For their weekly catch up, Hanna spoke to Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Kemp about MP Meka Whaitiri quitting the Labour Party to join Te Pāti Māori. Whaitiri's statements indicate the jump was prompted by Labour dropping co-governance in its Three Waters reforms, disregarding obligations under Te Tiriti guaranteeing Māori authority over natural resources. They discussed what differentiates Te Pāti Māori from Labour, and why Whaitiri aligns herself more with the former than the latter.
Te Pāti Māori have also signed a letter with other inigenous peoples in the Commonwealth calling for the King to apologise for the harms of colonisation, and have a petition underway seeking to remove the British royal family as Aotearoa's head of state. Hanna and Takutai Kemp discussed these in light of the coronation of King Charles, and foundations for a Tiriti-centric Aotearoa.
Climate change continues to be hugely impactful, with experts saying many of Aotearoa New Zealand’s wildlife species remain at risk of harm and extinction. WWF New Zealand has emphasised the importance of nature in mitigating the effects of climate change on our wildlife.
Olivia spoke to Chief Executive of WWF New Zealand, Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, about the need for the Government to do more to mitigate climate change, and potential climate solutions.
The Chip Packet Project is an Auckland-based non-profit, reusing chip packets to create survival blankets.
The blankets have helped at least 69,000 people who are homeless or affected by natural disasters like flooding.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to architect and director of academic reviews at University of Auckland, Professor Diane Brand, about her involvement in the project, and the urgent need to address Aotearoa’s homelessness crisis.
Th don Campbell Ngata delivers a fresh batch of vintage delicacies to keep the Sunday routine humming, (however you choose to fill it): press the button for a good time.
Aotearoa, and particularly Te Wai Pounamu, The South Island, is home to unique braided rivers, or rivers that are both land and water, with channels throughout the rivers that cause the rivers to change throughout the seasons. In early 2023, a group of scientists, lawyers, planners, policy experts and engineers formed a group named ‘The Land the law forgot’, which hopes to advocate for the protection of braided rivers, which sometimes go unspoken for in legislation as a grey area between land and water. Advocacy from the group has in part resulted in the Natural and Built Environments Act (2023) which exempts braided rivers from the same umbrella as riverbeds under the previous resource management act, and means they can be protected under their own circumstances.
Rosetta spoke to Professor Ann Brower of the University of Canterbury School of Earth and Environment, who is the lead author of the recently published research paper, New Zealand’s braided rivers: The land the law forgot, about how braided rivers need to be protected moving forward.