Last night, David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill was back in Parliament - but not for its third reading. MPs were debating whether to send the bill to a public referendum at the next election, should it enter into force. That’s the result of NZ First promising they would only support the bill at third reading if a referendum is agreed to. Last night’s vote resulted in a close 63-57 vote, with NZ First’s 8 votes proving crucial. Stewart Sowman-Lund spoke to ACT party leader David Seymour to get his thoughts and started by asking him if the vote went the way he thought it would.
Today ony your bFM Breakfast: It's officially hayfever season folks; Harry Josephine Giles pops into the studio to chat about their play Drone, and other exciting projects, all the way from Scotland; Kiran brings in a real personal fave of hers this week; and of course, special mention to the Bird of the Year, the Hoiho. Aww.
The Tree Council is a community based organisation that has been advocating for the values and protection of trees for more than thirty years. They announced this week their full support for the Tupuna Maunga Authority’s restoration plan for Owairaka maunga following protests against the removal of 345 exotic trees on the mountain. Lillian Hanly spoke with Chair of the Tree Council Sean Freeman who explained the restoration plan, saying it is part of the integrated management plan that applies to all the maunga of Tāmaki Makaurau. Part of that plan is to remove the exotic vegetation and reestablish native ecology as a way of bringing back native fauna to those maunga, and restore, repair and reinstate the relationship between mana whenua and these sacred areas. Lillian then started by asking what the Tree Council’s response was to the protests.
The NZ First party has been in the news recently following reports on the New Zealand First Foundation that has allegedly channelled donations through to the political party. Party Leader Winston Peters has maintained the legality of the process, however Andrew Geddis, law professor at Otago University, says whether that is legal or not - there needs to be a discuss about whether it should be legal. Andrew studied in the US and during that time became interested in the relationship between money and politics. When he returned to Aotearoa he made that one of his central areas of research, looking at electoral law generally, and how those laws govern how money can be used to influence elections. Lillian Hanly wanted to speak to Andrew about what is happening with NZ First, but started by touching on money and politics in the US and whether NZ is heading the same way.
Lillian Hanly was waiting for the bus along Symonds St last month when she came across some phantom billsticker panels with comics in them. They were very easily recognised as Toby Morris comics who Lillian is a fan of. As she had plenty of time waiting for the bus she had a read of it. Turns out it was actually a story about the way young people with access needs experience the city, and the information had come from research done by Massey University. Karen Witten is a Professor of Public Health at Massey University and her email was on the final panel. Lillian reached out to her to find out more.
The National Party’s, Denise Lee, joins Laura Kvigstad and, rather than keeping us up to date on National news they look back at what has happened in the world of politics for the National party.
Next, Producer Rachel Simpson is looking back to an interview she did with the University of Auckland politics professor, Maria Armoudian, about the Mueller Report.
After that, Laura goes way back to a report in April on capital gain tax following coalition governments decision not to implement one.
And Finally, Producer Benjamin J Goldson looks back at his favourite neutral corner of the year where he looks at the media coverage around Iran violating the nuclear deal.
Journalist Jess Fu wrote a piece for RNZ responding to the racisms and xenophobia expeirenced by the New Zealand- Chinese community. Sherry discusses with Jess the questionable framing of Chinese people by New Zealand Media, and ways to better support and fight back against ignorance.
Following this conversation with Peter Crampton about the Deprivation Index, Lillian wanted to know more about the actual issues in housing and health. She wanted to know whether the old housing stock is to blame, the way we construct our houses or even the typology. She wanted to know what effect damp and mouldy housing actually has on people in their everyday lives. And she wanted to know why this is still a problem. Philippa Howden-Chapman is a professor of public health at the University of Otago in Wellington, she runs a research group He Kainga Oranga on housing and health. Lillian started by asking whether Philippa thought it was good that the damp and mouldy factor had been added to the Deprivation Index.
It's time to critique The Goop Lab - celebrity wellness empires are booming by capitalising off preying upon us. By taking real fears of Big Pharma and modern alienation, these companies tell us that the way out is purchasing these absurd, scientifically and morally questionable solutions. For a hefty fee, of course.
This Valentines Day Rachel unites her two passions: feminist scammers and wacky self care products.
Sam speaks with Bridget Chappell - a Melbourne based audio-activist and artist who explores the ways in which police use sound to influence and control populations. Their work invites people to imagine a future where we organise ourselves differently without police holding a monopoly of violence and power. They are currently adapting audio technology and engineering to build devices which phase cancel police sirens.
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