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.
Caeden spoke to Labour Deputy Leader, Carmel Sepuloni, about the government increasing benefit sanctions and scrapping Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority.
Producer Jasmine reported on the reaction to the government passing legislation under urgency to dis-establish the Māori Health Authority.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Head of Journalism at AUT Greg Treadwell about the closure of NewHub.
And she spoke to Doctoral Candidate, Cristal Salatas, about her research aimed at reducing the prevalence of premature birth in Aotearoa.
University of Auckland Doctoral Candidate, Cristal Salatas, is developing a geographic information system map and dataset aimed at reducing the prevalence of premature birth in Aotearoa.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, started off the interview by asking Salatas about her research.
Yesterday, Newshub, one of Aotearoa's largest commercial newsrooms, announced it is shutting down.
Up to three hundred people, including journalists and support staff, are expected to lose their jobs
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Senior Lecturer Communication Studies and Head of Journalism at AUT, Greg Treadwell, about what this indicates about the state of journalism in Aotearoa.
The public service commission recently conducted a review into the Accredited Employer Work Visa, a visa scheme given to foreign workers with job offers from New Zealand-based employers. The review was conducted following a number of incidents, where migrant workers in Aotearoa were found to have been exploited by their employers, with some paying upwards of SIXTEEN-THOUSAND New Zealand dollars to receive visas for non-existent jobs.
The review found that the visa scheme reduced the number of checks Immigration officers were required to perform on employers, which was done to reduce processing times so more workers could be brought into Aotearoa, which ultimately led to the exploitation of workers across the country.
Oto spoke to John Crocker from Unite Union, a union that advocates for migrant workers amongst a number of groups, who said that there was more to the scheme than what was found in the review.
New research looking into vaccination hesitancy in Aotearoa has been released from the University of Auckland.
The research was prompted by lower rates of vaccination following the covid-19 pandemic. The research aimed to uncover what was most important to Kiwi’s considerations around vaccination.
Nicholas spoke to lead investigator Associate Professor Amy Chan, about the study’s findings.
On Wednesday the 21st of February New Zealand was shocked to learn of the sudden passing of Greens MP Fa'anānā Efeso Collins.
Efeso began his career as a youth worker before joining the Auckland Council as a councillor for the Manukau ward.
He later ran for Mayor with the endorsement of both Labour and the Greens, before campaigning for the Green party in last year's election.
In his maiden speech Collins highlighted his wish to be a champion for underserved and underprivileged members of our society;
"The government cannot be a bystander to people suffering confusion and disenfranchisement. New Zealand must close the divide between those who have and those who have not, because the reality for my community is that those who have more money often wield more power, more health, more housing, more justice, more access, more canopy cover, more lobbyists with swipe cards, and more time,"
Nicholas spoke to Green Party co-leader James Shaw about the passing of his friend and colleague Fa'anānā Efeso Collins.
As a new batch of freshers begin university, we return to the basic fundamentals of protests.
Sofia spoke to veteran activist and Head Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa John Minto about the hows, whys, and whens of protesting, narrowing in on the current Palestine protests occuring across the country.
They discuss historic legislation born out of protesting and how to get involved in protests if you haven't before!
Head to the PSNA website for resources in solidarity with Palestine.
Nicholas speaks up with the Green Party's Dr Shane Reti about the passing of Greens MP Fa'anānā Efeso Collins.
Nicholas also spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland Amy Chan on new research into vaccine hesitancy.
Sofia spoke to veteran activist and Head Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa John Minto about the hows, whys, and whens of protesting, narrowing in on the current Palestine protests occuring across the country.
Oto spoke to John Crocker from Unite Union, a union that advocates for migrant workers amongst a number of groups, who said that there was more to the scheme than what was found in the review.
Nicholasalso speaks to AUSA president Alan Shaker about devolpements in the association.
For Dear Science this week, Dr Cushla McGoverin chatted with news and editorial director Jessica Hopkins about Northern Patagonian rock art, an inchworm-inspired robot with enhanced transport capabilities, and the FDA approving the first medication to treat severe frostbite.
Producer Castor spoke to National’s James Meager about gang patch legislation and the clean car discount repeal.
And producer Sofia spoke to co-chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa, Lisa Te Morenga, about the repeal of the Smoke-Free legislation and current legal requirements for public policy-making transparency in New Zealand.
The Healthcare exec Brian Thompson was shot dead by a masked assailant last week.
The crime has gained significant controversy and attention online, with many using it to restart the debate on the inequities of the United States healthcare system.
And this week Yale University was the latest college to commit to divesting from weapons manufacturing after a student vote.
For State of the States this week Wire Host Caeden speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about both of these topics.
The government as announced their plan for the Cook Strait ferry a year after they scrapped Labour’s plan, including cancelling the ferries the Labour government had ordered.
And a new report from the Ministry of Social Development has revealed nearly a quarter of beneficiaries are not receiving their correct entitlements.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
For City Counselling this week, producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Shane Henderson about proposed time-of-use charging to solve congestion problems in Tāmaki and Council selling their remaining Auckland Airport shares last week.
The Green party recently released He Ara Anamata - the Green party’s emissions reduction plan.
The document covers more than 10 areas of the economy and energy Sector that a Greens-led government would be looking to adapt to minimise carbon emissions and protect the natural landscapes of Aotearoa.
It also comes 5 months after the government released their own draft emissions plan. Numerous experts pointed out that the government is behind on their own plan’s targets to meet the crucial emissions budget for 2031-2035.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the party’s new emissions reduction plan and how they would address climate and the economy in a greens-led government.
Last election, one of the National Party’s main campaign promises was to be ‘tough on crime’, promising to increase police coverage and penalties for crimes. A target was set to increase the number of police officers by 500 by November 2025, however some police leaders today say this goal is unrealistic.
The government also announced this week some shakeups to insulation standards, which they say should make houses more affordable.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor spoke to him about police staffing targets and new insulation standards.
This week on Dear Science, our expert Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about what latrines teach us about people, climate variation affecting Chinese dynasties, and invasive species becoming threatened.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
Last week it was revealed that two of the ten participants in the government's pilot bootcamp programme were on the run.
The youth were two months into the community rehabilitation phase of the programme, following the three month youth justice residence phase. Both teens were found in the weekend, but had allegedly reoffended, and are now set to come before the court.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, who have been heavily advocating for this programme, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about this incident.
She also talks to him about proposed changes to employment law which would give employers the power to dismiss workers earning over $180,000 without the employee refuting the decision.
And finally, she talks to him about David Seymour’s incumbent run as Deputy Prime Minister, which is set to begin in May of next year.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about changes to Auckland Transport’s responsibilities, nationwide bus and train fare hikes, and concerns over the opening of the City Rail Link.
For State of the States this week, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'aoso from the Yale Daily News about President Biden's decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was due to be sentenced next week for three felony charges.
They also discuss Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, who is the latest in a long list of unorthodox picks for government positions from Trump
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