On Monday the government announced the scrapping of the traffic light covid-19 protection framework, as well as the easing of many key restrictions.
Mask wearing will now no longer be required outside of healthcare settings, household contacts don’t need to isolate, and all vaccine mandates will cease at the end of the month.
For Casper's interview with ACT Party deputy leader Brooke van Velden, which he has taken over from Alex, they spoke about this announcement and how it has been received by the ACT Party.
Auckland's current council term has now properly begun, with councillors being sworn in and beginning to set the groundwork for the next three years.
This includes the swearing in of new Deputy Mayor Delsey Simpson, who has made clear that she and mayor Wayne Brown have some differences in council approaches they’ll need to work through.
Waitakere Ward Councillor Shane Henderson has previously worked with Simpson, so for today's City Counselling segment Liam and Shane had a chat about what she could bring to Tamaki Makaurau.
They also spoke about the mass delays affecting Auckland's Western Train Line, and internet coverage in the outer western ranges.
This week, News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ACT Party Leader David Seymour about ACT’s opposition to the passing of the fair pay agreements bill, that will set up a legal framework for collective bargaining across entire industries.
They also discussed the government’s response to Iran and ACT’s decision to block a unified parliamentary message condemning Iranian authorities until another MP took over the motion from Golriz Ghahraman.
This week, News and Editorial Director Jess asked Brooke about the ACT party’s opposition to introducing new hate speech laws, which the government is set to propose soon.
They also discussed the End of Life Choice Act, as this week marks one year since it became law.
Lawyers for Climate Action are calling for a Judicial Review of the Cabinet decision to ignore the advice of the Climate Commission when they set the price of carbon in the Emission Trading Scheme low to mitigate the impact on the cost of living. Alex Bonham talked to Grant Hewison, University of Auckland law lecturer and one of the lawyers involved about why they are taking the government to court.
For City Counselling this week Simon spoke with Waitākere City Councillor Shane Henderson. Shane spoke in detail about the issues around selling the council’s shares in the airport, as well as the proposed 400 jobs set to be cut by the Auckland City Council. Simon began by asking Shane about how the extended budget shortfall is affecting the budget consultation process.
This week the government released a series of options for public consultation on reforming the emissions trading scheme.
The emissions trading scheme is a market run by the government where polluters buy carbon credits to emit, however, a review of the scheme by the Climate Change Commission sez that the current settings of the ETS may ‘threaten’ New Zealand’s climate goals.
To discuss the ETS reforms and the options that are being floated, Emilia Sullivan spoke to Green Party Co-Leader and Climate Change Minister, James Shaw.
Poet and illustrator Liam Jacobsen will soon be releasing his debut collection of poetry, titled ‘Neither’.
This showcases the foggy atmospheres Liam has experience in Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa as a whole, consisting of work from the last six years of his practice.
There’ll be a little launch party ver at Basement Theatre on the 14th of September, featuring readings from Liam, Ria Masae, Jai Selkirk and a solo set from BAD FOR EDUCATION.
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