The Productivity Commission has proposed that the government should shift to variable subsidies for tertiary education funding.
95bFM reporter, Kelly Enright spoke to Productivity Commission chief Advisor Kevin Moar about the report. She started by asking what the proposal actually recommends.
bFM’s Joel Thomas also spoke to Jonathan Gee, the president of the New Zealand Union of Students Association, about the problems he has with the proposal. Gee believes variable subsidies will disadvantage lower-income students and imply the sole purpose of tertiary education is to get students into the workplace.
In December it was reported by Child Poverty Action Group that ethical lending schemes should be a model for adoption nationwide. They referenced Ngā Tangata Microfinance, a not for profit organisation designed as an alternative to the more merciless loan shark type models of lending companies.
Loan sharks often force families into an endless cycle of debt. Ngā Tangata Microfinance on the other hand provide no-interest loans to qualifying clients for family well-being and relief from high interest debt. A report from the organisation says this type of loan has improved people’s well being and reduced stress. It is estimated the loans have saved recipients collectively over a million dollars in interest and other charges. Lillian Hanly speaks with Robert Choy, the Executive Officer of the organisation.
Last week, a number of researchers presented the government with modelling on the vaccination rates required to protect New Zealanders in the coming years. Noah Ferguson-Dudding spoke to one of the researchers, Professor Shaun Hendy, about the models and their implications. They also discussed New Zealanders' attitudes towards lockdown, whether the government could have prepared better in their rollout, and how Auckland's housing crisis is exacerbating the pandemic.
Congratulations are in order for NZ's first family - and being a recent(ish) father himself, Mike's as pleased as punch. And just what is a piece of errant budget modelling code? Or, more importantly, _whose responsibility_ is a piece of errant budget modelling code?
Sam mans the Breakfast ship this morning! Dr Kirsten Zemke brings us Afrobeats on Travelling Tunes. Sam speaks to Rachael Norcross, guitarist and vocalist of Model Home about the band’s new debut album, out today, titled ...And Nobody Made A Sound. Joel Armstrong is our Viewmaster, reviewing the One Piece live action, streaming on Netflix. Whakarongo mai nei!
AUT Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie and Pacific Media Watch editor Jean Bell joins us in studio to discuss West Papua and the failure of visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo to front up to the media while in New Zealand.
We also chat about the wave of protests sweeping Indonesia due to a new law that criminalises criticism of lawmakers and the Tonga Minister of Education, Penisimani Fifita moving to ban girls from rugby or boxing.
In Hour 1 we welcome Bambounou, a key figure in the Parisian scene, has gained his position from his genre bending and jubilant electronic music productions and laying down solid freight train DJ sets around the globe. His effortless straddling of experimental eclecticism and 4x4 beat mastery helped Bambounou to early on catch the eye of Modeselektor, whose 50Weapons released two albums and five EPs of his axiom breaking dance incantations. His last EP 'Parametr Perkusja' came out on Disk and he had this to say;
"Hey everyone, this is a mix I did in my studio in Paris, I put up some tracks that I like playing and listening to at the moment, I hope you are going to enjoy it, now i’m about to hit the gym and have a big breakfast after that cause I need the carbs (i’m already working on my summer body and its october !!! GET MOTIVATED).
If you listen carefully you will notice that I played one of my new track, Terraforming is no easy, which I did for a compilation for one of my favorite artist : Mumdance they are as well 3 other tracks from me including my remix for a very talented french artist : BLNDR.
Have a listen thanks."
In Hour 2 it's Puce Mary the solo moniker of Copenhagen based sound artist Frederikke Hoffmeier. Since her first LP released in 2013, the project has then explored the fields of industrial noise and experimental music with a vast amount of releases on labels as Posh Isolation, iDEAL Recordings, Ascetic House and Freak Animal. Her latest release ' The Drought' has just been released on PAN and she had this to say about her mix;
"I'm very pleased to get to share this personal mix on Solid Steel. It consists of music made by friends I admire and have all influenced each other, my music and my life. New, old and a lot of unreleased material from Europe, China, Japan, USA and largely - the experimental music community I come from in Copenhagen."
Last week, the coalition government confirmed it would deliver on its election commitment to take agriculture out of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The Emissions Trading Scheme is a key tool for meeting New Zealand’s domestic and international climate change targets, by requiring businesses to measure and report on their greenhouse gas emissions, to surrender one ‘emissions unit’ to the Government for each one tonne of emissions they emit and by limiting the number of emissions units available to emitters.
Wire host Sofia Roger Williams asked the ACT Party’s Simon Court about this in terms of upholding New Zealand’s international obligations as well as how the new Pastoral Sector Group will tackle biogenic methane.
She also asked Simon about reports of the ACT Party’s ‘culture of fear’ in its election campaign leadership and how the party is addressing them.
Lastly, she asked about the ACT Party’s rally last Sunday where ACT leader David Seymour set a goal of 15% of the vote at the 2026 election.
Over the last few months, concerns have been raised over the hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States. Particularly, concerns over human rights in the country, VISA worries, and accusations of sportswashing have been increasingly levied towards the country.
The relative lack of coverage of these concerns, comparatively to concerns over the previous tournament in Qatar, or those in the future in countries like Saudi Arabia, complicate the history that Football and FIFA have with questionable regimes and funding. Despite Trump Administration policies that seem to threaten the tournament, there continues to be a lack of noise around whether or not the three host countries should be reduced to two, removing the US.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to a Doctoral Candidate in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of Auckland, Luke Bird, about this Sportwashing, its background, and why the US and countries like Qatar are treated differently.
95bFM