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.
With the construction of a new facility at the North Shore Hospital in Auckland underway, the Well Foundation has put together a campaign to put five hundred plants inside the massive four hundred square metre atrium.
Extensive research has shown that gardens improve health outcomes, reduce admission time, and reduce blood pressure.
The Well Foundation has asked the public to fund this $2m campaign, and has already received $1m in funding.
To get a deeper look into the health benefits of plants for wellbeing, and to find out more about this project, Arno spoke to Well Foundation chief executive Tim Edmonds.
Arno started the interview by asking about their “Give A Bit Of Green” project.
The lead up to this year’s election has been marked by conversations regarding Māori rights and crown obligations under Te Tiriti O Waitangi.
As our country reckons with the contentious history of colonisation, work has started on imagining a new Aotearoa.
Matike Mai is a working group dedicated to researching ways in which Aotearoa’s constitution can better reflect He Whakaputanga (The declaration of Independence), Te Tiriti O Waitangi and the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.
Nicholas spoke to a member of Matike Mai, Te Matahiapo to discuss the mahi that has been done so far, as well as the reasons why constitutional reform will benefit not just Māori but all people who call New Zealand home.
Nicholas began by asking Te Matahiapo to explain what Matike Mai is.
The Tuesday Wire team is joined by Davide Mercadante for Dear Science. The team discusses the discovery of hidden trees throughout Europe that gives new hope for carbon storage, potentially hazardous litter leaf and the pitfalls of biodegradable bags might not be as good as we thought to recycle organic waste!
For our weekly segment Nicholas catches up with the National Party’s Dr Shane Reti to discuss National’s potential Pasific Island caucus and the Party’s plans to scrape Fair Pay legislation.
Nicholas also spoke to activist and academic Te Matahiapo about Matike Mai, a working group looking into possible avenues for constitutional reform in Aotearoa.
Lou spoke to Samuel Andrews on his findings on Sexualised Drug use in Gay and Bisexual men in New Zealand
And, Josh spoke to Dr Arama Rata on the coverage of the Auckland Palestine march, and coverage of Palestine, in New Zealand Media and Omar Hasaniah, a former Gazan Resident, on his experiences in Aotearoa this month.
This week for our weekly catchup with Dr Reti, Nicholas asked Dr Reti about the National Party’s plans to scrap Fair Pay Agreements.
Fair Pay legislation was passed last year, the legislation would require employers in certain sectors to negotiate minimum working conditions for employees, with Unions and employee representatives.
The interview began with a question about National’s potential lack of MP’s of Pacific Island descent. As it currently stands Angee Nicholas would be the only National MP of Pacific Island descent. Angee Nicholas currently holds her seat by thirty votes so it is possible she may end up out of parliament.
Nicholas began by asking Dr Reti how National plans to make sure the Pacific Island population of Aotearoa is represented in the new government.
Josh Black talks to Dr Arama Rata about the lack of coverage in a protest she attended, and the NZ media's reporting on gaza. He also talks to Omar Hasanaiah, a previous Gaza resident, on his experiences as a Palestinian in NZ.
Rosetta spoke to Greenpeace spokesperson Amanda Larson about Christopher Luxon’s plan to reintroduce offshore gas and oil exploration, and the IEA’s report on this.
Rosetta also spoke to Virologist and Professor at the University of Otago Jemma Ghee-gan about the rise in outbreaks of avian influenza, or bird flu, around the world and in the Antarctic region.
And for our bi-weekly segment of Get Action, where we speak to petitioners from Get Action about their causes, Rosetta spoke to Erin Thomas, director and change maker at ICAAD about their petition to bring justice to the Banaban People of Rabi, Fiji.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party Rawan spoke with Simon Court about updates regarding the ACT and National coalition as well as the party’s viewpoints on the Israel-Palestine war
Rawan also spoke with Samira Zaitoun, the Co-convener of Justice for Palestine about the Pro-palestine marches over the weekend as well as clarifications around statements made by Simon Court.
Under a new government, Christopher Luxon has committed to getting rid of the offshore oil and gas exploration ban, which had been in place since 2018. This decision has caused widespread opposition and cries for a commitment toward clean energy, and the International Energy Agency has released a report condemning the plan, which they call “non-sensical” and “foolish”. Greenpeace Aotearoa has condemned Luxon’s plan, and has launched an open petition to the oil and gas industry which has gained more than 8,000 signatures.
Rosetta spoke to Greenpeace spokesperson Amanda Larsson about the policy and it’s environmental and economic impacts. She started by asking Amanda to explain what this policy would look like and how scrapping the ban would come into place.
For our bi-weekly segment of Get Action, where we speak to petitioners from Action Station about their causes, Rosetta spoke to Erin Thomas, director and change maker at the International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination, or ICAAD. ICAAD has been working to bring awareness and justice to the Banaban people residing in Rabi, Fiji, as a result of displacement due to phosphate mining of Banaban in the mid 20th century.
Rosetta spoke to Erin about ICAAD’s recently launched petition to the New Zealand ministry of Foreign affairs and trade ‘Protecting the to life with dignity of the Banaban community’
New research from The University of Sydney, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne and The University of Hong Kong suggest that the epicentre of avian influenza, more commonly known as bird flu, has shifted out of asia. The virus was first detected in China in 1996, however several outbreaks have occured since 2014 in both wild birds and commercial farms across Europe and Africa, as well as a recent discovery of cases in birds in the Antarctic region.
Rosetta spoke to Virologist and Professor at the University of Otago Jemma Ghee-gan about the virus and Aotearoa’s bio security systems in place to protect against avian influenza reaching New Zealand.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT party Rawan spoke with ACT MP Simon Court.
Rawan started off by asking about what the current situation is in regards to the ACT National coalition and what the discussions have looked like.
They then discussed the ACT Party’s views on the Israel-Palestine war. The death toll in Palestine has hit 8000 people with more than 3000 being children. In addition to cutting off electricity and water Israel has also begun its ground invasion of Gaza over the last few days.
Rawan asked about where the ACT party stands on Israel’s current actions against Palestine and what the New Zealand Government should do. They also discussed the Pro-Palestine marches over the weekend and why the ACT party refuses to support the cause of these demonstrations and the Palestinian Community.
Some of these statments where clarified by Samira Zaiton, Co-Convener at Justice for Palestine, during an interview on the Monday Wire.
The Healthcare exec Brian Thompson was shot dead by a masked assailant last week.
The crime has gained significant controversy and attention online, with many using it to restart the debate on the inequities of the United States healthcare system.
And this week Yale University was the latest college to commit to divesting from weapons manufacturing after a student vote.
For State of the States this week Wire Host Caeden speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about both of these topics.
The government as announced their plan for the Cook Strait ferry a year after they scrapped Labour’s plan, including cancelling the ferries the Labour government had ordered.
And a new report from the Ministry of Social Development has revealed nearly a quarter of beneficiaries are not receiving their correct entitlements.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
For City Counselling this week, producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Shane Henderson about proposed time-of-use charging to solve congestion problems in Tāmaki and Council selling their remaining Auckland Airport shares last week.
The Green party recently released He Ara Anamata - the Green party’s emissions reduction plan.
The document covers more than 10 areas of the economy and energy Sector that a Greens-led government would be looking to adapt to minimise carbon emissions and protect the natural landscapes of Aotearoa.
It also comes 5 months after the government released their own draft emissions plan. Numerous experts pointed out that the government is behind on their own plan’s targets to meet the crucial emissions budget for 2031-2035.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the party’s new emissions reduction plan and how they would address climate and the economy in a greens-led government.
Last election, one of the National Party’s main campaign promises was to be ‘tough on crime’, promising to increase police coverage and penalties for crimes. A target was set to increase the number of police officers by 500 by November 2025, however some police leaders today say this goal is unrealistic.
The government also announced this week some shakeups to insulation standards, which they say should make houses more affordable.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor spoke to him about police staffing targets and new insulation standards.
This week on Dear Science, our expert Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted with us about what latrines teach us about people, climate variation affecting Chinese dynasties, and invasive species becoming threatened.
Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!
Last week it was revealed that two of the ten participants in the government's pilot bootcamp programme were on the run.
The youth were two months into the community rehabilitation phase of the programme, following the three month youth justice residence phase. Both teens were found in the weekend, but had allegedly reoffended, and are now set to come before the court.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, who have been heavily advocating for this programme, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about this incident.
She also talks to him about proposed changes to employment law which would give employers the power to dismiss workers earning over $180,000 without the employee refuting the decision.
And finally, she talks to him about David Seymour’s incumbent run as Deputy Prime Minister, which is set to begin in May of next year.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about changes to Auckland Transport’s responsibilities, nationwide bus and train fare hikes, and concerns over the opening of the City Rail Link.
For State of the States this week, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'aoso from the Yale Daily News about President Biden's decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was due to be sentenced next week for three felony charges.
They also discuss Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, who is the latest in a long list of unorthodox picks for government positions from Trump
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