Last week producer Louis Laws reached out to three organisations; all advocating for changes to be implemented in our current welfare system.
He spoke with Brooke Fiafia from Auckland Action Against Poverty, Justin Latiff from The Child Poverty Action Group, & Andrea Black policy director at the Council of Trade Unions.
They were all critical of the increase to benefit levels, the wage subsidy, & the status of relationships in our current system, all calling for more work to be done.
Louis got in touch with Carmel Sepuloni, the Minister for Social Development in Aotearoa, to hear her response to these criticisms.
Justin spoke to Finance Minister Grant Robertson because Justice Minister Andrew Little was unavailable. They discussed extending the wage subsidy, testing in Auckland, and National leader Judith Collins and deputy leader Gerry Brownlee's recent comments around delaying the election and alledged the government withheld information on community transmission.
This week during her weekly chat with the Green Party co-leader James Shaw, Zoë Larsen Cumming asks about the Green's opinion on National's border policy, the extension of paid sick leave, support for students who don't qualify for the wage subsidy, and Iwi-led check points.
The Auckland hospitality sector is seeking support from the government to get through the latest lockdown. Over the weekend, 300 members of the sector decided, during an online emergency meeting, that they need the wage subsidy at Level 2 and resurgence payments to get them through lockdown. However, this decision came before the government's three-step roadmap announcement and the assurance that Auckland will remain in Level 3 for the foreseeable future.
Jamie Freeman, the President of the Auckland Branch of Hospitality New Zealand, says that the future feels uncertain with the government providing no clear plan to support the industry through the latest lockdown. News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to Jamie about what happened at the meeting, the sector's response to the three-step plan and what the Auckland hospitality industry could look like once the city is out of lockdown.
On the show today we have a budget special, chatting about several different aspects of the spending and what different people think.
Casper talked to Auckland City Councillor Pippa Coom about the extension of the fares subsidy scheme.
Liam spoke to ACT Party leader and Finance spokesperson David Seymour, as well as The Green Parties Julie Anne Genter about the cost of living package and what their parties think of the budget as a whole.
Casper also spoke to Bronwyn Hayward from the University of Canterbury on how the budget is addressing climate.
He also chatted to Cherie Taylor-Patel, the President of the NZ Principals’ Federation, on changes to the school funding system.
The Russia-Ukraine war has continued to rage on, with scenes echoing that of the first world war as the intense battles lead to mass casualties.
This has continued to overshadow but not delay other negotiations, such as the possibility of capping gas prices including those from Russia.
France has been also negotiating with America and other EU states about subsidy systems, as covered in Liam's chat with Cameron Adams for Eurovision this week.
Andre Fa’aoso speaks to Associate Professor Susan St John about the 2023 Budget and how it falls short in addressing family poverty, hardship and food insecurity.
Emilia chats to James Shaw in our weekly chat with the Green Party co-leader, this week they chat about the 140 million dollar subsidy for NZ Steel, they reflect on last week’s budget, and they chat about the Green Party’s candidate list ahead of the general election.
On the Green Desk Jack Marshall talks to Tai Lohrer from the University of Auckland about marine conservation areas.
Arno spoke to two E Tu union representatives, firstly Joe Gallagher about new funding to reduce carbon emissions at Glenbrook steel mill
And then Rachel Mackintosh about E Tu’s view on the 2023/2024 budget.
Alex, spoke to Pam Ford from Tataki Auckland Unlimited about the role the economic agency plays in the region.
The government has announced that the flu vaccine will no longer be free for children under 12 or Māori and Pacific people aged 55 to 64.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Senior Lecturer in Bioethics at the University of Otago, Dr Elizabeth Fenton, who along with other health experts, says this is a missed opportunity for New Zealand's health system to improve outcomes and achieve health equity.
She started off our interview asking Fenton for her reaction to vaccine subsidies being removed for these groups.
For our regular catch-up, temporary Wire host Caeden speaks to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about scrutiny week and the high number of people leaving Aotearoa.
They also speak to SAFE’s Emma Brodie about the Government’s delay on banning Greyhound racing.
Producer Rawan spoke with Dr Laura Revell from the University of Canterbury about a new international study showing the harmful impacts of old satellites on the ozone layer.
She also spoke with Senior human rights advisor Oliver Christeller from the Human rights commission about the importance of including the ethnicity pay gap in the conversation.
For this Week’s Get Action! Producer Oto spoke to Alex Johnston from Common Grace Aotearoa, to talk about a petition of his calling for the government to end carbon offset subsidies to polluting industries.
The Accommodation Supplement is one of Aotearoa’s primary social housing support programmes.
It provides weekly financial assistance to lower-income households struggling with housing costs.
A recent study by University of Auckland has revealed that the supplement is failing to ease housing stress, with renters receiving the subsidy spending more of their income on rent than those who don’t, across all income brackets.
Producer Amani spoke to University of Auckland Associate Property Professor Edward Yiu to find out more about this research and to see what advice he has for student renters.
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