The Wire with Jessica

The National-led coalition government has recently confirmed they will be shutting down he waka eke noa, which was an agriculture emission plan set out by the previous government instead of placing agriculture under the emission trading scheme.

The current government has instead decided to create a pastoral sector group for agriculture with more details yet to come. 

I spoke with Niamh O’Flynn from Greenpeace Aotearoa about how this will further worsen the climate crisis and what actions need to be taken to urgently turn things around.

Last Saturday, thousands gathered in Central Auckland for the 'March for Nature Rally' led by Greenpeace, to demonstrate their opposition towards the government’s Fast Track Approvals bill and other policies involving environmental conservation.

Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez-March was present at the rally, alongside many of his colleagues, and for their weekly chat, he and Oto discussed the implications of the rally and opposition to the government’s environmental policies. 

They also talked about the recently announced changes to the Emissions trading scheme, as well as the government’s decision to invest $4 billion dollars into a fund to repair potholes.

For Dear Science this week, Professor Allan Blackman chatted to us about a genome in tiny ferns, a retracted Alzheimers paper, and investigating success and failure. 

Wire host Castor spoke to the National Party’s Tom Rutherford about the March for Nature, Fast Track Approvals Bill, and the Ram Raid bill. 

He also spoke to Senior Exhibition Developer at Motat Esther Tobin about their new gallery, Te Puawānanga. 

Producer Sofia spoke to the National Chair of Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, John Minto, about the New Zealand government’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza with regards to reinstating funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. 

And producer Elle spoke to the UNICEF Aotearoa Policy and Advocacy Manager Frances Cox-Wright about policy suggestions to reduce child poverty and involve youth voice in climate action, Following the release of Budget 2024 two weeks ago. 

This weekend’s march for nature saw 20,000 people gathering in Central Auckland to protest against the Fast Track Approvals Bill. Submissions closed just under two months ago, and the select committee is currently reviewing and proposing changes to the bill. 

The bill has been quite controversial since its proposal, with debate from both sides of parliament and the public on whether the potential benefits outweigh the costs. 

The ram raid bill, initially proposed under the previous Labour government, has equally been met with controversy, particularly for how it fails to address the core issues of youth offending, instead proposing prosecuting those as young as 12 years old.

In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the Fast Track Approvals Bill as it moves through the select committee process, and how the current government plans to handle the ram raid bill.