This week Sherry Zhang talks to Green Party co-leader James Shaw on NZ’s First lack of support of the light rail project, and Green’s call for a possible capital gains tax. Sherry beginz by asing what this means for the light rail project given no support from it’s coalition partner.
Over the last two years, there have been a multitude of mechanical failures regarding the inter-islander ferries between the North and the South Island, which has brought great attention to the government. KiwiRail has requested a one-point-seven billion dollar funding request for a project to see the ferries repaired and ensure capacity for train transport as well.
Unfortunately, the government has declined the funding request, which could seriously impact the travel potential of goods and services, not to mention general transport, between the North and South island.
For this week’s Get Action! Sasha spoke to Dave Macpherson from The Future is Rail about a petition he started to ensure replacement Cook Strait ferries can carry trains.
The Ram Raid Offending and Related Measures Amendment Bill is currently being passed through Government. The bill will separately criminalise ram raids, and offer harsher punishments on youth offenders.
Josh talked to Lisa McLaren, someone who opposes this bill, to discuss its flaws.
This weekend’s march for nature saw 20,000 people gathering in Central Auckland to protest against the Fast Track Approvals Bill. Submissions closed just under two months ago, and the select committee is currently reviewing and proposing changes to the bill.
The bill has been quite controversial since its proposal, with debate from both sides of parliament and the public on whether the potential benefits outweigh the costs.
The ram raid bill, initially proposed under the previous Labour government, has equally been met with controversy, particularly for how it fails to address the core issues of youth offending, instead proposing prosecuting those as young as 12 years old.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the Fast Track Approvals Bill as it moves through the select committee process, and how the current government plans to handle the ram raid bill.
Spike speaks to Dr. Tim Welch about Auckland Light Rail, the current downsides to the current planned approach for the project, and the benefits of surface light rail.
A collective of over 20 organisations have joined to deliver an open letter and petition to Parliament on the 26th of June, urging the Government to get rid of the Ram Raid Bill.
These groups are advocating for an alternative approach to tackling youth offending rates, by ensuring all political parties in Parliament work together, using grounded evidence and being informed by lived experiences to reduce these statistics.
I spoke to the Director of Kick Back, a youth development and advocacy organisation and a member of the collective, Aaron Hendry, about this petition.
The coalition government is planning to continue with the passing of the Ram Raid bill which was originally introduced by the labour government.
This bill would mean that youth offenders as young as 12 years old, would be prosecuted more harshly with some potentially serving up to ten years in prison.
Many organisations and activists have been vocal about their position on this bill from the beginning and many have now started a petition to stop its continuation.
Rawan spoke with Aaron Hendry, co-founder of Kick back, an organisation that focuses on assisting youth in homelessness and has also been heavily involved in this petition.
Rawan asked Aaron about what the harmful impacts of this bill are and what this new opposing campaign is about.
Following years of negotiations, Auckland may be getting a rail line to the airport. However, the transition period is expected to take 30 years, which has drawn criticism from a range of sources. Bfm producer Ben speaks to co-ordinator of the Public Transport Users Association, Jon Reeves.
Earlier this week, parliament passed a motion declaring China is committing human rights abuses aganst the Uyghur people. Noah Ferguson-Dudding spoke to National MP Christopher Luxon about the declaration, as part of their weekly interview. They also discussed the government's new 10-year plan to improve the national railway system.
A National Government commissioned report by the NZ Transport Agency on the benefits of rail was released over the weekend. bFM reporter Lisa Boudet speaks to Minister for Urban Development and Transport, Phil Twyford.
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