The Wire with Castor

Consumer New Zealand has recently conducted an investigation into diet teas which found many included the ingredient, Senna. An ingredient that has a laxative effect and is meant to be an ingredient that is prescribed by a medical professional rather than widely available. This is because long term use of the ingredient can result in liver damage. Director of Consumer New Zealand, Sue Chetwin joined Laura Kvigstad to discuss how these products have been allowed to be available on the market for decades.

Sam speaks with Ann Brower from University of Canterbury about the gender pay gap in Academia

This week it was announced that Ioane Teitiota lost his case in the UN’s Human Rights Committee. Teitiota claimed refugee status saying climate change had affected his right to life, asking not to be deported to Kiribati. New Zealand had given this ruling originally, so this decision has upheld the original ruling. In looking into the news, Lillian saw a Twitter thread by John Knox, a Professor of International Law and the former UN Special Raportuer on Human Rights and the Environment. This role was established in 2012, and has a particular focus on people who are affected by the climate emergency. Knox had found some of the reporting on the issue misleading, particularly regarding the use of the term 'climate refugee', saying "the Human Rights Committee is a body of independent experts mandated to oversee compliance with the Int’l Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ... one of its tasks is to consider complaints from individuals alleging violations of the Covenant. The definition it uses for refugees is not one that includes people fleeing climate effects". However, this case has been reported as hugely significant for what it might mean in the future as it recognises that the conditions from the climate could very well change and directly impact a persons right to life. Knox states that "under the ICCPR even those who aren’t “refugees” have the right not to be returned to a country if doing so would cause a risk of irreparable harm to their rights to life (art. 6) or to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment (art. 7)". Lillian got in touch with him to understand more about why this is indeed a landmark case and what it could mean in the future. They started by discussing the role of a UN Special Raportuer. 

NOTE: 95bFM is trying to get in touch with Ioane Teitiota.

A group of Chinese construction workers who came to New Zealand through an overseas employment agency have been left broke and jobless after spending upwards of $40,000 on agency fees. They were refused a visa extension after they were lied to about how much they would earn and how long they could stay. Felix Walton spoke with Unite Union's Mike Treen who is trying to help the workers.