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.
An investigation by the Privacy Commissioner has revealed Ministry of Social Development employees have spied on beneficiaries suspected of being in an undeclared relationship. Olivia Holdsworth spoke to Auckland Action Against Poverty spokesperson Ricardo Menendez to find out more about the implications of the report and began by asking about the report itself.
Grace speaks with Peter O'Connor, education spokesperson for Child Poverty Action Group, about the government's decision to ban NCEA fees. The decision means students will no longer have to pay over seventy dollars per year to take the qualifications.
Grace speaks with Claire Amos, Principal at Albany Senior Highschool about the changes being made to NCEA. The changes include increasing the number of end of subject examinations and lowering the year level students need to be to begin the first twenty credits available to year seven.
Akala was raised in Camden, north-west London with Scottish, English and Jamaican whakapapa. He positions himself as having been racialised as black despite being raised by his white solo-mum. Akala is a rapper, a historian, a political thinker and now an author. He was in Aotearoa this week for events in Christchurch, Dunedin and the Auckland Writers Festival (which is still going). Lillian Hanly was lucky enough to spend some time with him before he gave his talk on his new book Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire. They sat outside Aotea Center just after Akala had finished speaking to a huge group of students about Shakespeare - because, on top of his work on race and class, and holding two honourary doctorates, he owns The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company. This is a 'music theatre production company aimed at exploring the social, cultural and linguistic parallels between the works of William Shakespeare and that of modern day hip-hop artists'. A number of people actually came up during the interview asking for his autograph.
As Akala positions himself in most interviews, Lillian decided to start the interview by positioning herself - as a Pākehā woman raised with Te Reo Māori as her first language. This positioning she also believes is important as it is the lens through which she sees the world, and informs the work she does. While reading Natives in preparation one of the first things that jumped out at her was Akala’s statement in the introduction, “I was born into these currents, I did not create or invent them and I make no claims to objectivity. I find the whole idea that we can transcend our experiences; and take a totally unbiased look at the world to be totally ridiculous, yet that’s what many historians and academics claim to do.” News media too, claim objectivity, states Lillian. This is where the interview begins.
For reference, the Charles W. Mills quote reads as follows, “But in a racially structured polity, the only people who can find it psychologically possible to deny the centrality of race are those who are racially privileged, for whom race is invisible precisely because the world is structured around them, whiteness as the ground against which the figures of other races - those who, unlike us, are raced - appear.” - The Racial Contract, p.76.
Sherry does some investigative journalism following up claims a woman was denied a rental because ‘indians are dirty.’ She talks to Rashmi Raorane, who shares her experience with discriminatory landlords, and tries to reach out to the property manager of the place Rashmi was trying to rent.
We talk to the general manager of democracy services at Auckland Council, Marguerite Delbet about voting, local body elections and engagement. Listen in to find out more.
The full show podcast of the Wire for Tuesday Rātū the 14th of May 2019. Listen in to hear discussion on the Zero Carbon Bill with Russel Norman, we discuss voter engagement and what the role of General Manager of Democracy Services is with the General Manager of Democracy Services and we observe the ten year anniversary of the slaughter of Tamil peoples in Sri Lanka, and the reaches of the conflicts now. Listen in to learn more.
May 2009 marks the official end of the Sri Lankan Civil War. But for the minority Tamil community, it is a genocide of their people. Ten years later, the truth about the bloody events has yet to be exposed, and Tamils still live in fear. Lisa Boudet reports.
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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