The Wire with Castor

This week on the Wednesday Wire...

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Civil Defence Payment for disaster victims, the state of the economy, and Waitangi Day.

They then spoke to Professor of General Practice and Primary Care Bruce Arrol, on the changes being made to ADHD diagnosis and access to medical treatments.

Producer Theo spoke with the spokesperson for Ka Lāhui Hawai’i, Healani Sonoda-Pale, on the seventeen-member delegation to Waitangi from Hawai’i, and solidarity between Māori and Kanaka Maoli.

They then spoke to Public Health Medicine Specialist Dr Sainimere Boladuadua on the Pacific shift in global health she and her colleagues have proposed.

This week, political, cultural, and community leaders have been gathering in Waitangi to commemorate the signing of Te Tiriti. 

However, recent attacks on Te Tiriti, Te Reo Māori, and Te Ao Māori by the New Zealand coalition government are front of mind for many.

Ka Lāhui Hawai’i, a Kanaka Maoli initiative calling for self-determination and self-governance in Hawai’i, have sent a seventeen-member delegation to show solidarity with Māori.

To understand the demonstration of indigenous solidarity this delegation represents, as well as the ongoing colonial attacks on indigenous peoples across the Pacific, Producer Theo spoke to the spokesperson for Ka Lāhui Hawai’i, Healani Sonoda-Pale.

New Zealand has declined its's invitation to join US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace after saying it will give due consideration to the invitation. The Co-Convenor of human rights group Justice for Palestine, Samira Zaitoon, has welcomed the move, but has expressed concern over the government's wording around declining the invitation. 

She also talks about what the Board of Peace means for traditional global bodies like the UN, and what New Zealand can do in terms of policy-making on the issue. 

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin chats with us about how light could be used as a painkiller, research on early signs of dementia, and the ‘mental trap’ that leads to indecision.
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Ryan Hamlilton about New Zealand’s foreign affairs stance amidst a changing global world order.
For Green World, Sara spoke to Director of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa Gareth Hughes, about ‘Reclaim the Economy Week’.
Producer Vihan spoke to Justice for Palestine’s Co-Convenor Samira Zaitoon about New Zealand declining it's invitation to the Board of Peace and what it all means. 
Producer Toby spoke to University of Auckland Global Studies Director Chris Ogden about Donald Trump’s vision of a ‘new form of diplomacy based on threats and coercion’.