The Wire with Joel

Last week, the government revealed statistics showing a drop in crime in Auckland’s CBD, the reduction accredited to increased police presence under this government. 

Crime isn’t the only issue facing the CBD, with recent data showing that hospitality spending in Auckland’s CBD is down compared to previous years. Challenges faced by hospitality businesses have been particularly evident since COVID lockdowns, with some heritage businesses permanently closing in recent months. 

The government has also been tabling discussions of increasing the parliamentary term from three to four years. While several previous governments have discussed such a change, some issues have prevented it from going ahead. 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Katie Nimon, Wire host Castor asked her about these issues facing the CBD, and about the potential for a four-year parliamentary term, starting off with crime in the CBD. 

Around mid-August this year, senior management at the University of Auckland made an announcement saying that they were looking to cut a number of small postgraduate and undergraduate courses in the Faculty of Arts with less than 60 and 30 students respectively. 

The University said that the cuts were being proposed to “optimise” course offerings and address classroom spacing issues. They also said that the cuts came about as a result of a routine review of courses regularly conducted by the University.

The announcement resulted in widespread outcry and condemnation by the University of Auckland’s senior academics and lecturers, saying that the University gave them a limited timeframe to review and contest the changes, and the decision to cut courses such as Huarahi Māori will have an impact on marginalised communities.

Oto spoke to Nicole Wallace, an organiser at the Tertiary Education Union who works with lecturers at the University of Auckland to discuss the course cut proposal and its implications for senior academics and lecturers.

For their weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori, Oto spoke to Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori last week, Gang patch legislation passing into law, and New Zealand supporting a UN resolution, calling for an end of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

He spoke to Nicole Wallace from the Tertiary Education Union to discuss a recent series of proposed cuts to short postgraduate courses at the University of Auckland.

And he spoke to John Minto from Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa to discuss Israel’s exploding pager attack in Lebanon last week, as well as New Zealand voting in favour of the UN General assembly resolution demanding an end to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.

For their weekly catch up, Evie spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about restricting contract workers from challenging their employment status, and the ban on gang patches passing into law. 

She also spoke to E Tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh about the same planned changes to the contractor employment law, why the Union opposes these, and what negative impact she believes it will have.

Wire Host Caeden speaks to Yale Daily News’ Andre Fa’aoso on the anti-immigrant rhetoric from the Trump campaign towards immigrants in Springfield, Ohio as well as the apparent second assassination attempt against Donald Trump this campaign.