The government has finally delivered on a long talked about policy, a major crackdown on truancy in schools.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced a three part ‘STAR’ plan, to be put in place by the beginning of the 2026 school year. There are various consequences for students absent between five and 10 days, but for students absent for 15 days, parents may be fined and prosecuted.
Many schools and teachers have taken issue with the policy, saying everyone wants their child at school, but the root of the issue can often be much deeper.
For their weekly catch up Producer Evie spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about the crackdown, and why the government believes it will be effective.
They also talk about public submissions on the oil and gas ban reversal bill, which are open for only four business days, considerably shorter than submission time for most bills.
The crown mineral amendment bill was introduced to parliament last Tuesday. Public submissions on the bill close tomorrow (Tuesday 1st October). This gives the public only four business days to make their submission on the bill, significantly shorter than the average submission time.
The bill is aiming to reverse the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, something the coalition government campaigned on.
The government has also cut down the normal six month select committee process, wanting the bill to be passed before the end of the year.
Greenpeace says the short public submission time on the bill shows the government has a complete disregard for people in New Zealand who care about climate change.
Producer Evie spoke to Greenpeace Executive Director Russell Norman about his concerns surrounding the four day submission time on the bill, and what impacts the ban reversal will actually have on the environment.
Last week job cuts were confirmed at Whakaata Māori as part of ongoing budget cuts to the organisation.
The national indigenous broadcaster is set to lose $10.3 million provided in the previous government’s budget.
The cuts have resulted in the probable axing of the broadcaster's TV bulletin, with a plan to move to online content by March of next year.
In parliament Former Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson pleaded with the government to invest in Whakaata Māori, calling the move yet another attack on Te Reo.
The cuts come off the back of a tumultuous time for Aotearoa’s media space, following the closure of Newshub and major cuts at TVNZ.
Producer Evie spoke to the University of Auckland’s Gavin Ellis about the cuts at Whakaata Māori, the effect they’ll have on te ao Māori media, public access to news and the direction our media sector is moving in.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party's Simon Court, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about the government's crackdown on truancy, as well as public submissions on the oil and gas exploration bill.
Evie also spoke to Greenpeace Executive Director, Russell Norman, about concerns surrounding the four day submission time on the same bill.
News and Editorial Director and Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the spokesperson for Peace Action Wellington, Valerie Morse, about Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, addressing the UN General Assembly, and whether his calls are enough to address Israel’s war on Gaza and attacks on Lebanon.
Evie spoke to The University of Auckland’s Gavin Ellis about job cuts at Whakaata Māori, and what this means for our media landscape.
Joel spoke to Senior Lecturer at the School of Management at the Victoria University of Wellington, Stephen Blumenfeld, about a study showing the positives of a hybrid working model, as Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, urges public services workers to go back to the office.
And Producer Sofia from the Thursday Wire last week spoke to Agriculture Campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn, about Fonterra’s recent yearly profit announcement and Fonterra’s use of palm kernel.
Recently, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, addressed the UN General Assembly, regarding the New Zealand government’s stance on world affairs.
Peters’ discussed a variety of different topics, such as calling for a veto reform, and announcing New Zealand’s plans to petition for a seat on the UN Security Council for the 2039-2040 term.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the spokesperson for Peace Action Wellington, Valerie Morse, about Winston Peters at the UNGA, specifically regarding whether or not Peace Action Aotearoa believes the Foreign Minister adequately addressed Israel’s war on Gaza and attacks on Lebanon, following the country previously agreeing on a UNGA resolution, calling for Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories within 12 months.
This Monday morning Elle kicks off with some Pale Saints, Minnie Riperton and The Velvet Underground. She's joined by a co-pilot for the second hour of the show, with surprise guest Heidi Simpson! They spoke about the current state of pop music, phone addictions and all the music they have been loving lately.
Recently, the government has announced a push to get public services working back into working in the office, as opposed to current, alternative methods, such as through working-at-home models, and hybrid working models.
This comes as multiple academics from the Victoria University of Wellington are set to release an article in the New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, discussing the positive findings of a hybrid working model.
Further findings in the past have proven claims that a hybrid working model improves productivity, such as a 2023 study from Human Resources New Zealand, which has shown 40% of HR professionals noted positive productivity gains from a hybrid working model.
I spoke to the Senior Lecturer at the School of Management at the Victoria University of Wellington, and co-author of the article, Stephen Blumenfeld, about the government’s calls to get public services workers back to the office, and the findings from the article.
Last week, Fonterra announced it is returning a total dividend of 55 cents a share for the past financial year, off the back of a $1.1 billion net profit.
In response to Fonterra’s profit announcements, Greenpeace Aotearoa has called out Fonterra for ‘profiting from rainforest destruction’.
Since last week, Greenpeace has also announced the organisation are suing Fonterra, over allegations Fonterra are also misconstruing the claim that their dairy product is 100% New Zealand grass-fed, when findings show that a potential 20% of a cow’s diet could come from palm kernels importanted from rainforests in Southeast Asia.
On 26 September, Wire Producer Sofia spoke to Greenpeace Aotearoa Agriculture Campaigner, Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn, about this topic, asking her firstly about how concerning the profit announcement was to Greenpeace.
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