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 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.
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.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s Active Investor Plus Visa, commonly known as the “golden visa”, has proposed changes by the government taking place from April 1st, which aim to "make it easier for foreign investors to invest in the country."
Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland’s Department of Management and International Business, Dr Brent Burmester, opposes the changes and says they “miss the mark.”
Producer Amani spoke with Dr Burmester to find out more on why he thinks this, and which suggestions he has in order to improve it.
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.
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.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about a new nuclear fusion record, plastic ice, and how aromatherapy may be linked to pollution.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about Destiny Church’s charity status and issues with the new school lunch program.
Producer Athena spoke to Dr Victor Dieriks from the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research, about his research team's recent breakthrough in understanding Multiple System Atrophy.
They also spoke to Academic Staff in the University of Auckland’s German program, Mareike Schmidt, about her perspective on Germany’s recent federal election results.
A team of researchers, led by Senior Research Fellow at the University of Auckland, Dr Victor Dieriks, have made a breakthrough in understanding the cause of the neurodegenerative disorder, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA).
It was previously believed the effects of MSA were caused by oligodendrocyte cells, responsible for producing protective covers for nerve fibres. However, the study, conducted by the Universities of Auckland, and Sydney, has revealed the cause resides in the neurons themselves.
Producer Athena spoke to Dr Victor Dieriks about this breakthrough, the importance of research into MSA, and what the team hopes will develop from this discovery.
Germany’s federal elections took place on Sunday, and the preliminary results show right leaning parties dominated the election— with the Conservative Alliance claiming most seats in the federal Parliament, as well as the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland party (AfD) winning 20.8% of the vote.
According to researchers in far-right extremism, from the University of Tübingen, writing for The Conversation— the AfD’s breakthrough in Germany’s 2017 federal election shattered the nation's stigma against far-right extremism.
Producer Athena spoke to Professional Teaching Fellow for German at the University of Auckland, Mareike Schmidt, about the rise of the AfD, and her perspective on the federal election results, as a German citizen living in New Zealand.
Concerns have been raised regarding Aotearoa’s tax model, regarding charities also operating as businesses.
Despite the current model requiring all profit obtained through a charity's business not be used for personal gain, this is a little bit of a grey area.
For example, any profit from weet-bix cereal products is tax exempt, due to Sanitarium Health Food Company being owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which results in the company having an advantage over their competitors.
However, with the 2025 Budget set to be released later this year, changes may be made to this system.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to a Senior Lecturer in the Accounting Department at AUT, Ranjana Gupta, about this tax model, and what she hopes will come out of the 2025 Budget regarding this.
They started off by asking her about what purpose a charity may have to run a business as well.
On the show last week, in our weekly catch up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court we discussed comments he had made about period products.
Court came under fire in the media following a hearing on benefit sanctions. During this hearing a female submitter was outlining concerns about period poverty and the impacts menstrual products can have on a low-income family budget.
In response to these concerns Court asked if she was aware of, or had people around her aware of, a menstrual cup - outlining its cost and where to buy it. He was heavily criticised by Te Pati Maori, and later Labour for ‘mansplaining’, calling his comments ‘deeply offensive’ as he continued to double down.
During our interview last week he stood by his comments.
Period poverty action group, Dignity NZ says that Court’s comments were misplaced, and ignore a variety of issues that come with periods.
Producer Evie spoke to Dignity NZ interim CEO Taslim Parsons about period poverty in Aotearoa and how it needs to be addressed.
Last week the Green Party’s Tamatha Paul made comments about police presence in Wellington, particularly how increased police activity made some feel unsafe. She also noted some discriminatory and harmful behaviour from police officers towards Wellington’s homeless population. These comments, presented at a panel hosted by the University of Canterbury’s Greens and Peace Action Ōtautahi, were Paul restating feedback she had received from her constituents in Wellington central.
The response to Tamatha Paul’s comments was extremely critical from all sides of the political spectrum, involving feedback such as “insane” from prime minister Christopher Luxon, “unwise” and “stupid” from Labour leader Chris Hipkins, and “just weird” from ACT leader David Seymour. The comments and their responses lead to a series of articles across all major New Zealand news networks.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the substance of Tamatha Paul’s comments and whether the seemingly disproportionate reaction is appropriate.
This week on Dear Science our expert Dr. Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about various April Fools pranks in the world of science, including the 'Sheep Albedo Hypothesis' from here in Aotearoa.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
On Sunday, Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, announced plans to combat the supermarket duopoly between Foodstuffs and Woolworths. This could include breaking-up or restructuring the current chains, with Cabinet also announcing a formal request for information, or RFI, into the matter.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp about this announcement, and whether she, and the party, thinks this will be enough to address food accessibility in Aotearoa.
We also discussed the comments made by Green MP, Tamatha Paul, about the police, and whether she believes these comments have become sensationalised.
Finally, we discussed the party’s calls for mandatory police body cameras.
But first, they started off by asking Kemp about how the party are feeling about Nicola Willis’ most recent announcements into the supermarket duopoly.
Last week, the government announced its plans for reforming the Resource Management Act, or the RMA, introducing two acts to replace the current RMA. The plan is to bring the two acts before the select committee next year, passing them just before the next election.
For our weekly catch up News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about this reform, working with the opposition, and the lack of a Treaty clause.
We also talked about concerns that the health and police system in Aotearoa are failing, following an 11-year old being misidentified as a 20-year old by police and being administered antipsychotic drugs.
Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal group chat with top United States security officials who were discussing military plans for strikes on Yemen.
The group chat discussed operational details, and officials, including the Vice President JD Vance, seemed unaware of Goldberg’s presence.
Jeffrey Goldberg initially left out some of these sensitive details in his article on the group chat but has released more specific information after the Trump administration downplayed the situation and said no classified information was shared.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about this issue.
Public submissions regarding Auckland Council’s annual plan from 2025/2026 are set to close tomorrow at 11:59pm, with the plan set to take place from the 1st of July.
These submissions give the public the opportunity to provide feedback on proposals from the coming year.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about this, and the council’s ‘bed tax’.
They also spoke about the recent discussions regarding ensuring fair and equal representation in the upcoming 2025 local election.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters gave a “State of the Nation” speech last weekend where he strongly criticised Labour and announced his party was declaring a “war on woke.”
The government has announced a new replacement for the Resource Management Act, looking to pass it before the next election.
And Labour Foreign Affairs spokesperson David Parker has criticised the government for not condemning Israel in the context of recent military action and the blocking of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.
Ever wondered what it would be like to bike in an Art Gallery? Well now you can, for the city is your gallery. In collaboration with EcoFest 2025 and various New Zealand artists, Bike Hubs have set up a Street Art Bike Challenge. Now, anyone can ride around the city, discover amazing works of art and win great prizes.
This week, Green Desk Producer Liam speaks to Brent Bielby, manager of EcoMatters’ Bike Hubs, a community project aimed at encouraging more people to take up cycling. He explains the goal behind the challenge, as well as how cycling can contribute to a healthy lifestyle and provide a source of freedom and fun.
You can take part in this challenge yourself. All you need to do is take out your bike, pedal over to the artworks, and upload a photo of you and your bike. The challenge will run until the 22nd of April, and you can find a map of all the locations and trails on the EcoMatters website.
A petition was launched by Te Taiao o Kawhia Moana, a group dedicated to the protection and conservation of the Kāwhia harbour, calling on the Ōtorohanga District Council to remove vehicle access from vulnerable areas of the inner harbour and to Support the development of new alternative access infrastructure.
The group says that local taonga species and ecosystems are being put at risk by current vehicle access and that The proposed Ocean Beach access way would provide a sustainable alternative that balances community access needs with environmental protection.
For this week’s Gert Action! Oto spoke to John Forbes, founding Chair of Te Taiao o Kāwhia Moana, to discuss the petition and the importance of protecting the harbour.
If you're interested in signing this petition, you can find it here:
Just two days ago, the government announced a complete overhaul of the Resource Management Act.
The RMA as it is would be dismantled and then split into two acts; a planning act regulating the use and development of land, and a Natural Environment Act focusing on the use and protection of land, air, water and other natural resources.
Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court said that the reforms were intended to streamline development more efficiently while also protecting the environment.
The week before, the Greens issued a call for the compassionate release of 77-year old inmate Dean Wickliffe, who is currently on a hunger strike at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility after being arrested for being made houseless in violation of his probation conditions.
And Green Party Co-Leader Chloe Swarbrick made a renewed call to the government calling on them to support a members bill of hers that would sanction Israel for their occupation of the Palestinian territories.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez March for the party’s take on all of these issues.
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