The imminent closure of Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island detention centre has many worried for the safety of hundreds of refugees refusing to leave. We speak to Dr Anna Powles from Massey University's Centre for Defence and Security Studies and refugee adovocate Tracey Barnett.
Yesterday, the Australian run detention centre on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, was shut down after PNG's supreme court ruled its existence unconstitutional.
Around 600 asylum seekers are determined to stay in the detention centre, due to fears of violence by locals and police.
There are reports of the refugees filling rubbish bins with rainwater, due to the water supply being cut-off and reports of locals looting the camp.
Producer Reuben McLaren spoke to Amnesty Internatonal's Kate Schuetze, who is currently on Manus Island, to find out more.
Pacific academic Scott Hamilton says New Zealand shares some of the blame for conflict on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island because of its neglection of the Melanesia region.
Hannah Ross gives us the best of the weeks 95bFM news bits. This week we looked into the reporting of tongan rugby league supporters from the game last week, we also looked into Papua New Guinea's Manus Island more and 95bfm news teamer Lisa Boudet proved some great interviewing skills with an interview with Phil Twyford.
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
Amnesty International has released a new briefing that reveals bullets were fired directly into the Manus Island refugee centre on April 14th. The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Papua New Guinea police claimed the soldiers fired only into the air. However, Amnesty International claims that digital verification of images and videos show this is not the case. Monday Wire host Amanda Jane Robinson speaks with Executive Director of Amnesty International about the briefing.
Ximena joins Ben & Reuben for the Monday show this week while Amanda is away. They take a look at the growing use of opioid-based pain-killers in New Zealand, a new UN treaty that bans nuclear weapons, and a young new Act Party candidate running in Auckland Central. Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei joins Ximena to discuss the party's new water policy, and Kendall Hutt from AUT's Pacific Media Centre comes up to the studio to tell Ximena about a kiwi Catholic missionary who has been deported from Papua New Guinea.
Today on the Wire host Joel worked with producers Jack and Sam. They talked to youth justice advocacy group JustSpeak’s Katie Bruce about National's new policy to get tough on youth crime by sending young offenders to a military style boot camp. We spoke to Green Party leader James Shaw about the National party’s new youth offending policies as well, and we discussed the rebranding of the Green Party. We had Southern Cross with AUT Pacific Media Centre's Kendall Hutt, who talked to Stephanie and Kenneth Tapungu from Papua New Guinea about what transpired in the country's recent 2017 general election. We sat down with Cate Macinnis, a plant ecologist from the University of Auckland to talk about the Kauri dieback happening in the Waitakere ranges. Finally we celebrate 30 years of Te Reo Maori being an official language of New Zealand.
Joel and producer Sam Smith took on The Wire for October 30th. Sam talked to Auckland University senior lecturer Dr Aroha Harris about the first annual commemoration of the NZ wars. Joel chatted to Green Party leader James Shaw about party donations as well as a call for action on the Manus Island detention centre.For the Pacific News segment, Southern Cross, Joel talked with AUT Pacific Media Centre’s Kendall Hutt and PhD Student Stephanie Tapungu about the prevalence of gender-based violence in Papua New Guinea. Producer Sam Smith also talked to Auckland University Musicologist Kirsten Zemke about the outcome of the National Party Eminem copyright case, and what it means for copyright law.