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.
The Auckland Council is set to decide when the Auckland Local Alcohol Policy will be put in place for the city.
The policy details stricter measures in Tāmaki Makaurau, which means bottle shops won’t be able to sell liquor after 9pm, and would put a two-year freeze on new liquor licences in high priority areas.
Joel spoke to Lawyer and Secretary of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, Dr Grant Hewison, about the policy, and what this will mean for Aucklanders.
For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori, News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about Waitangi Tribunal calls for Treaty Principles Bill to be scrapped, and the controversial development of a cultural space, that shares the same attributes as a marae, in Sydney, Australia
Producer Evie, for her weekly catch up with the ACT Party, speaks to Simon Court about the Waitangi Tribunal’s calls to scrap the Treaty Principals Bill, as well as the party’s calls for stricter sanctions on beneficiaries.
Joel speaks to Lawyer and Secretary of Community Against Alcohol Harm (CAAH), Dr Grant Hewison, about Auckland’s planned alcohol restrictions.
They also speak to Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, Mark Thomas, about the new Mpox clade, and what this will mean for New Zealand.
and Evie speaks to Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Peter O'Connor about the government’s stricter maths curriculum pushing arts and music education to the side.
The government recently announced that they’ll be moving forward with changes to maths teaching in schools a year earlier than intended.
Changes revolve around implementing stricter structure to the way maths is taught, and introducing more standardised maths assessments for children in years 0-8.
The Prime Minister has said that this may mean deferring the arts and music curriculum to allow for these changes.
In a Newsroom article, Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Peter O'Connor says that pushing the arts curriculum to the side would be detrimental for students.
Producer Evie spoke to O’Connor about why arts and music is so important for students, as well as having the ability to lift their maths and literacy results.
This week in States of the States, Presidential candidate Donald Trump joins a livestream on the streaming app with internet personality Adin Ross. Ross is known for his sometimes controversial videos of livestreaming apps “twitch” and “kick”.
Another celebrity streamer, Kai Cenat, has also claimed the Harris campaign reached out to him for the pair to do a livestream together.
Amongst this, the FBI have launched an investigation in what seems to be a hack into the Trump campaigns computer systems. The campaign is blaming Iran-backed hackers, but this has not been confirmed.
Wire host Caeden speaks to Andre from the Yale Daily News, on the candidates joining livestreams and the alleged Trump campaign hack.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden speaks to Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni about the government’s new benefit sanctions and the New Plymouth Mayor’s call for Labour to continue oil and gas exploration until 2050.
For States of the States Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'aoso on candidates joining, or potentially joining, livestreams. As well as the Trump campaign internal document hack, which they are blaming on Iran.
And they speak to Frankie Barclay from Amnesty Aotearoa on the recent alt-right riots in the UK, and their new report linking these riots to institutional racism.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about plans to reform council controlled organisations, rates, and Council paying out secret financial settlements.
She also speaks to Principal Scientist at Plant & Food Research and Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland, Dr Andy Allan, about the government announcing to end the ban on genetic modification and genetic engineering outside the lab.
The Government has announced new sanctions for beneficiaries who do not meet their obligations. These include putting half a person’s benefit on a payment card and community work experience.
Social Development Minister Louise Upston said this is to move people into work and provide tougher consequences for those who repeatedly fail to meet benefit obligations. The changes will be introduced alongside a new “traffic light” warning system for beneficiaries the government campaigned on.
The move has been criticised from opposition parties, including Labour Leader Chris Hipkins who said the move would continue to push people into poverty.
In other news, the Mayor of New Plymouth has called on the Labour Party to support oil and gas exploration until 2050. Neil Holdom states energy policies affected by constraints of the electoral cycle i not working and would like to see a bipartisan approach taken to energy policy.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire host Caeden spoke to Labour Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these issues.
Amnesty International UK has released a new report that links a government failure to address institutional racism to the far-right violence that has erupted in UK streets.
The UK’s failure to address racism is also a failure to address international human rights obligations on race.
The report lists concerns over legislation introduced by the previous government including the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act (2022), Elections Act (2022), and the Nationality and Borders Act (2022), saying these have combined to pose a sustained threat to the civil and political rights of people of colour in the UK.
Wire host Caeden spoke to Frankie Barclay from Amnesty Aotearoa about the report and recent far right riots in the UK, as well as if these have any connection to the political climate here.
This week the government announced it is moving forward on overhauling restrictions on the use of gene editing and other genetic technologies in New Zealand - establishing a dedicated gene tech regulator before 2026.
The law will be based on similar legislation in Australia - the Australian Gene Technology Act 2000 - while taking a ‘hybrid approach’ to regulation with applications assessed under a risk framework.
With legislation expected to go through parliament by the end of 2024, it will remove regulatory hurdles that have been in place for the last 30 years on developing genetic technology beyond the lab.
Producer Sofia spoke to Principal Scientist at Plant & Food Research and Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland, Dr Andy Allan, about this announcement and whether he welcomes the change.
The government recently announced that they would be introducing a “traffic light” sanction system for people on the jobseeker support benefit who did not fulfil their obligations as beneficiaries. This includes a green level for compliant beneficiaries and an orange and red level for beneficiaries who haven’t met their obligations and who may face sanctions.
For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss his thoughts on the newly introduced sanctions.
They also had a chat about job cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency and the party’s petition calling for Simeon Brown’s speed limit increases to be rolled back.
For their regular catch-up, Oto speak to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the government’s new traffic light sanctions for beneficiaries, as well as cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency and the party’s petition to roll back speed limit reversals.
He spoke to Maude Loutsch from the University of Auckland about the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle on housing in Aotearoa.
And, for this week’s Get Action! He spoke to Louisa Wall and Samantha Green a about a petition of theirs calling on public officials to be held accountable for sharing disinformation.
Sasha spoke to Professor Jodi Gardner from the University of Auckland to discuss government-funded energy deals for lower-income New Zealanders, including concerns surrounding heating and electricity
On Tuesday, Aucklanders checked the updated property valuations of their house, for many to find declines in value by 10s of thousands of dollars —- on average, by 9% from when they were last done in 2021.
According to the Council. rating valuations were based on market trends and recent sales activity, as of May 1 2024.
Wayne Brown said in response to the decreased values, “The economy's been faltering for a while, and It's really driven by government policies rather than Auckland's policies,”
Also, as we get closer to 2026 and the completion of the City Rail Link, Aucklanders have expressed various concerns about the standard of completion, including incorporation of public feedback.
I discuss the incorporation of the wider neighbourhood in Mt Eden at the Maungawhau station and the dismissal of public perspectives at the K Road station
New Zealand and key allies have imposed sanctions on two “extremist” Israeli politicians for their role in “inciting violence against Palestinians” in the West Bank.
However, opposition parties, including Labour as well as the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, are calling for further action to be taken against Israel.
It comes after Israel kidnapped 12 pro-Palestine activists on international waters, who were intending to break the aid blockade and reach Gaza.
And earlier this week, the National Business released their annual rich list.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, I spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about these topics.
Los Angeles is approaching a week of protests against ICE, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Over 200 protestors have been arrested since the protests began, and restrictions have been placed on protestors, including a curfew.
The White House has sent 2,000 members of the National Guard to the city already, and another 2,000 are expected to be deployed. This is despite California Governor Gavin Newsom attempting to stop their deployment.
For International Desk, I spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about the protests.
The Green party recently made renewed calls to the government to sanction Israel for its illegal occupation of Palestine following the seizure of the Madleen, a vessel that aimed to deliver food and medical aid to Gaza.
The vessel, which was en route to Gaza, was intercepted in the Mediterranean by the Israeli Defence Forces before being rerouted to Israel with all those on board, among whom was Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford recently announced the Parent Boost Visa, part of the government’s self-described commitment to supporting parents living overseas to visit and stay with their families here in Aotearoa.
And, over in the United States, 2000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles in response to protests opposing the city’s recent immigration raids.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about all of these issues
Currently, 19 out of 38 OECD countries use incineration as a form of waste management.
With the process leading to a range of negative impacts, such as air pollution, Co2 emissions and respiratory illnesses, Aotearoa has luckily remained incinerator free.
However, calls have been made by some activists to strengthen New Zealand’s legislation to ensure that incineration facilities are not opened up in Aotearoa.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Sue Coutts from Zero Waste Network New Zealand to discuss a petition calling on the government to keep New Zealand Incinerator-free.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
These past few weeks in politics have seen various issues that we spoke about in our weekly catchup with the National Party.
First up, at the Aotearoa Music Awards, National MP Chris Bishop was heard making disdainful remarks such as “what a load of crap” during a performance by singer Stan Walker.
Second, Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngārewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi were recently suspended from parliament for 21 days for their haka protesting the Treaty Principles Bill. The penalty is far harsher than any previous penalty for an MP, raising questions about whether it is justified or sets a dangerous precedent.
Finally, the government recently announced a new visa for parents of migrants, allowing them to come to New Zealand for a longer period of time than traditional visitors without having to acquire residency.
Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues in our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, starting with Chris Bishop’s comments at the AMAs.
As per coalition agreements, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, has been sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, taking over from NZ First Leader, Winston Peters.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about Seymour’s new position, and what this means for the party.
They also discussed accusations Seymour made regarding submissions to the Regulatory Standards Bill.
In an interview with Guyon Espiner, Seymour claimed that 99.5% of the submissions against the Regulatory Standards Bill were driven by ‘bots’ and were ‘fake’ submissions.
Seymour later clarified to RNZ that by bots, he was meaning “online campaigns” creating “non-representative samples” that do not represent the public’s opinion.
The Ministry of Regulations received roughly 23,000 submissions on the bill. Of the submissions. Of the submissions, 0.33% were fully or partially supporting the bill, with 88% being against the bill.
Finally, they discussed the recommended suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs’ Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke standing.
But they, we discussed David Seymour as Deputy Prime Minister.
The recommended suspension for Te Pāti Māori MPs, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, over the MP’s haka in Parliament during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill last year.
Co-leaders Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi will be suspended from the House for 21-days, with Maipi-Clarke facing a seven day suspension. This is Parliament's harshest sanctions in the country’s history. Prior to this, the longest suspension an MP had faced in Parliament was three days.
The debate had previously been delayed so that the MPs could participate in the Budget debate — however, both co-leaders were not present at the debate.
During the debate MP Tākuta Ferris said that the debate was not about the haka, but at the heart, it was the House continuing to ignore Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori sovereignty, and that the “racism” in the House is hardly being hidden.
For our weekly catch-up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about the suspension, and what’s next for the party.
They also discussed NZ First Party Leader Winston Peters’ comments regarding Waititi’s moko, referring to the MPs moko kanohi as “scribbles”. He was asked to apologise by the Speaker, which he did.
But first, they discussed the suspension of the MPs.
Auckland Transport are seeking community feedback on a proposal for a new T3 transit lane on Mount Smart Road to relieve congestion during peak times heading towards the Royal Oak roundabout.
Between better public transport systems, a ‘time of use’ charge, and different ways of managing Auckland traffic, Producer Sara asks Councillor Julie Fairey about how Auckland Council hopes to reduce peak-time congestion as the city’s population grows.
She also talk to Julie Fairey about the recent allocation of funds to community-led projects through Ngā Hapori Momoho. This year, the grant which aims to “improve financial security, improve health outcomes, and grow community and intercultural connection” has approved funding for eleven community groups, six of which are either Māori organisations or delivering ‘strong Māori outcomes’.
Sara begins with questions about Auckland central congestion.
*unfortunately the audio quality on Julie's end is poor
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