The Wire with Joel

Recent statistics have shown that the population of Aotearoa is steadily growing older, with the number of people over the age of 65 expected to hit 1 million by 2028.

In line with this, discussions have begun on how New Zealand’s healthcare system can be adapted to better accommodate for the ageing population of Aotearoa, particularly in the field of end-of-life care.

As such, a team of researchers from the University of Auckland and Waikato have begun a project examining the current state of palliative care in Aotearoa and how clinicians can help kaumātua and whānau to make better decisions.

Oto spoke to Julie Harrison, an Associate Professor in Accounting and Finance at the University of Auckland who is part of the study, to discuss her research and findings.

Associate Health Minister, Casey Costello, is pushing for smokers to switch to Heated Tobacco Products, otherwise known as HTPs, as an alternative to other forms of smoking, for what she says is a part of a solution to try work towards Smokefree 2025.

The plan, which aims to get 7000 people to switch to HTPs, will result in a cut of 50% to excise tax to the products at a cost of up to $216 million.

Currently, tobacco giant, Philip Morris, owns a Monopoly of HTPs in New Zealand, which would mean that this company will solely profit off of the tax cuts.

Many are concerned that Costello is prioritising profits over actually working towards lowering tobacco usage within Aotearoa.

As well as this, Philip Morris’ HTPs, known as IQOS’ have recently been pulled from shelves over being classified as vapes, and therefore going against Labour’s vaping regulations, which require vaping products to have child safety mechanisms, as well as having removable batteries. 

News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Professor of Health Economics at the University of Auckland, Paula Logelly, on Costello’s push for HTPs, and whether she believes that Costello is putting money over people’s health.

Last week, the government announced that planned developments to Dunedin’s hospital may exceed the planned budget of $1.88 billion, and reach as much as $3 billion. As such, ministers Chris Bishop and Shane Reti announced that the plans may require reductions or an extended timeframe. 

The announcement was met with mass opposition both on social media and in public, with some 35,000 protestors turning out on the streets of Dunedin on Saturday to march against the change.

The current government has been controversial for a range of its other policy decisions as well, particularly for how these policies shape up to campaign promises and expectations. 

While under delivery on campaign promises is not uncommon in politics, it can hurt a party when it comes to re-election, especially when it comes to regions like Dunedin which may see less directed policies than major centres like Auckland. 

Wire host Castor spoke to PhD candidate and researcher at the University of Otago, Michael Swanson, about the politics of this government and how the Dunedin hospital development plays into things moving into the next election.

The crown mineral amendment bill was introduced to parliament last Tuesday. Public submissions on the bill close tomorrow (Tuesday 1st October). This gives the public only four business days to make their submission on the bill, significantly shorter than the average submission time. 

The bill is aiming to reverse the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, something the coalition government campaigned on. 

The government has also cut down the normal six month select committee process, wanting the bill to be passed before the end of the year. 

Greenpeace says the short public submission time on the bill shows the government has a complete disregard for people in New Zealand who care about climate change. 

Producer Evie spoke to Greenpeace Executive Director Russell Norman about his concerns surrounding the four day submission time on the bill, and what impacts the ban reversal will actually have on the environment.