Since the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack, the Labour Government has been looking to expand our hate speech laws.
Under the Human Rights Act, people in Aotearoa are protected from hate speech on the basis of colour, race, ethnic or national origins.
The Government initially proposed extending this to other groups who are vulnerable to harmful speech, including women, disabled people, and queer people.
But the government announced this week that they will only make one amendment to hate speech laws to include religious communities and are seeking broad support across parliament.
95bFM News & Editorial Director spoke to Activist Shaneel Lal about the changes.
Tuva’a has his regular chat with Health Minister Andrew Little
Liam talked to Mental Health Foundation CEO Shaun Robinson about mental health infrastructure in Aotearoa
They also have a chat with Climate Minister James Shaw about the COP27 Summit
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins speaks to Shaneel Lal about the exclusion of women, disabled people, and queer people from the government’s expansion of hate speech laws.
And lastly Liam spoke to bFM European Correspondent Cameron Adams about what’s been happening with the war in Ukraine, the UK’s economy, and more.
Last week the Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced a hike to the Official Cash Rate of 75 basis point, which was quite a shock and has been reported on extensively as it’s not usually changed this quickly.
Casper had a chat to Robert MacCoulloch from the University of Auckland about what the OCR is, why the Reserve Bank raised it, and what this might mean for New Zealanders.
A petition has recently been launched calling for the reforming of New Zealand's name change laws.
Under the current system, those between the ages of 16 to 18 are still legally required to receive signed approval from both of their parents outside of certain circumstances.
This can be especially an issue for trans tamariki who have rough relationships with parents, forcing deadnames in legal documents and objects.
Liam had a chat with Willow Heron, who launched the petition, about the current state of our laws and what she thinks needs to change.
The Three Waters reform aims to provide safe, reliable drinking water, better environmental performance of wastewater and stormwater services, efficient, sustainable, resilient and accountable multi-regional water sewage services, and making it affordable for future generations. Taumata Arowai has already been established as the new water regulator and aims to strengthen regulation around the three waters - drinking water, wastewater and stormwater.
Arno spoke with Green Party spokesperson Eugnie Sage to get an overview of the issue and what might happen going forward.
For years, politicians and scientists have been talking about a future of migration caused by climate change. In Fiji this migration has already begun. The question is now how to exactly do it.
Daniel spoke with Merewalesi Yee who is pursuing a PHD at the university of Queensland in Brisban Australia. Her project seeks to understand human migration in Fiji caused by climate change and the role of mobility in climate change adaptation.
Leba Gaunavinaka is a climate change adaption specialist at the Fijian ministry of climate change. She helped creating the plan that tries to tackle one of the most urgent problems of the climate crisis: how to relocate communities whose land is soon inhabitable.
The cost of living crisis has been plaguing a post-Covid New Zealand for years now, with a record 11% increase in grocery supplier costs last year. In addition the New Zealand dollar is not doing well internationally.
Arno spoke with economist Shamubeel Eaqub to find out more about this crisis. He started off by asking how increased costs further up in the supply chain would affect everyday grocery prices. Also covered were tips for Kiwis going forward.
New research from Curtin University over in Perth has recently been released, taking a look at the heat regulation that takes place in west Australian echidnas.
Doctor Christine Cooper and her team utilised thermal vision to discover how echidnas deal with the strong heat present in the region.
Their methods are very unique, often utilising the complex tasks of blowing snot bubbles and doing belly flops to keep cool.
It’s currently uncertain whether or not these methods would work for humans.
Liam had a chat with Dr Cooper to learn more about her research and echidnas in general.
Liam spoke to Robert MacCulloch from the University of Auckland about the recent reports on Aotearoa’s stagnant inflation.
They also had a chat with Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington's Dr Mona Jeffreys about long covid and reports on how the pandemic has been managed over the past few years.
We also heard from Troy Merry from UoA about a possible new life extending drug.
And lastly Liam spoke with Nicola Roos from UoO and the DOC about a research project utilising citizen science to track Kekeno AKA NZ fur seals.
A project aiming to track the lives and mortality rates of Kekeno AKA NZ fur seals has recently been approved for extension.
The Department of Conservation project was originally slated to take place from June to November of last year, getting citizens to become involved by submitting photographic sightings of the seals in various places across Aotearoa.
To learn more about their next steps and how the extension will benefit the research, Liam spoke to Nicola Roos, a student at Otago Uni who’s assisting with the research.
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