The Wire with Joel

Caeden spoke to Labour Deputy Leader, Carmel Sepuloni, about the government increasing benefit sanctions and scrapping Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority.

Producer Jasmine reported on the reaction to the government passing legislation under urgency to dis-establish the Māori Health Authority.

News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Head of Journalism at AUT Greg Treadwell about the closure of NewHub.

And she spoke to Doctoral Candidate, Cristal Salatas, about her research aimed at reducing the prevalence of premature birth in Aotearoa.

Producer Jasmine reports on response to the government's urgent disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority:

This week there has been widespread criticism shared over the government’s decision to axe the Māori Health Authority, Te Aka Whai Ora. Many public health experts, human rights organisations and fellow politicians have expressed concerns over what this move signals for Māori communities, social and political inequities, human rights, and Aotearoa’s democratic processes more broadly.

The Pae Ora Amendment Bill (that is seeing the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority) passed its third reading yesterday after being introduced to Parliament under urgency on Tuesday. This move has meant that the Waitangi Tribunal claim set to challenge the disestablishment bill was not able to be heard before the decision to axe Te Aka Whai Ora was passed. The Waitangi Tribunal claim was also called under urgency and was originally scheduled to take place today. However, an inquiry can now only go ahead after the disestablishment bill has been passed into law, preventing any consideration of recommendations that would’ve been made by claimants Lady Tureiti Moxon and Janice Kuka.

Alongside the immediate and ongoing concerns around what the removal of the Māori Health Authority signals for Māori healthcare and health outcomes, predominant outcries today centre around political implications of this unconstitutional course of government action.

Janice Panoho, Te Kaihautū for Aotearoa’s Public Service Association, emphasised that "for such an important Constitutional issue it is vital that Parliamentary processes are used to allow proper public scrutiny and debate rather than to lock out people with dissenting voices." She and the organisation state they are “deeply disappointed in this government’s lack of respect and regard to their Te Tiriti partner.”

Earlier this week, organisation ActionStation hosted a petition to Minister of Health Shane Reti, calling to protect The Māori Health Authority. The petition has now reached almost 14,000 signatures over a three day period, meaning it has now surpassed the threshold needed to warrant a formal response from government.

The coalition is yet to announce any new formal or proposed plans that will fill the gap left behind by Te Aka Whai Ora’s removal.

New research looking into vaccination hesitancy in Aotearoa has been released from the University of Auckland.

The research was prompted by lower rates of vaccination following the covid-19 pandemic. The research aimed to uncover what was most important to Kiwi’s considerations around vaccination.

Nicholas spoke to lead investigator Associate Professor Amy Chan, about the study’s findings.

As a new batch of freshers begin university, we return to the basic fundamentals of protests.

Sofia spoke to veteran activist and Head Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa John Minto about the hows, whys, and whens of protesting, narrowing in on the current Palestine protests occuring across the country.

They discuss historic legislation born out of protesting and how to get involved in protests if you haven't before!

Head to the PSNA website for resources in solidarity with Palestine.