The Wire with Castor

Last week the government announced a $24 million funding commitment to I Am Hope, the foundation behind Mike King’s Gumboot Friday initiative. The $6million annual allocation is set to fund two counselling sessions for those ages 5-25 years old. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine, Dr. Hiran Thabrew, on differing strategies to address mental health investment needs. 

Last week, resources Minister Shane Jones released a draft strategy for mineral mining, aiming to double the amount of exports in the sector. 

The strategy also mentioned "significant amounts of different types and grades of coal deposits" in Aotearoa, and aimed to align consents for coal to other minerals in order to increase coal extraction.

In response, the Green party has created a petition, calling on the government to completely roll back on its coal mining initiatives and to protect the natural ecosystems of Aotearoa. 

For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP, Ricardo Menendez-March, to discuss the petition. We also had a conversation about the Defence Minister Judith Collins decision to extend New Zealand Defence Force deployments to the Middle East and Africa

The Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 is the first legal major reform to implement the Waitangi Tribunal's recommendations in response to Wai 262: Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, or more commonly known as the indigenous flora and fauna claim. 

Senior Lecturer Above the Bar at the University of Canterbury Faculty of Law and legal anthropologist, Dr David Jefferson, is researching the Act, as well as other legal frameworks, focussing on the impacts and potential for mana whenua in biodiversity management to protect taonga plants and mātauranga Māori.  

Producer Sofia spoke to Jefferson about his research, and whether the Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 fulfils the Crown's treaty obligations.

Earlier this May the government announced plans to revisit a development at Waikeria Prison in Waikato. Originally proposed under the 2017 Labour government, the plan to add new beds was delayed due to COVID 19 complications. 

Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell sez the development will continue past Labour’s initial plan, with an overwhelming message from the National party that the prison population should and will increase. In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Katie Nimon, Wire host Castor asked about the prison development and Corrections funding in advance of this week’s budget announcements.