Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Sara Mckoy, 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.
A recent study from the University of Otago shows that more than twenty percent of children in Aotearoa who’ve been infected by Covid-19 still suffer persistent, ongoing symptoms.
Producer Faith spoke to Larisa Hockey from the Long Covid Kids organisation about how long covid affects children, and how children are specifically at risk.
Recently, Justice Minister, Paul Goldsmith, and Associate Justice Minister, Nicole McKee, have announced tougher changes to those caught shoplifting, and those being trespassed.
Of the proposed changes to shoplifting include instant fines, the maximum punishment for theft being increased.
Of the proposed changes to trespassing include those being trespassed at one location of a business with multiple locations, such as a franchise, to be trespassed from multiple locations, increasing the maximum fine for someone refusing to leave, and increasing fines for anyone refusing to give out personal information.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Chief Executive of Retail NZ, Carolyn Young, about these potential changes, and what this could mean for retailers, and businesses as whole.
Under the previous Labour government speed limits were lowered nationwide, however the current National lead coaltion goverment these changes have been reveresed.
This reversal was done without community or local coucil approval and has been criticised for potentially putting children in danger, particularly around schoolds. Children are at much higher risk or injury and death in vehicular collisions than adults, and that risk rises more and more as speeds increase.
To discuss these changes Producer Samantha spoke to NZ Director of Brake, Caroline Perry, about the potential danger to children that these changes pose.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to MP Cameron Luxton about the government’s expectations for City and Regional Deals, and Youth Parliament.
Joel speaks to the Chief Executive of Retail NZ, Carolyn Young, about proposed changes to increasing the penalties for shoplifting and trespassing from businesses.
And Producer Samantha speaks to Caroline Perry Director of the Brake road safety charity about the government reverseing lower speed limits implemented under Labour and the potential danger this poses to children.
Following Israel and the US’ large-scale attacks on Iran, and Israel’s continued war on Gaza, this has raised the question on the future of international order.
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to the Executive Director of the Britain Palestine Project, Dr Brian Brivati, about this turning point in international order, and what we should expect heading forward.
As family violence service provider Shine amps up their July ‘light it orange’ campaign, the Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children have released a statement condemning the decision by Minister for Children and for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour to disestablish Te Pūkotahitanga.
This collective is a Māori partnership body for the elimination of family violence and sexual violence, which gives Māori leaders a critical voice at the decision making table.
In their statement they said the decision “is disrespectful to both Māori and non-Māori, and furthers the systematic erosion of Tiriti-based governance, entrenching distrust of the Crown across all communities.”
Following a report released earlier this week by the National Mortality Review Committee which found that Maaori women are disproportionately impacted by family and sexual violence, experts in this field have stressed the need for a stronger multi-agency response that is effective, proactive and includes crisis support.
There have also been calls for a national conversation that “treats gender-based violence as a public, not private, issue”, and highlights the issue of femicide in Aotearoa.
To discuss this topic further, Producer Sara spoke with Chair of the Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children, Leonie Morris, about what the disestablishment of Te Pūkotahitanga means for mahi and outcomes relating to Māori
For our weekly catch up with the Labour Party, Producer Sara speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about the ‘censorship’ of youth MPs in Parliament this week, as well as some of the financial changes that came into effect on July 1st
For City Counselling, Sara speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about the government’s idea to scrap regional councils, as well as their request for the approval of up to fifteen storey buildings around CRL stations.
For International Desk, News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to the Executive Director of the Britain Palestine Project, Dr Brian Brivati, about the potential shift in international order, looking at Israel’s and the US’ recent attacks on Iran, and Israel’s continued war on Gaza.
And Sara speaks to the Chair for the Safety of Women and Children Leonie Morris, about the disestablishment of Te Pūkotahitanga.
As of the 1st of July 2025, the Healthy Homes standards have kicked in. This requires all rental properties to meet the regulations, designed to improve renters’ health, by preventing damp, mouldy and cold conditions.
Now that the final deadline has passed, landlords who fail to comply with the standards could face fines of up to $7200. The only problem is who might be regulating them…
To break down what this means for renters, landlords and the wider housing sector, Producer Max spoke to Bill McKay, from the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.
Last week it was revealed that the government had withdrawn New Zealand from the Beyond Oil and Gas alliance, an international coalition dedicated to phasing out the use of fossil fuels.
This was confirmed by climate change minister Simon Watts, who said that the exit from the alliance was prompted by the government’s repeal of the oil and gas exploration ban.
In that same week, Immigration minister Erica Stanford recently announced that the government was looking to electronically monitor some asylum seekers and migrants, in preparation for mass arrivals of asylum seekers by plane.
And, just recently, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith introduced a number of sentencing reforms that included capping the discounts judges can give to offenders and treating one-punch attacks as separate offenses.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issue.
Wegovy, also known as Ozempic when marketed in lower doses, is a weight-loss drug that is already making headlines globally, and now as of the 1st of July, it’s available for prescription in Aotearoa.
Given that New Zealand is currently ranked 31st in the world for obesity rates, according to The World Obesity Federation, some experts believe Wegovy could have a major impact on obesity levels nationwide. Especially if it were to become publicly funded.
To talk about why the drug isn’t publicly funded at the moment, and what kind of impact Wegovy could have on obesity in Aotearoa, Producer Max spoke with Boyd Swinburn, Professor of Population, Nutrition and Global Health at the University of Auckland.
On Thursday last week, the coalition government passed legislation to reverse the ban on oil and gas exploration — a ban which had been initiated by the previous government in 2018.
Minister Shane Jones who drove the reversal, highlighted the impact of the ban on economic growth and energy supply in New Zealand. Opposition parties have voiced concerns about the impact of this decision for New Zealand’s climate commitments.
As well, yesterday Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford announced an overhaul of the NCEA system, to be replaced with qualifications that they say will be better to understand, and more aligned with international standards.
Finally, as the United States places 15% tariffs on NZ exports, the Labour party have said the government needs to do more to strengthen our trade relationships to avoid a rise in the cost of living for kiwis.
Host Sara spoke with National MP Carl Bates about all these topics. Sara started by asking him to explain the government’s decision to reverse the ban on oil and gas exploration in New Zealand.
Last week, it was announced that the FBI would open a dedicated attaché office in Wellington, to investigate threats, such as terrorism, child exploitation, and cyber crime.
Announcing the office, director of the FBI, Kash Patel, sez the event is a “historic moment” and that with this move, symbolises the FBI’s prioritisation of having a permanent presence across all Five Eyes countries, which New Zealand is a part of.
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, says Patel’s visit to the country “send[s] a clear message to criminals” that they “cannot hide behind an international border”.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel spoke to Simon about the FBI’s office, and some criticisms the move has had.
They also spoke about multiple countries recently indicating their moves to formally recognise a state of Palestine, and what plans Aotearoa has in this space.
But first, they discussed the FBI’s new office in the capital.
According to outreach providers, Auckland has had a 90% increase in homelessness since September last year.
Auckland Council’s Community Committee Chair Angela Dalton says government policy changes have “made it harder for people to access emergency housing.”
The committee has called for the government to work with frontline agencies to address the issue.
Yesterday, nearly 36,000 nurses, midwives, and healthcare workers went on strike for 24 hours.
This followed the breakdown of mediation talks between the nurses' union and Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand.
The union says they are striking because of the ‘dire’ staffing situation.
And the government has announced a series of electoral law changes, including the end to same-day voter enrollment.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these issues.
They started by asking about the increase in homelessness in Auckland.
On Monday, Auckland Council staff were sighted taking belongings such as tents and sleeping bags from rough sleepers at the Grafton United Cricket Club ground.
This is happening at a time where the amount of rough sleepers on Auckland’s streets has increased 90 percent since last September and 15 percent of those leaving emergency housing are going straight to homelessness.
On Tuesday, Auckland Council’s Community Committee received updates on the state of homelessness in the city and discussed what the Council’s response will be.
For City Counselling this week Producer Sanat spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about the worsening homelessness in the city.
Sanat started by asking about the incident on Monday and whether Auckland Council is doing enough to respond to homelessness.
The International Court of Justice has issued an advisory opinion that nations can be held legally accountable for greenhouse-gas emissions.
The Court found that those who are harmed by human-caused climate change could be entitled to reparations.
The case was spearheaded by Pacific island students and the government of Vanuatu, and then backed by 105 sponsor countries.
For International Desk, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Justin Sobion, a University of Auckland Senior Tutor in Law who also acted as counsel for Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Israeli founded and based company SodaStream is the most popular sparkling water maker in New Zealand, supplying sparkling water machines to over 400,000 households in Aotearoa, with around 30% of families using one to make beverages at home.
The company has also had involvement in the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, previously having a factory in the Ma'ale Adumim settlement in the internationally recognised Palestinian west bank.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke with Brandon Johnstone, a BDS coordinator at Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa about a petition calling on retailers and stockists to swap out SodaStream for more ethical alternatives.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
Last week, the government announced that they’d be scrapping same-day election enrolments, alongside a number of other changes to electoral laws.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said that current electoral laws were “placing too much strain on the system” and increased the time needed for the vote count.
Earlier this week, the Climate Change Commission released its annual monitoring report on emissions reductions, which showed that Aotearoa New Zealand was on track to meeting its first emissions budget for the period of 2022-2025, but not towards meeting future budgets around the 2050 period.
And the Greens recently launched a petition calling on Rail Minister Winston Peters to reinstate passenger rail services across the country.
For our weekly catchup with the Green party, Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
On Friday, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced various changes to the electoral system in New Zealand which he says seek to make the process of voting more efficient and effective for future elections.
These include the closing of enrolment 13 days before the official election day, prohibiting the provision of food and drink at polling booths, and a reinstatement of a total prisoner voting ban.
A number of Labour and Greens party politicians have been among those to criticise the changes as a disenfranchisement of voters which will make democratic engagement in New Zealand more difficult.
As well, last week the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development released the latest iteration of the Homelessness Insights Report which reveals that there has been a quantifiable rise in homelessness across Aotearoa.
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