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.
Currently there's 99,000 children in persistent poverty according to newly released official statistics NZ definition which was released on Friday.
Producer Yesenia spoke to Child Poverty Action Group researcher Harry Yu Shi about the new statistics regarding persistent poverty being prominent in children lives and how new-long term approaches have been proposed to combat the 99,000 in poverty.
The Australian government has announced plans to implement legislation that would ban under 16 year olds from social media, with Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, saying the bill will be introduced to Parliament within the next few weeks.
This move has been criticised, including by the The Australian Child Rights Taskforce; an organisation made up of 100 academics and 20 civil society organisations, which have written to the Australian government opposing the bill, rather calling for the government to impose “safety standards” on social media.
However, Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, Dr Samantha Marsh, supports Australia’s move, and is calling for New Zealand to implement similar restrictions.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to her about Australia’s move, and why she supports it.
Producer Sofia spoke to Distinguished Scholar at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the United States and honorary academic at the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland, Dr Kevin Trenberth, about the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) and the possible impact on climate action progress following the re-election of Republican Donald Trump in the United States.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about the joint press release from Labour, the Greens, and Te Paati Maaori against the Treaty Principles Bill and the formal apology to survivors of abuse in state care.
For State of the States this week they speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about the republicans winning the house of representatives and Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments.
For State of the States they also speak to political commentator and former Radioactive political host Tom Unger about the mood on the ground in Washington D.C. and the Democrat’s response to losing the election.
For City Counselling this week, Sofia speaks to Councillor Shane Henderson about Hīkoi mō te Tiriti passing through Tāmaki Makaurau yesterday and Auckland Council’s Christmas tree spending.
She also speaks to Distinguished Scholar at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the United States and honorary academic at the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland, Dr Kevin Trenberth, about the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly known as COP29, which started this week.
Last week Donald Trump and the Republican Party won a decisive victory in the United States election, taking both the presidency and the senate. Over the past week the Republicans have also taken the house of representatives, and president-elect Donald Trump has announced some key cabinet appointments. Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa’aoso about these developments.
They also speak to political commentator, Tom Unger, about the mood on the ground in Washington D.C. as well as how Kamala Harris and the Democrats have responded to the election over the past week.
Needing a gift for Christmas? MOTAT has launched an ‘adopt a tram,’ initiative for their iconic trams.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Head of Philanthropy and Partnerships at MOTAT, Katie Brundle, about this initiative, and what it means exactly, to adopt a tram?
You can adopt a tram by heading to the MOTAT website.
On the 11th of November, the Fonterra company announced that they will be selling customer-facing brands, which include Anchor, Mainland and others. Following this announcement, Greenpeace are calling for potential buyers to go palm-kernel free.
This comes after an expose of Fonterra’s dishonest marketing strategies, and claims that its milk is produced with ‘regenerative farming’, a blatant example of greenwashing.
Sasha spoke to Sinéad Deighton-O'Flynn, Agriculture Campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa about the new sale of companies associated with Fonterra, including potential implications for consumers and Greenpeace’s expectations for companies looking to purchase.
Just last week, on the Seventh of November the new Treaty Principles Bill was announced in parliament. The development of the bill excluded any consultation with Maori and does not reflect the texts or meaning of Te Tiriti, according to the Waitangi Tribunal. Principle 2 within the Bill, if enacted, would revoke the promises made by the queen to Maori in 1840.
Hikoi protesting the bill began three days ago and has moved from Cape Reinga to Northcote and Bastion Point today, with its eventual goal to protest at parliament on the 19th. The first reading occurs this week in parliament, afterwards being sent to the select committee for a six-month hearing process.
Sasha spoke to Lisa Woods, a Movement Building & Advocacy Director at Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, about the Treaty Principles Bill and its opposition.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about Hīkoi Mō te Tiriti, the 9-day Hīkoi opposing the treaty principles bill, as well as the government apologies to victims of abuse in care and the election of former US president Donald Trump.
He spoke to John Minto from Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa about the ongoing siege of Northern Gaza, as well as media coverage of the clashes between Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters and locals in Amsterdam and the implication of Donald Trump’s election on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
He spoke to Ti Lamusse from Victoria University of Wellington about the governments cuts to mental health services for prisoners and the increase in the prison population of Aotearoa to 10,000 inmates.
And he spoke to Kevin Lamb from Age Concern Auckland to talk about a study examining loneliness amongst older New Zealanders.
Sasha spoke to Lisa Woods, A Movement Building & Advocacy Director at Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand about the treaty principles bill and calls for a codified constitution.
And he spoke to Sinéad O'Flynn, an Agriculture Campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, about the new sale of companies associated with Fonterra, including potential implications for consumers and Greenpeace’s expectations for companies.
Since October this year, as part of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, Israeli Defence Forces have imposed a siege on the Northern Gaza Governate in the Gaza strip.
The IDF has designated the entire Northern half of Gaza as a combat zone, blocked the movement of all aid heading into the area and sent evacuation notices to all of Northern Gaza’s Palestinian inhabitants, effectively declaring everyone in Northern Gaza to be an enemy combatant.
Oto spoke to John Minto from Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, to discuss the implications of Israel’s ongoing siege of Northern Gaza for the area’s Palestinian inhabitants.
They also had a discussion about the implication of Donald Trump’s election victory for the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, as well as the media coverage of the clashes between locals in Amsterdam and supporters of the Israeli football team - Maccabi Tel Aviv.
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
95bFM 
