Last week, the Government announced it's 20 billion dollar transport plan for the next three years, investing in road maintenance, public transport, and cycleway improvements. Among this, a 12 cent per litre fuel tax increase over 3 years, the first fuel tax increase since they were frozen in 2020.
Rosetta spoke to Dr Timothy Welch, senior lecturer from the Unviersity of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning, about the fuel tax increase and what more needs to be done within transport policy.
Dr Mark Baynes and Frances Chan cruise the Big Easy for their pick of New Orleans jazz - brass bands galore, tinkling ivories and some sensuous singers as well. And we remember Bennie Pete, bandleader and sousaphone player from the Hot 8 Brass Band, who passed away on 6 September 2021.
Mark's first hour:
Bo Dollis, Jr. and The Wild Magnolias - Tootie Ma
Dr. John - Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (feat. Blind Boys of Alabama & Terence Blanchard)
Allen Toussaint - Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Ken Stubbs - Definition of a Dog (feat. James Muller, Simon Barker & Brett Hirst)
Lex French Quartet with James Muller - Rude Sketch
Lex French Quartet with James Muller - Sharp Knives and Roller Skates
Peter Bernstein - Dragonfly
Frances's second hour:
Hot 8 Brass Band - Ghost Town
The Meters - Hey Pocky Way (Live)
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah - Diaspora
Chelsea Carmichael - Noor
Donald Harrison Jr & Dr John - Big Chief
Rebirth Brass Band - Do it Again
Camille Bertault - A Quoi Bon
Martirio - Quisiera Amarte Menos
Gretchen Parlato with Airto Moreira - Roy Allan
Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy - Crazy
Superhero Second Line - Funkin’ in da Batcave
Frances Chan lounges on the exotica sofa to start the show, then highlights her favourite acts from Womad Aotearoa 2025, plays a Jarrett twofer and marches out on the funk.
Set list:
Sun Ra – Interplanetary Music
Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Esquivel – Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Les Baxter – Mozambique
Dorothy Ashby – Fool on the Hill
Bala Desejo – Baile de Mascaras (Recarnaval)
Nitin Sawhney – Homelands
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Mustt Mustt
Jean Phi Dary, Jeff Mills – The X Factor
O. – 176
The Comet Is Coming – Frequency of Feeling Expansion
Domi & JD Beck ft Thundercat – Not Tight
Ana Carla Maza – Las Primaveras (Live)
Branford Marsalis Quartet – The Windup
Keith Jarrett – Spiral Dance
Kamasi Washington – Vortex
After ‘Ours ft Louis Baker – That Love
Polyrhythmics – Chophouse
The Meters – It Ain’t No Use
Sun Ra – At Sundown
New research from the Child Poverty Action Group has shown families with children receiving benefits would require an estimated $110 a week on average to reach 50 per cent of equivalised median after-housing-costs (AHC) income. These are the measures used by the government to measure the amount of children living in poverty, as in, after you pay for rent how much money is left over. Those families would also require an extra $215 to reach 60 per cent of the same measure, meaning income support levels for the 2020/21 year are well below the Government’s official poverty measures, even when recent benefit increases are included. Lillian spoke to Janet McAllister who was part of the research team to find out more:
Staff from all 8 of Aotearoa’s universities have voted to strike tomorrow, demanding a pay rise of 8 per cent to match inflation.
87 per cent of Tertiary Education Union members voted in favour of the strike action, which comes just weeks before students are set to begin exams, citing difficulties keeping up with the cost of living, and "unmanageable workloads" caused by persistent cost cutting and underinvestment in staff.
Emilia spoke to Dr Sean Sturm, a University of Auckland lecturer who is a bargaining team representative at the Tertiary Education Union
Māori health inequity directly costs the health system $39.9 million per year, according to a new Indigenous-led study. When researchers added indirect costs of $823.4 million from lost years of life and lost wages, which were mostly borne directly by Māori whānau, the overall cost skyrocketed to over $863.3 million.
Māori significantly under-utilised primary care, creating an annual saving to the health system of $49.4 million per year. The authors point out that these are conservative estimates, and say that the 'cost of doing nothing' about health inequity is predominantly borne by Indigenous communities and society - less than 5% of the cost is borne by the health system.
Joe spoke to Rhys Jones, Associate Professor in Te Kupenga Hauora Maori, from the University of Auckland on the matter.