This is another of our weekly segments, where Producer Alex speaks with the Deputy Leader of the ACT Party, Brooke van Velden, discussing the hot political topics of today and tomorrow and how one of our most important minor parties feels about them.
In this episode, they chatted about the “cooling” housing market and what this means for first home buyers and the NZ-UK FTA signed last week and whether that is a strong precedent for future agreements.
This week on the Wire, Frances and producer Alex kick off with the new weekly segment 'EuroVision'. Europe Correspondent Cameron Mulgan updates Frances from the ground about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and we talk a little about International women’s day celebrations in Europe.
Alex speaks with National’s Dr Shane Reti about how the government can do more for Pacific peoples during the pandemic and Frances talks to Professor Maurice Curtis from the University of Auckland about a big new study that’s come out on the effects of covid-19 on the brain
Then Alex has his weekly chat to the ACT party’s Brooke Van Velden, this week about what the “cooling” housing market means for first home buyers and whether the NZ-UK FTA signed last week is a good precedent for future trade deals. He also speaks with Dr. Bodo Lang about what the Commerce Commission's report on the supermarket sector means for consumers.
At the end of the show we farewell our News and Editorial Director, Jemima, as she heads off on a new adventure. That's us for this Wednesday!
Producer Alex and Dr Shane Reti of the National Party discuss how the government can do more for Pacific peoples during the pandemic. Pacific peoples have suffered infections at a rate eight times higher than non-Maori and four times higher than Maori. Dr Shane issued a press release on Saturday calling for greater collaboration between government and faith and community leaders, as well as action on housing, to try and combat this. We discuss this in greater detail.
This week on our new segment 'EuroVision', Wire host Frances Wright catches up with our European Correspondent Cameron Mulgan. Cameron joins Frances from London, and updates her on developments in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, what it’s looking like on the ground for refugees around Europe, and a little about International Women’s Day in Europe.
Producer Alex talks with Dr. Bodo Lang what the Commerce Commision report on the supermarket sector means for the average consumer. Released on 8 March 2022, the report details reforms designed to increase competition and reduce prices, but is significantly lighter than previous drafts. Dr Lang is a marketing Associate Professor at the University of Auckland who has extensive experience in the academic and private sectors whose research has included work on consumer behaviour and food products.
This week, one of the biggest COVID-19 brain imaging studies was released from researchers in the UK. In the study, researchers looked at the results of 785 people before and after Covid-19 infection. The scans showed that those infected with Covid-19 display changes in areas of the brain that affect memory and smell, and that the virus may result in increased cognitive decline. To understand the study and its findings a little further, Frances caught up with Professor Maurice Curtis from the University of Auckland where he is the head of department in Anatomy and Medical Imaging. They talked about the results of the study and its implications for life going forward.
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