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.
For Dear Science, both of our usual experts were away, so Tuesday Wire host Castor and Thursday Wire host Caeden took us through a range of self-selected science stories. Spectacular! These included a study on reducing phone use while driving, potential life on mars, and komodo dragons with iron on their teeth.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Katie Nimon about the abuse in state care inquiry and the government’s education funding allocations.
They also spoke to the Post Primary Teachers Association’s junior vice president Kieran Gainsford about this education funding, and the government’s decision to put some school developments on hold.
They spoke to Executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, Sarah Dalton, about staff shortages in the health sector and how the government is responding.
And they spoke to senior lecturer of sociology at the University of Auckland, Dr Carisa Showden, about Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, and his comments about single women.
Producer Josef also spoke to the Chief executive for the Ngāti Manuhere settlement trust, Nicola Macdonald, about yesterday’s drop of seven million Kūtai into the Hauraki Gulf.
Producer Evie speaks to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about the government's findings from the abuse in state care report and the overturn of the court appeal on the Marine and Coastal Area Act.
She spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about the same issues.
Wire host Sofia speaks to ActionStation Director, Kassie Hartendorp, about the Māori wards bill passing its second reading last week.
And Tuesday Wire host Castor speaks to Associate professor of Criminology at the University of Auckland, Dr Tamasailauu Sualii about the abuse in state care inquiry and its impact in Aotearoa’s Pacific communities.
On Wednesday, 24th July, the final report from the Abuse in State Care Inquiry was made public, detailing abuse within and by Aotearoa’s state care system. Of particular note in the inquiry were the impacts on Aotearoa’s Māori, Pasifika, and disabled populations, who experienced on average further hardship than other groups.
The final report makes several recommendations to parliament to ensure meaningful change in Aotearoa’s state care system. Tuesday Wire host Castor discusssed the expectations, impact, and potential outcomes of the abuse in state care report on Pacific communities with Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Auckland, Doctor Tamasailauu Sualii.
Last week, the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill passed through its second reading.
The bill would reverse changes made to increase Māori representation in local government by reverting the Māori ward rules to restore the referendum mechanism.
This would mean if any council wanted to establish a Māori ward, and a petition that had been signed by 5% of people was presented, a binding referendum would have to be held.
Wire host Sofia caught up with ActionStation Director, Kassie Hartendorp, (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) about this and their campaign to keep Māori wards.
Last Friday 19 July the International Court of Justice found Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories to be illegal under international law. For the first time it amounted what Israel is doing to apartheid against the Palestinian People.
The Court’s opinion is non-binding but can carry immense weight in the international community. It has added to pressure for Israel to end their siege on Gaza.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Kate Stone from Justice For Palestine about the ruling and New Zealand’s consequent obligations as a United Nations member state.
Yesterday the Abuse in Care Inquiry was released to the public. It came with a set of formal recommendations, including a suggestion for a formal apology from the government, compensation, and new legislation to do with mandatory reporting.
Labour Leader Chris Hipkins also acknowledged Labour’s role in beginning the inquiry and their response to the 2021 interim report, stating, “We didn't do enough and the ball now falls to you and your government.” He added that “this must be bigger than politics.”
And Data released last week showed the number of benefit sanctions being issued by the government is up 50% compared to this time last year. This has been met with criticism but the Minister for Social Development says the sanctions are because the government is serious about getting people into work.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asks about both of these topics, as well as a bill that was dumped yesterday because the Minister failed to turn up to its first reading.
They started by asking about the number of benefit sanctions.
Greenpeace says they “are raising the alarm” on Fonterra’s role in derailing international Climate Action.
This comes after the Netherlands-based Changing Markets Foundations released a report last week outlining the actions of 22 of the biggest meat and dairy companies across four continents. The report highlights Fonterra and the New Zealand livestock industry as key players in a strategy to delay regulation of agriculture emissions.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Greenpeace spokesperson Sinead O’Flynn about the report and Greenpeace’s concerns.
They started by asking about Fonterra’s role in preventing international climate action.’
United States President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 Presidential race. This came after repeated calls from supporters, who were worried that they would lose the election if Biden was the Democratic nominee.
The presumed replacement for Biden has been current Vice President Kamala Harris, and supporters have rallied to support her this week.
Wire Host spoke to Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland’s Dr Timothy Fagden about Biden stepping down and the support shown to Kamala Harris so far.
A recent study has discovered that there is production of oxygen on the bottom of the ocean. Almost eight-hundred marine scientists have signed a petition highlighting the importance of the discovery and for a pause on seafloor mining. The oxygen is produced by metallic nodes underneath the ocean, containing metals which are commonly mined for batteries. This oxygen could potentially support fragile aquatic life.
Sasha spoke with Juressa Lee, a deep sea mining campaigner from Greenpeace about the new discovery, as well as steps that are being taken to reduce ocean floor mining.
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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