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.
Last week saw the release of the Global Tobacco Interference Index. In it, Aotearoa ranked 53rd in the world - a whopping 52 places down from two years ago.
This ranking two years ago was reflective of our robust anti-smoking laws - since the current coalition government has repealed them, however, that reputation has come seriously into question. These rankings now serve as a warning about the role that the tobacco industry plays in health policy, and New Zealand’s failure to manage smoking and tobacco lobbying.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Professor of Public Health at the University of Auckland, Chris Bullen, about the ranking, Tobacco influence in the government, and what it says about Smoking in New Zealand as a whole.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about charter schools, changes to the Education and Training Act, removing school boards’ responsibilities to adhere to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the Regulatory Standards Bill passing into law.
Producer Alex spoke to Greenpeace Campaigner Gen Toop about the passing of the Regulatory Standards Bill into an Act last week, and what it means for corporate interests over the environment in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Joel spoke to George Perry, a Professor in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland, about the recent Tongariro wildfires that have devastated the region.
And Alex spoke to Professor in Public Health at the University of Auckland, Chris Bullen, about New Zealand dropping in the Global Tobacco Interference Index rankings, and what that means for smoking policy and health in Aotearoa.
A few weeks ago, Kelston Boys High School in West Auckland said they were at the front of an unsupported, attempted takeover to turn the school into a charter school.
As well as this, more recently, the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport, a charter school set to be established next year, was signed with a trust that did not exist.
Amendments have also been made to the Education and Training Act, removing a clause requiring school boards give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The move has seen backlash from the National Iwi Chairs Forum and a growing number of schools, who have launched a petition against the move.
Finally, the controversial Regulatory Standards Bill has passed its third reading and is now set to be implemented into law.
The bill previously received 156,000 public submissions, with 98.7% of those voicing their opposition to the bill.
For our weekly catch-up with ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to him about these topics.
They started off by asking Court about Kelston Boys High School and the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport, and how concerning these developments are for the ACT Party.
On the 8th of November, a wildfire tore through 3000 hectares of Tongariro National Park, before being extinguished four days later.
The fire resulted in multiple walks in the region to be closed, including the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. However, as of today, many of these tracks have reopened.
However, the full extent of the fire on the region’s ecosystem is yet to be fully investigated.
On Friday, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to George Perry, a Professor in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland, about this wildfire, and how detrimental this fire will be on the region's ecosystem, from what we are currently seeing
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about the expulsions of two Te Pāti Māori MPs, concerns about police leadership, and Chris Hipkins ‘socialist’ label.
For International Desk, they spoke to Youth Environmentalist Sumaya Mohammed and Lead on the Youth Climate Justice Project Aoife Daly about youth participation at COP30.
For City Counselling, Producer Sanat talked to Councillor Shane Henderson about a proposed ban on Homelessness in the CBD and new committee appointments inside Auckland Council.
He also talked to Kiwisaver Provider Simplicity’s CEO Sam Stubbs about their new infrastructure proposal called Infrakiwi.
Similar to how Prime Ministers choose who their cabinet members are, the Mayor last week announced his appointments for committees in Auckland Council.
Committees are powerful pieces of the Auckland Council machine, determining the direction on key policy issues around community assets, budgeting, transport and housing.
Notably different to his approach last term, the Mayor has opted to appoint key allies to committee chair roles. These are councilors who have had a good working relationship with the mayor over the last three years and will mean that there are less roadblocks when it comes to advancing his agenda.
At the same time the Mayor and Central Government are responding to increased complaints about anti-social behaviour in the CBD by considering laws and bylaws that would ban homelessness.
Critics of this policy note that such laws would not address the key drivers to poverty and housing need and would simply endanger those individuals experiencing homelessness further.
Thursday Wire Producer Sanat talked to Councilor Shane Henderson today about these committee appointments and this proposed ban on homelessness.
The infrastructure commission has identified that there is a $210 billion dollar infrastructure deficit in New Zealand. Unfortunately, due to the lack of available capital New Zealanders lose out on the advantages of high quality infrastructure and the wealth it can generate for the public good.
To respond to this Kiwisaver Manager Simplicity has created a new company called Infrakiwi. This company would be listed on the stock exchange and would only allow for New Zealanders to invest in it. This company would own and operate key infrastructure assets, generating long term risk adjusted returns and jobs for New Zealanders as well.
Thursday Wire Producer Sanat spoke to Simplicity’s CEO Sam Stubbs about this proposal and what it means for future generations of New Zealanders
This week was the start of the COP30 climate talks in Belém, Brazil.
Young people from across the globe are heavily involved in climate campaigning, but many face obstacles in being able to attend COP, particularly in being involved in the actual decision-making.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Youth Environmentalist and member of the Youth Climate Justice Project, Sumaya Mohammed, who is attending COP next week, about young people's experiences with the climate talks.
They also spoke to Aoife Daly, Professor of Law at University College Cork and Lead on the Youth Climate Justice Project, about her research into youth participation at COP.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about government ministers announcing they are considering banning rough sleeping in Auckland’s CBD, recent unemployment figures, and the government’s action plan to combat meth usage.
For this week's Get Action, Producer Manny spoke to JT from Touch Compass on their petition to Say YES to “Access” #YesToAccessNZ | Words shape world on their petition to replace inclusion with access.
Manny spoke with Jason Mika, Professor of Māori Management at the University of Auckland, about the ructions within Te Pāti Māori.
And News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with Professor John Morgan, The Head of the School Critical Studies and Education at the University of Auckland, about his article on Newsroom his belief that the country is seeing a collapse of the second curriculum accord.
In an article on Newsroom, John Morgan, Head of the School Critical Studies and Education at the University of Auckland, discusses his belief that we are seeing a collapse in the country’s curriculum accord.
This comes as the government has announced a plethora of changes to the country’s curriculum heading forward.
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Morgan about the history of the curriculum accords in the country and why we are seeing changes in this space.
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
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
The government has recently rejected all of the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations regarding strengthening the country’s methane targets recommendations.
The commission’s recommendations include strengthening the county’s 2050 methane emission targets, continuing lowering emissions after 2050, and that international shipping and aviation, which represents 9% of the county’s total emissions, should be included within targets.
Despite the commission saying that there would be upfront costs, many of the changes would result in cost savings over time, however, the government rejected this claim.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about the government rejecting these recommendations.
Tāmaki Makaurau’s council budget is among those impacted by the proposal of a rates cap, considering Tāmaki’s average 5.8% annual rates increase across the 25/26 financial year.
Youth homelessness is a growing concern as discussions continue around “move on” orders for those without housing in Auckland’s CBD.
And the Skycity Convention Centre is set to open in 2026, with high hopes for what it may bring for Tāmaki Makaurau after its prolonged development.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Counsellor Fairey about these topics.
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