Last week finance minister Nicola Willis announced a budget cut of 25% to the reserve bank. The cut follows criticisms of the reserve bank staffing numbers, which have risen significantly since 2018.
Also last week education minister Erica Stanford announced $100 million of new classroom developments across the country, with one large development in Massey. The move has been well received, though some have pointed out the continued impacts of overcrowding in the school system, particularly due to housing intensification in parts of the country.
In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about each of these issues, starting with reserve bank budget cuts.
Last week, it was announced that 130 jobs at the Department of Conservation will be cut in a proposed restructure.
These are among the almost 2000 public service job cuts being made to meet the Finance Minister's cost-cutting target of a 6.5 percent reduction in spending.
Additionally, the cuts at DOC were announced the same day as the release of the Our Land 2024 report on Aotearoa’s natural ecosystems and landscapes.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Group Manager of Conservation Advocacy and Communications at Forest and Bird, Richard Capie, about the impacts and significance of these cuts on the environment and the economy, in light of the Fast Track legislation, Our Land 2024, and the cuts to other departments contributing to the protection of Aotearoa’s 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.
Today on your bFM Breakfast: The sun is out and Tess is here to dish up Breakfast for you; catching up with Fabian Fanboy about the latest Hollywood hits; Dr. Kirsten Zemke is back and with a guest this time; and Zoë gets festive with Tess, while they talk theatre, obviously.
💚 Hi lovelies have a wee-gaze at the setlist. Today's show features the first mini-mix dance music extravaganza from 2:20 pm - 2:40 pm house/techno/garage/stuff.
Open your ears for 3 hours of genre-free music. New cuts from James K, Mitski, JamieBranch, and Calibre. Some Congolese guitar in the shape of Vumbi Dekula. And a plethora of alternative classics scattered throughout: The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, The Cure etc.
I also steal song of the week Hak Baker - Venezuela Riddim from Aneeka.
A seriously fun show. Thank you angels for all the love and support. See you next week where I look to keep the 20-minute dance music thing going.
Amongst the numerous austerity measures the government implemented since coming into office are a variety of cuts that have impacted organisations and services for the disabled community of Aotearoa.
Some of these measures include the scrapping of a programme that would pay disabled workers the minimum wage, the restructuring of Whaikaha, the ministry for disabled people, and general austerity cuts likely to have an impact on the disabled community such as public transport fare increases and minimum wage stagnation.
Oto spoke to Nicola Owen from Disabled People Against Cuts Aotearoa, who have been leading a number of rallies and campaigns across the motu advocating for the disabled community of Aotearoa and protesting against the austerity measures that directly impact them.
If you're interested in following Disabled People Against Cuts Aotearoa and keeping up to date with their rallies and campaigns, you can follow their Facebook page here:
Around mid-August this year, senior management at the University of Auckland made an announcement saying that they were looking to cut a number of small postgraduate and undergraduate courses in the Faculty of Arts with less than 60 and 30 students respectively.
The University said that the cuts were being proposed to “optimise” course offerings and address classroom spacing issues. They also said that the cuts came about as a result of a routine review of courses regularly conducted by the University.
The announcement resulted in widespread outcry and condemnation by the University of Auckland’s senior academics and lecturers, saying that the University gave them a limited timeframe to review and contest the changes, and the decision to cut courses such as Huarahi Māori will have an impact on marginalised communities.
Oto spoke to Nicole Wallace, an organiser at the Tertiary Education Union who works with lecturers at the University of Auckland to discuss the course cut proposal and its implications for senior academics and lecturers.
Anniversary albums is back for another year. This year we are going to be looking at albums from years with a 4 or 9. So this means 1964, 69, 74, 79, 84, 89, 94, 99, 04, 09.
Kicking things off, this week, Sam took a look at Manchester band New Order's fifth studio album "Technique." Released in 1989 during the height of the "second summer of love," this album captured the essence of the time with its dance and rave-heavy sound.
95bFM