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.
Approximately 14 million children are likely to experience disruptions in nutrition support and services due to recent and anticipated global funding reductions, according to analyses by UNICEF.
The funding shortfall arises amid children worldwide grappling with record displacement, ongoing and newly emerging conflicts, disease outbreaks, and the devastating effects of climate change - all of which are threatening their access to sufficient nutrition.
Producer Amani spoke with Director of Communications for UNICEF Aotearoa Tania Sawick Mead to find out more about what further cuts to global aid funding could lead to.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about a series of science related april fools pranks, including a local “Sheep Albedo Hypothesis”.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about Tamatha Paul’s recent comments on public attitudes towards police officers.
They also spoke to MOTAT’s Te Puawānanga coordinator, Phoebe Drayton about the STEM fair this weekend and what everyone can get up to.
And they spoke to National Secretary of the Public Service Association about job cuts at archives NZ and what this means for the preservation of our nation’s records.
Producer Amani spoke to Director of Communications for UNICEF Aotearoa Tania Sawick Mead about the recent and planned cuts to global aid funding, which leave 14 million children at an increased risk of severe malnutrition and death.
Archives New Zealand and the National Library announced last week plans to cut 30 roles within the organisations. The two organisations are responsible for the preservation and retrieval of both historical and legal records in Aotearoa. The National Library also assists libraries and schools across the country in initiatives to boost children’s engagement with literacy and reading.
To discuss the impact of the layoffs and what they say about the government’s broader approach to the situation Wire host Castor spoke to national secretary of the public service association, Fleur Fitzsimons.
Changes to how the supermarket duopoly in the country have been put forward by Finance Minister, Nicola Willis.
Currently there are only two major supermarket chains in the country: Woolworths and Foodstuffs, with this move aiming to establish alternative options to how these companies operate.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Chief Executive of Consumer NZ, Jon Duffy, about these developments, and how the organisation are feeling about them.
They started off by asking him how much of a concern the current duopoly is.
For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to her about Finance Minister, Nicola Willis’ plans to combat Aotearoa’s supermarket duopoly, Green MP, Tamatha Paul’s comments about police, and Te Pāti Māori’s recent calls for mandatory police body cameras.
For our weekly catch up with The ACT Party’s Simon Court, Joel speaks to him about the Resource Management Act, or RMA reforms and concerns about the country’s health and police system, following an 11-year old being misidentified as a 20-year old by police, and administered antipsychotic drugs.
On Friday, they spoke to the spokesperson for People Against Prisons Aotearoa and Criminology Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Dr Emmy Rākete, about Tamatha Paul’s comments about police practices in the country, the reaction they have received, and whether the reaction has been justified.
They speak to the Chief Executive Officer of Consumer NZ, Jon Duffy, about Nicola Willis’ plans to combat the supermarket duopoly and how the organisation are feeling about these developments.
On Friday, they also spoke to a Senior Politics and International Relations Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Tim Fadgen, about US President Donald Trump’s ‘overreach’ in American universities, and if we should expect similar occurrences at New Zealand universities.
And Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins Joel in studio to continue our discussion around the Netflix series ‘Adolescence,’ fandoms, and exploring the role of soft power.
Recently, Green MP, Tamatha Paul’s comments have made headlines across mainstream New Zealand political coverage.
At a panel with the University of Canterbury Greens and Peace Action Ōtautahi, Paul said Pōneke did not want to see police officers everywhere, as “for a lot of people it makes them feel unsafe,” as well as accusing police of “waiting for homeless people to leave their spot and throwing out their belongings” which she sez is a comment she received from a local MP from the Downtown Community Ministry and Salvation Army.
Paul has received backlash from some politicians, including Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, and Opposition Leader, Chris Hipkins.
However, many believe that what Paul said has been sensationalised.
On Friday, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Press Spokesperson for People Against Prisons Aotearoa and Criminology Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Dr Emmy Rākete, about Paul’s comments, and how she is viewing this whole situation.
They started off by asking her how she is feeling about the reception of Paul's comments.
Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, is studio to continue their discussion into the Netflix TV series, 'adolescence,' fandoms, and 'soft-power'!
US President, Donald Trump, has cancelled over $400 million US dollars, or roughly $697 million New Zealand dollars, worth of research grants and contracts at Columbia University, as leaders at the university move to alter campus and academic policies to align with what the Trump Administration are demanding.
Many believe this is the Trump Administration ‘overreaching,’ their power into universities in the country and how they choose to operate.
On Friday, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to a Senior Politics and International Relations Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Tim Fadgen, about Trump’s moves, and if we could see something similar here in Aotearoa.
They started off by asking what the Trump Administration is wanting to change about how Columbia University operates.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about New Zealand First’s declared “war on woke”, proposed Resource Management Act reform, and Labour’s calls for the government to condemn Israel for their recent military assault on Gaza.
For International Desk, they spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg accidentally being added to a group chat top US officials were using to make war plans.
And they spoke to Mike Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) about National MP Joseph Mooney’s members bill that would abolish people’s right to take legal action against companies over damage to the climate.
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey on submissions for Auckland Council’s long-term plan, ‘bed tax,’ and discussions around equity in the upcoming election.
And they spoke to Chief Executive of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand, Letitia Harding, about a recently released study showing vaping has not lowered smoking habits in young people in Aotearoa.
New findings have shown that vaping has not lowered smoking habits in young people in Aotearoa.
The study, published in The Lancet, looked at the daily smoking rates of 14 to 15 year olds, from 1999 to 2023, and shows that the introduction of vaping and subsequent popularity of the smoking device has not helped in lower daily smoking rates in Aotearoa.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the Chief Executive of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand, Letitia Harding, about this study, and how the organisation hopes the government will react to these findings.
They started off by asking if the findings in the study were surprising to her.
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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