The Wire with Castor

This week on the Monday Wire... 

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about increasing fuel prices, public transport, and the scrapped clean car discount. 

They also spoke to Professor Alistair Woodward from the University of Auckland about air pollution, how to address it, and also touched on the clean car discount. 

Producer Thomas spoke to Forest and Bird National Conservation Advocate Bianca Ranson about the proposed Fisheries Act amendment bill and the risk it poses to our oceans.

And he talked to University of Auckland Senior Research Fellow Dr Kelly Garton about New Zealand's increasing junk food imports and the detrimental health effects this could have on the country .

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about rising fuel costs, the government’s proposed pay rise for some primary teachers, and the Lawyers for Climate Action case against the government for dropping climate policies.

They also spoke to Dr Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, on rising fuel costs, New Zealand’s dependency on petrol, and alternative ways of thinking about transport. 

For City Counselling this week, News Director Castor spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about fuel insecurity and transport and energy alternatives in Auckland. 

Producer Pranuja spoke to Professor Nirmal Nair from the Department of Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering at the University of Auckland on making the switch to Electric Vehicles.

She also spoke with Dr Murat Ungor from the Department of Economics at the University of Otago on how New Zealand can deal with the price at the pump.

This week, Lawyers for Climate Action New Zealand took the Climate Change Minister Simon Watts to Wellington’s High Court on the government’s lack of consultation in dismantling dozens of climate policies shortly after the last election. 

Also under scrutiny, is the government’s over-reliance on offsetting climate emissions through planting pine trees.

Internationally, similar court cases have pressured governments like that of the Netherlands and United Kingdom to revisit their own climate change policies.

Next week, leaders in the field of climate litigation will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau to discuss these developments and more, with an eye to the changes occurring internationally.

To understand this arena of the climate crisis, I spoke to Associate Professor of Law, and Chair for the upcoming Climate Litigation Conference, Vernon Rive.

Community groups across Aotearoa are organising a National Day of Action to protest against the move-on orders proposed by the government. The Day of Action will be on Sunday, 29th of March, criticising the targeting of people who are already struggling on the streets.

The proposed changes would see police officers empowered to force homeless people to relocate, for behaviours such as begging or seeking to inhabit a space. Multiple groups have opposed the changes, claiming they punish people unfairly for something largely outside of their control. 

To discuss the move-on orders and the day of action, Wire host Alex spoke to founder of Kick Back, Aaron Hendry.