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.
Concerns have been raised regarding Aotearoa’s animal protection system.
In his doctoral research, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere, comparing our system with Alberta, Canada’s, Ferrere refers to our system as being ineffective, underfunded, and at risk of collapse, and has called for an animal welfare police unit to address the concerns with our current system.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, started off by asking him how grave of a concern our current system is.
Recently, Stats NZ have released findings from the 2023 Household Disability Survey (HDS), collected during the 2023 Census, that found that 63% of those with a disability in Aotearoa have called for better care in at least one aspect of their lives, such as with better support, reasonable accommodation, home modifications and equipment, and medical care.
The HDS found that in New Zealand, roughly 10% of children have a disability, with this being 18% of adults, equating to roughly 851,000 people.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Director of Advocacy at IHC New Zealand; an intellectual disability advocacy group, Tania Thomas, about these recently released findings, specifically for those who have an intellectual disability.
This comes as the organisation is set to release a report using these findings in the coming months, highlighting the significant hardship faced by those with an intellectual disability; reinforcing the need for urgent policy to address these concerns.
Joel started off by asking her if these findings were surprising to her.
Research from a new study of 185 countries has found that New Zealand and Australia have some of the highest rates of breast cancer diagnoses in the world.
However, our mortality rates from breast cancer were at the lower end of the scale, and reducing by 2.1% per year - well on our way to meeting the World Health Organization Global Breast Cancer Initiative goal of 2.5% a year.
Sofia spoke to cancer genomics researcher and data analyst, Dr Annette Lasham, from the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences about the study and how we respond to breast cancer diagnoses in Aotearoa.
StatsNZ has released new data showing the government has missed all its child poverty targets, and that the number of children in material hardship has risen from 144,100 to 156,600.
The government’s proposal to expand citizen arrest laws has been met with a mixed response. The proposal has been criticised by business groups, First Union, and the Labour Party, largely for the risk to workers.
And protestors against a sewerage pipeline being installed through the tapu Lake Rotokākahu have committed to staying at the site after facing off with police.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Conflict has escalated in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year, driven by ethnic tensions and access to mineral resources.
The conflict has been marked by murder, violence, and forced displacement. Over 6.9 million people in the Congo were displaced by the end of 2023, and 7,000 have been killed since January this year.
For International desk this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Aotearoa African Foundation President Red Tsounga about the ongoing violence in the Congo and what more the international community can do to support those who have been displaced.
The government has announced an expansion of citizen arrest laws. These new laws would allow retailers to detain suspected shoplifters using “reasonable force.”
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Retail New Zealand Chief Executive Carolyn Young about the proposed law change and how it could put retail workers in danger.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni about the new Stats NZ child poverty stats, the government’s proposed changes to citizens arrest laws, and the protests at Lake Rotokākahi.
For International Desk, they spoke to Red Tsounga, President of the Aotearoa Africa Foundation, about the ongoing conflict in the Congo.
And they spoke to Carolyn Young, Chief Executive of Retail New Zealand, about the proposed expansion of citizen arrest laws.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Julie Fairey about Auckland Council’s proposal to move Kumeū due to flood risk and bed night visitor levy to fill a budget gap for major events.
She also spoke to Dr Annette Lasham from the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Science about new research from 185 countries showing New Zealand and Australia have the highest breast cancer incidence rates in the world.
And Wednesday Wire Host Oto spoke to University of Auckland health researcher Dr Joanna Hikaka about a new study on older Māori experience with ACC.
For their weekly catch up with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Ricardo Menendez March about ongoing protests at lake Rotokākahi, Stats NZs recent child poverty report, and Marama Davidson’s Consumer Guarantees Right to Repair Amendment Bill.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Glenn Barclay, Chairperson of Tax Justice Aotearoa and the better taxes coalition, about a campaign of his calling for tax reform in Aotearoa.
Amani spoke to Associate Clinical and Medical Health Sciences Professor at the University of Auckland, Stephen Howie, about the current widespread suffering and death around the globe due to a lack of medical oxygen supply.
And she also spoke to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management and International Business at the University of Auckland, Brent Burmester, on why he thinks the coalition government’s recently revised Active Investor Plus visa, in his words, “misses the mark.”
And, Last week, Producer Sasha spoke to the author of ‘Weaponizing Civilian Protection: Counterinsurgency and Collateral Damage in Afghanistan,’ and Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland, Dr Thomas Gregory, about the ‘unnecessary’ civilian casualties from the recent Afghanistan war.
An international report published last week by The Lancet Global Health Commission, co-authored by the University of Auckland, has revealed hundreds of thousands are dying each year through a lack of access to medical oxygen.
“Oxygen delayed is life denied,” said one survivor of Covid-19 in Kenya.
Associate Clinical and Medical Health Sciences Professor at the University of Auckland, Stephen Howie, one of the co-authors of the report, offered producer Amani his precious time away from the hospital for an interview, where he shared with us his personal experiences in overseas hospitals where he’s seen a lack of medical oxygen be the cause of many preventable deaths, and his thoughts on what needs to be done for this issue to be fixed.
Roughly 47,000 civilians were killed in Afghanistan during the nation’s 20-year war from 2001 to 2021, despite international agreements to avoid ‘unnecessary’ civilian casualties.
In the recently released book: ‘Weaponizing Civilian Protection: Counterinsurgency and Collateral Damage in Afghanistan,’ the author, and Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland, Dr Thomas Gregory, investigates how the war played out in regards to these ethical affairs at stake.
Last week, Producer Sasha spoke to him about the findings in his book.
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.
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.
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.
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
With the rise of fast fashion outlets like Shein and Temu alongside the wider mainstream options available that contribute substantial amounts of clothing waste to landfill, experts are calling for an urgent response on a governance, business, and individual level.
Wire Host Sara spoke to Mindful Fashion Chief Executive Jacinta Fitzgerald about the problem, and the industry response to sustainability, as well as University of Auckland Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the importance of ethical consumption.for individuals.
First, is the interview with Fitzgerald, where she begins by talking about the organisation Mindful Fashion.
Following this, Sara spoke to Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the research he has undertaken around consumerism.
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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