As of July 2023, the government scrapped the $5 fee on prescriptions. Since then, the public health system has seen a significant change in hospital admissions rates.
However, with a new government in parliament, the government wants to reinstate the $5 co-payment for prescriptions.
Rachel spoke to GP at the Auckland City Mission and Professor of General Practitioners and Primary Health care at the University of Auckland, Dr Bruce Arroll, about the implications the public health system will see if the government reinstates $5 fees on prescriptions.
Last week Auckland Council passed their hotly contested long-term plan, after huge debate and community engagement.
Councillor Lotu Fuli attempted to amend the plan to not include the sale of Council’s airport shares but was defeated. She also reached headlines for excluding the independent Māori voices on Council from voting on this amendment.
Wire Host Caeden asked Councillor Fuli about the long term plan, and the controversy surrounding her amendment for City Counselling. Here is that interview.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour party Wire host Caeden chats to Arena Williams about the budget and accommodation supplements.
For City Counselling they talk about a range of recent local government announcements with Councillor Shane Henderson.
And they talk about the potential new English curriculum with Dr Claudia Rozas.
Producer Rachel spoke with co-author of the “Entrepreneurship: why women quit” study, Dr Janine Swail, about the perceived flexibility of entrepreneurship for women versus the harsh realities they face.
She also spoke with Professor at the University of Otago, Alex Gunn, to discuss the implications of the lack of funding in early childhood education centers. Following that, she spoke with the CEO of the Early Childhood Council, Simon Laube, about their plans to assist the centres and address the funding gap.
The Government is reintroducing the Three Strike laws which were repealed by Labour during their last term. These laws set out mandatory, lengthy sentences for some repeat offenders.
The laws have been controversial, with experts stating that there is no evidence that they work in preventing serious crime.
The Government has also announced a reduction in support to community food providers. Auckland City Mission has stated they may need to cut their food packages by half.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asks Labour Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
The Auckland regional fuel tax ended on 30 June that has been active since 2018, with the purported aim to ease cost of living pressures.
The generated tax revenue was used for road safety initiatives and public transport infrastructure projects including the eastern busway, new electric trains for the City Rail Link and redevelopment of the downtown ferry terminal.
Without a fuel tax, the infrastructure funding will come from rates which are unlikely to increase to recoup the loss of tax revenue.
I spoke to Senior lecturer in Urban Planning Dr Timothy Welch about the short and long term impact of the removal of fuel tax.
The National-led Government has recently announced their action plan for the next 3 months. It has a focus on being ‘tough on crime’ with policies like boot camps for youth offenders and roadside drug testing.
Labour has spent this week in Auckland, visiting businesses, public services and community groups to understand what’s going on in our biggest city.
For our weekly catch-up, Wire Host Caeden asks Labour Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about the Q3 Action Plan and Labour’s Auckland strategy.
Jonny is joined by Isa Seow, a PhD candidate at the School of Computer Science. Isa discusses how the introduction of congestion charges in the busiest cities in Aotearoa may impact individual privacy and conflict with the Privacy Act. Listen back to learn about how the law needs to catch up to developments in surveillance technologies!
Tuva'a talks to Sam V, one of the judges for the 2024 Stand Up Stand Out(SUSO) initiative established by Auckland Council initiative, in partnership with Auckland Live, Rockshop and Auckland UNESCO City of Music. SUSO provides pathways for rangatahi across the Tāmaki Makaurau region to develop their skills in music and dance composition and performance. Whakarongo mai nei!
This week on The Green Desk we have a special episode on the state of Wellington, recorded inside Parliament’s cafe with the Spinoff Wellington Editor Joel MacManus. He talks about infrastructure, cycleways and tunnels.
If you’ve read the news in the past month, the capital is being buffeted by gnarly headwinds. Not off the Cook Straight but rather from pesky employees working from home. Journalists talking to retail operators and cafe owners have painted a bleak picture of the city. But are sunny days ahead for Wellington?
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