under the previous Labour-led government.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to MP Simon Court about these developments with Te Pūkenga.
They also discussed Labour MP, Camilla Belich’s member’s bill — the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill, passing its second reading.
In the government, National are in support of the bill, however, New Zealand First, and ACT, are not. We discussed why ACT are not supportive of the bill, despite their coalition partner, National, being in support.
But first, they discussed the re-establishment of the 10 polytechnics that were previously merged under Te Pūkenga.
In recently released research from the Child Poverty Action Group, the research shows low-income families below the Income Floor are struggling to pay for bare essentials.
Below the Income Floor refers to the minimum income needed to live and belong.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Isaac Gunson, a spokesperson from the organisation, about these findings.
According to a new journal article by Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, Carrie Leonetti, the Family Court is using poor-quality evidence in rulings.
On Friday, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Leonetti about her findings and what implications using faulty evidence has on the children involved in these cases.
A number of experts have raised concerns recently regarding the “way too friendly” relationship between alcohol industry lobbyists and policy makers responsible for alcohol restrictions and laws in New Zealand.
While we have had an alcohol harm-reduction levy in place for over forty years, some experts including University of Auckland School of Population Health Professor Peter Adams, believe that this levy isn’t as positive as it seems.
As alcohol lobbyists have been granted input and influence in the development of alcohol policies, Adams says that the levy is actually a smokescreen that allows the industry to profit from alcohol consumption without tangibly addressing its harms to the population.
On Monday, Producer Sam spoke with Professor Peter Adams about this topic.
The government has announced that Te Pūkenga is set to return to ‘regional governance,’ re-establishing 10 polytechnics that were merged under the previous Labour-led government.
In 2020 under the previous Labour-led government, 16 polytechnics and nine industry training organisations were merged into the mega-institute Te Pūkenga, as a “head office”. Despite this, the polytechnics were allowed to maintain their unique images and continue operating.
Vocational Education Minister, Penny Simmonds, announced the move, to establish a vocational education system that is “locally led, regionally responsible, and future-focused”.
The move has faced backlash. The Tertiary Education Union’s national secretary, Sandra Grey, says the move would be a disaster for regional education and that the sector is being treated as a “political football”.
For our weekly catchup with the Labour Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with MP Shanon Halbert, about this move from the government.
They also discussed Te Pāti Māori members expressing concerns over Labour’s choice of running MP Peeni Henare in the upcoming Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.
Te Pāti Māori media liaison, Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, says a vote for Henare would be “wasted,” as Henare already has a seat in Parliament. She has called for people to vote for Te Pāti Māori’s candidate, Oriini Kaipara, so that there would be two Tāmaki Makaurau-based Māori MPs in Parliament.
Earlier this week, Councillor Julie Fairey moved a resolution to investigate Auckland Council’s involvement with companies that are complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
And this week, Auckland Council launched an AI virtual assistant to report issues such as graffiti, roaming dogs, and noise complaints.
For City Counselling, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about both of these topics.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown announced the signing of a new ‘City Deal’.
The deal will see closer partnership between the central government and Auckland Council, coordinating planning in areas such as infrastructure and transportation.
The deal will see a long-term partnership between the government and council, with regular meetings and cooperation on strategies for innovation and transportation, with reviews of sporting venues such as Eden Park and the Auckland Tennis Centre.
However, the deal has been critiqued by some as being a collection of promises without any new funding.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, he and producer Theo discussed the signing of the Auckland City Deal, and how the Green Party would work with Auckland Council on issues such as transportation and infrastructure.
Last week, the Government and Auckland Council agreed on the ‘Auckland City Deal’, which seeks to enhance co-ordination between the two bodies to enable better investment in the city to get the most out of what Mayor Wayne Brown has called the ‘Engine’ of the economy. This will see better communication between the mayor and prime minister, co-operation on certain legislation, and funding.
The weekend also saw Cyclone Vaianu hit the country, with parts of the country facing damage and flooding. The government now has the job of responding to the damage, and deciding what needs to change, looking forward to future cyclones.
This week, Host Alex spoke with National Party MP Ryan Hamilton about each of these topics.
Last week, the Ministry for the Environment together with Stats New Zealand released Our Freshwater 2026, a major report on the state of Aotearoa’s freshwater systems based on decades of data. The report highlights both long-term improvement and deterioration of waterways nationwide, with particular focus on groundwater sources and the impacts of agricultural land use and the climate crisis on water quality.
I spoke to Troy Baisden, co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists and Adjunct Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, about what the findings of this report mean and also about the strengths and limitations of freshwater reporting.
Over the past week, the conflict in Iran has seen consistent U-turns as the United States continues to change its strategy in the war. On Wednesday morning, US President Donald Trump threatened Iran, saying "a civilisation will die tonight", just hours before agreeing to a two-week ceasefire with Tehran.
This ceasefire is now in doubt, however, as Israel has escalated its bombing campaign in Lebanon, killing hundreds since it was signed, and Trump announced this morning that the US will block the Strait of Hormuz after failed peace talks with Iran in Pakistan.
Amidst all of this, New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the day of Trump's threats and wouldn't condemn the comments. Some New Zealanders are concerned by the country's limp response to these illegal threats and actions against Iran.
Also this month, the Act Party has continued to call for the abolition of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, after it was announced that a complaint about online site The Platform and its host, Sean Plunkett, would be looked at by the authority.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party's Simon Court, producer Thomas asked him about the ceasefire in Iran, the US blocking the Strait of Hormuz and the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
Over the past few weeks, the government has been hesitant to call out the US and Israel for their role in the recent conflict in Iran. While Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has called for all parties to comply with international law, he refrained from explicitly addressing either aggressor. Only in the past week has Luxon offered any criticism, calling Trump’s Iran policy “unhelpful” and Finance Minister Nicola Willis “alarmed” at Trump’s comments around destruction of civilisation in Iran. Labour has criticised the government for its lack of a hard stance.
Also this past week has seen funding for the Tukituki water security project secured, which could see flooding for significant amounts of conservation land in the Hawke’s Bay. The project could also see acceleration under the Fast Track Approvals bill, which Labour has also criticised since its inception.
Lastly, Auckland Council has repeatedly called for additional support for public transport amidst the fuel crisis. Despite these calls, the government has yet to deliver.
To discuss each of these topics and what the Labour party could bring to the table, News Director Castor spoke to Labour MP Shanan Halbert.
A record number of Aucklanders are using public transport amidst rising fuel costs. The average number of users is up 10% from the same time last year.
And yesterday, Watercare lifted its boil water notice for the suburbs of Hillsborough, Mt Roskill, Royal Oak, and Three Kings after 2 days under the notice.
The notice was due to a detection of bacteria on Monday, which a Watercare investigation found was caused by a single water quality monitoring tap.
For City Counselling this week, The Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about these topics.
This morning, with negotiations continuing to stall and his own deadline for ending the war approaching, US President Donald Trump threatened civilisational destruction on Iran if they did not concede to the US demands. Whether a sincere threat or an act of brinkmanship may remain unclear, as just before Trump’s deadline, Trump claimed a two week ceasefire had been agreed to.
Last week, the Green Party released their housing policy - a home for everyone. It takes a welfare-based approach, pitching rent controls, reversing tax breaks on the bright line test, and a public housing building program.
For our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, Wire host Manny asked about the gravity of Trump's threats on Iran, but began with the Greens' housing platform.
Cabbage, mull, buds, dak, smoke, skunk, hash, chronic, grass, pot, cannabis. It’s the fourth most used recreational drug in New Zealand, coming in behind caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. Back in 2020, alongside the general election, voters were asked in a non-binding referendum whether they supported a proposed cannabis legalisation and control bill. The result was a vote opposing the legalisation of cannabis by a thin margin.
Currently, medicinal cannabis is available via prescription, but cannabis otherwise remains illegal to use, distribute, or produce.
For this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke to Patrick and Colden from the Reeferendum 2026 campaign, on their petition to legalise cannabis and reform drug laws and policing in Aotearoa New Zealand.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
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