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.
In December last year, the government introduced the stalking and harassment amendment bill, the first official legislation in Aotearoa to criminalise stalking.
Calls for an official stalking bill became widespread in Aotearoa, following the murder of 21-year old Farzana Yaqubi, who’s calls to the police leading up to her murder were effectively ignored as stalking was not yet a crime at the time.
However, Carrie Leonetti - an associate professor in Law at the University of Auckland who helped create the original draft legislation, said that the new stalking and harassment bill was too weak to actually protect victims of stalking and that the number of acts that constitute as stalking in the bill didn’t cover the full range of potential offenses.
Oto spoke to Carrie about why the new Stalking bill was ineffective and what was needed to improve it.
For their weekly catch up with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Ricardo Menendez March about the government’s recent tourism and biodiversity fund, as well as Destiny Church’s protests at recent pride events and the deportation notice given to 18-year-old Daman Kumar.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Vanessa Cole from public housing futures to discuss a campaign of hers calling for the government to construct more public housing for people on the “true waitlist”.
And he spoke to Carrie Leonetti - an associate professor in Law at the University of Auckland at the University of Auckland, to discuss the government’s new anti-stalking legislation, and why it falls short of protecting stalking victims.
Sasha spoke to Dr Chanelle Duley, a lecturer in Business at the University of Auckland, about the introduction of a new bill that will aim at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses.
Amani spoke to University of Auckland’s School of Population Health and spokesperson for Health Coalition Aotearoa, Dr. Kelly Garton, on why we should give kids a break from junk food ads.
She also spoke to Professor at Lincoln University’s Department of Soil & Physical Sciences and Co-Director of Bioprotection Aotearoa, Amanda Black, on how the use of pesticides is worsening the “biodiversity crisis.”
Kids have recently gone back to school, which means they will be “bombarded” with ads for junk food whilst commuting, according to researchers.
Senior research fellow at the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health and spokesperson for Health Coalition Aotearoa, Dr Kelly Garton, has published a comment on this in a recent Newsroom article and is advocating for Aotearoa’s local councils to eliminate junk food advertising from public transport spaces due to the impact they are having on young people.
Producer Amani spoke with Garton about what other major cities around the globe have done to tackle this issue and the further repercussions these ads could have on Aotearoa and its health system.
Last week a major study was published by Nature Communications which discovered that pesticides are causing significant harm to numerous species which they are not intended to harm.
The review examined over 1700 experimental studies, including a handful from Aotearoa. It found pesticides can reduce plant and animal growth, and affect animals' ability to find a mate or catch prey. However, the researchers note that cutting pesticide use could affect global food supply.
Producer Amani spoke with Professor at Lincoln University’s Department of Soil and Physical Sciences and Co-Director of Bioprotection Aotearoa, Amanda Black, on how this could have an impact on Aotearoa’s produce and economy, and what we can do to avoid harming non-target organisms whilst using pesticides.
For Dear Science this week, our expert Dr Cushla McGoverin, joins us in studio to discuss ancient Egyptian mummies smelling good, antidepressants potentially being able to protect against infections and sepsis, and using quantum inspiration to develop methods for classical computing memory, thanks to MOTAT!
For our weekly catchup with the National Party's Tom Rutherford, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to him about the storming of a library in Te Atatū by groups linked to Destiny Church over a lesson into the science of rainbows taught by a drag king to children, the resignation of Director-General of Health, Dr Diana Sarfati, and Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, and Tourism Minister, Louise Upston, announcing a $500,000 tourism campaign to incentivise Australian tourism in Aotearoa.
They also speak to the Chief Executive of OutLine Aotearoa; a rainbow support service, Emmaline Pickering-Martin, about the protests at the Te Atatū Library, and the organisation's thoughts regarding this.
Finally, they talk to rangatahi development advocate, Aaron Hendry, about these protests as well, specifically discussing the ‘ManUp’ group, who were involved during the rally.
And Producer Athena speaks to Senior lecturer in Critical Studies in Education at the University of Auckland, Dr Jude MacArthur, about the coalition government's move to bring back charter schools.
In recent weeks, primary to secondary school students have been returning to class for the year, with some students entering newly established charter schools. This comes after Associate Education Minister, David Seymour, announced in May 2024 that charter schools would be returning this year, with the government allocating a budget of $153 million to fund the privately owned schools.
According to Minister Seymour, charter schools will offer “new and innovative ways to help students struggling to succeed in school”. However, the 2024 announcement has raised concern amongst educators and researchers in the state system, who have been asking for better resources and funding for several years now.
Producer Athena spoke to Senior Lecturer in Critical Studies in Education at the University of Auckland, Dr Jude MacArthur, about the differences between charter schools and state schools, and how students will be affected.
Over the weekend, an estimated 50 protesters, a part of Destiny Church-linked groups, stormed the Te Atatū Community Centre and library, where a show discussing the science of rainbows was being performed to children by a drag king as a part of Auckland Pride festivities.
Protestors attempted to storm the library, trying to push through volunteers and librarians, which resulted in 30 children and adults being forced to lock themselves in a room for protection.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the Chief Executive of OutLine Aotearoa; a rainbow support service, Emmaline Pickering-Martin, about these protests, and what the organisation hopes will come next to support the LGBTQIA+ community as we start to wrap up Auckland Pride festivities.
As well as this, a noticeable group at the protest was that of the men’s support group, ‘ManUp’ which has links to Destiny Church.
The group were seen displacing merchandise of their group in videos that were streamed online.
However, concerns have been raised about the group, due to their non-peaceful protest actions at the library.
Joel also spoke to rangatahi development advocate, Aaron Hendry, about the protests and the ‘ManUp’ organisation, and his concerns with this group in light of their actions protesting the pride event.
The report ‘Reuniting Families, a path forward for Aotearoa New Zealand’; a collaboration between the University of Auckland and the New Zealand Red Cross, was recently released, with the report highlighting the concerns with Aotearoa’s family sponsorship system regarding the intake of those forcibly displaced from their home countries, and the 7-year backlog of those a part of the system.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Co-Director at the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and Social Work, Professor Jay Marlowe, about the report, and what the report details to better correct the system.
Firstly, they started by asking how the family sponsorship system works.
Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, and Producer Evie to discuss Fandoms and Micro-Fandoms in light of Laneway a couple of weeks ago!
For our weekly catch up with the ACT party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about critiques he’s received for ‘mansplaining’ period products, the Destiny Church pride protests and the Director General of Health’s resignation.
News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to the Co-Director at the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and Social Work, Professor Jay Marlowe, about a recent report, which is a collaboration between the University and the New Zealand Red Cross, which expresses concerns into the country’s seven-year backlog of the family sponsorship system.
They also speak to vaccinologist and Professor in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, Dr Helen Petousis-Harris, about the concerns with prominent anti-vaxxer, RFK Jr, being appointed as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.
And Matt Hart joins us in studio to discuss fandoms and micro-fandoms, following on from Laneway the week before last.
Auckland Transport has announced another parking fare increase, pushing up parking across AT-managed lots 50 cents per hour.
They justified the increase as necessary to cover ‘rising operational costs’ and to cover the Auckland Council’s increased resource commitment to supporting Aucklanders with “issues like blocked driveways, footpaths, and clearways”.
As well, Auckland Council have voted to endorse the redevelopment of Eden Park, in favour of a new waterfront stadium — bringing the latest development in a long-standing discussion about the best approach to attract tourism and financial productivity to Auckland.
All they need now is the government to pitch in $100 million dollars to fund the project.
Producer Sara started her interview with Shane Henderson by asking why raising parking prices was the preferred option for covering council operational costs
Just recently, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Brooke Van Velden, announced sweeping changes to health and safety regulations for businesses that she described as “low-risk”.
Some of the changes involved: narrowing the focus of the Health and Safety at Work Act to risks only causing death, serious injury or illness, creating a hotline for the public to report “overzealous” road cone placement and reducing "tick-box and safety activities" such as psychosocial harm policies for small businesses.
Around this same period of time, Greens MPs Tamatha Paul and Benjamin Doyle received intense media and political scrutiny for comments they made at a university panel and on social media respectively, with the backlash towards Doyle forcing them to abstain from parliament this week.
The Greens recently issued a call to the government to scrap their proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, which involve recognising qualifications other than early childhood teaching qualifications, removing up to 74% of ECE licensing criteria and removing requirements for regular updates and family.
In their weekly catchup with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Oto spoke to him about the party’s take on all of these issues.
BirdCare Aotearoa is a wild, native bird hospital that works to rehabilitate sick and injured birds back into the wild.
For their upcoming event: ‘Bird Heros,’ a part of EcoFest 2025 on the 6th of April, the workshop will look at the best practices on rescuing wild native birds, and will include a tour of their bird hospital, which is not usually open to the public.
For this week's Green Desk, Producer Leilani spoke to the Hospital Manager at BirdCare Aotearoa, Pooja Dorle, about the rehabilitation processes of birds within their hospital ahead of their next workshop.
Fellow Green Desk Producer Liam, and News and Editorial Director Joel, went to the previous workshop over the weekend, and spoke to the Chair of the organisation, Kevin Furgeson, and volunteer Marina, and had a tour of their facilities. Thanks EcoFest!
BirdCare Aotearoa also has a fundraiser running to shed light on seabirds affected by street lights and brightly lit buildings across the city, affecting their migration patterns and causing birds, such as the protected Petrels, Shearwaters, and Prions, to fall and injure themselves. To support their clinical rehabilitation practices, you can support their campaign on givealittle.
For a number of years, Aotearoa has been dealing with a shortage of psychologists and similar professionals to deal with the growing mental health needs of the wider population, with estimates suggesting that an additional 1,000 more psychologists are needed to fill gaps in the profession.
In response to the country’s growing mental health needs, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced a new Associate Psychologist role, consisting of recent post-graduates, to work alongside fully trained Psychologists.
However, a number of Psychologists and experts have criticised the introduction of this new role, saying that these associate Psychologists may be expected to take on the responsibilities of clinical Psychologists despite being underqualified.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Dr Kumari Valentine, a clinical psychologist based in Dunedin, who’s launched a petition calling on the government to roll back the introduction of the new Associate psychology role and look to other methods of filling gaps in the Psychology profession.
If you're interested in signing this petition, you can find it here:
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.
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.
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.
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