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.
As of last week, the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill came into effect, allowing landlords to end a periodic tenancy without needing to give a specific reason, changing legislation introduced by the previous Labour government in 2020.
The government says the bill, which passed its third reading in December, is aimed at enticing more rental properties to be in the market.
However, this move has raised concerns from those renting, due to concerns such as retaliatory evictions from landlords.
On Friday, News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the President of Renters United; an advocacy group of renters, Zac Thomas, about the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill coming into effect.
They started off by asking how the organisation is feeling about this amendment as a whole.
Oral submissions to the Select Committee on the divisive Treaty Principles Bill began this week on Monday. This comes after the Bill’s submission deadline was extended earlier this month and over 300,000 written submissions were made. The committee is set to listen to 80 hours of submissions over the next month, from a variety of academics, legal experts, activists, and community groups.
Producer Sofia spoke to Professor of Māori Studies at the University of Auckland and te Tiriti o Waitangi expert, Margaret Mutu, about this, firstly asking her about what her expectations were going into this week.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden speaks to Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni about the oral submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill and Luxon’s State of the Nation speech where he revealed National’s intention to campaign on asset sales next election.
For the final State of the States, they speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about recent executive orders from Trump, the near-miss trade war with Colombia, DeepSeek AI, and the future of the Trump presidency.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia speak to Councillor Julie Fairey about Auckland Council’s progress on storm recovery, two years on from the Auckland Anniversary floods.
She also speaks to Professor of Māori Studies at the University of Auckland and te Tiriti o Waitangi expert, Margaret Mutu, about the Treaty Principles Bill oral submissions hearings which began this week.
It is a fact that what makes Aotearoa New Zealand an amazing place to live is nature. Our export industries are built off the idea of a ‘clean, green New Zealand’, attracting tourists and food exports.
Greenpeace’s Executive Director Russel Norman claims that “Luxon’s relentless War on Nature burns the natural capital of Aotearoa for short term GDP growth.”
He has called it a ‘war on nature’, and says that the clean-up costs of a coal mine are greater than a full year of royalties that coal companies pay to the government.
Sasha spoke in depth about Christoper Luxon’s continued ‘war on nature’ with Russel, further speaking on international implications.
In the lead up to U.S President, Donald Trump’s second term in office, the United States has been in what academics, and observers are calling a state of “permacrisis”.
Since Trump’s inauguration, decisions such as the appointment of Cabinet members, the pardoning of convicts involved in the January 6th Capitol attack, and the signing of executive orders targeting immigrants, and transgender people, have uprooted political conventions, and normalised chaos as a daily occurrence.
Producer Athena spoke to Director and Associate Professor of Global Studies at the University of Auckland, Dr Chris Ogden, about how, and why Trump and his followers weaponise chaos, and manufacture crises.
Last week in a speech from ACT party leader David Seymour which he described as his own “State of the Nation” speech, he called for the privatisation of government assets. Seymour noted recent issues in public sectors such as health and housing, proposing that private organisations would manage operations better than the government.
The Public Service Association says the privatisation of the health sector will lead to the prioritisation of profits over health outcomes for individuals. Countries like the United States where the health system is almost entirely private see those with or without insurance rejected from hospitals, unable to pay for life-saving treatment.
Wire host Castor to National Secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons, about how a private health system would work in Aotearoa.
For Dear Science this week, our expert Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about good old Ernest Rutherford and why his mug is on our 100 dollar bills.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about National’s recent cabinet reshuffle and Christopher Luxon’s state of the nation speech.
They also spoke to National Secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons, about ACT party leader David Seymour’s calls for privatisation of Aotearoa’s health sector.
Producer Athena spoke to Director of Global Studies at the University of Auckland, Chris Ogden, about how and why Trump weaponises chaos.
The inauguration of Donald Trump has taken place, meaning he is officially President of the United States.
Many tech giant were at the event, including SpaceX and Tesla’s Elon Musk who appeared to do a nazi salute during his speech.
On his first day in office, Trump signed a series of controversial executive orders, including ordering the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organisation and Paris Climate Agreement.
For States of the States this week Wire Host Caeden spoke to Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso about the inauguration and Trump’s first few days in office, as well as the short-lived Tiktok ban.
And Producer Sofia spoke to honorary academic at the University of Auckland Faculty of Science and climate scientist Dr Kevin Trenberth about Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and what this says about his administration’s policy for climate change
A ceasefire ending Israel’s 15 month war on Gaza went into effect on Sunday.
However, top government Israeli officials have stated they reserve to resume the war if they feel they need to.
Israel has also ramped up attacks in the Palestinian West Bank, which is not included in any ceasefire terms. Ten Palestinians were killed in a recent raid in Jenin, and an additional dozen, including medical staff, were wounded.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa’s John Minto about the ceasefire and subsequent Israeli military activity.
From Dec 27 to Jan 18, all train lines across Tāmaki will be shutting down for summer maintenance, a closure which is expected to be the last of its kind ahead of the opening of the City Rail Link.
The current measles outbreak in Tāmaki is being continually monitored, with exposure sites being updated daily on info.health.nz. The public are encouraged to track whether they’ve been in possible contact with the virus, and get up to date on any vaccinations to limit possibilities of transmission.
Auckland Council are supporting arts initiatives across the summer months, with Music in the Park kicking off in early January, and Movies in the Park following in February.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about these topics, and also asked for comment following the attack by two gunmen at Bondi Beach earlier this week.
Yesterday, the latest six-monthly survey of housing support providers under the National Homelessness Data Project, or NHDP, showed that homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled in the year to September. The report also found that 14 of the 21 agencies interviewed reported an increase in homelessness.
As well as this, Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 has taken effect. And according to an interim report into social media harm, a social media ban for children in New Zealand is worth exploring further.
And last week the Government announced the replacement of the Resource Management Act, or RMA. The coalition said its replacement will slash red tape and supercharge growth.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to MP Ricardo Menendez March about the Government’s new RMA reforms and a potential social media ban in New Zealand.
But first they discussed the latest report on Auckland homelessness.
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.
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
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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