The Wire with Joel

Waitangi Day was last week on Thursday, and to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti we saw MPs attending various events across the country. During these events we also saw many speaking out against the government’s approach to Treaty relations, particularly the treaty principles bill. 

We also saw a series of new appointments to the Waitangi Tribunal at the end of last month. While the new appointments and outgoing members are each uniquely qualified for the position, some have noted that many of the outgoing members have academic experience and knowledge that will not be replicated by the new appointments. 

Wire host Castor spoke about each of these issues in this week’s catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, beginning by asking about what National’s MPs got up to on Waitangi Day.

This week on the Monday Wire...

For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about the ACT Party’s role at Waitangi Day, the latest unemployment figures and the government’s second emissions reduction target.

She also spoke to the New Zealand Council of Trade Union (NZCTU) Economist and Policy Director Craig Renney about the continuing rise in unemployment in Aotearoa.

News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture at the Victoria University of Wellington, Christine McCarthy, about the need for colour in New Zealand's prisons.

Evie spoke to Geopolitical analyst at the University of Otago Geoffrey Miller about Aotearoa’s relationship with the Cook Islands - which made news headlines over the weekend.

And Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins us in studio to discuss using AI in a working environment.

Whakarongo mai!

The Cook Islands and Winston Peters dominated news headlines over the weekend. With media reporting that Aotearoa’s relationship with the Cook Islands was ‘significantly worsening.’ 

The reason for this is an agreement that the Cook Islands is planning to sign with China. Winston Peters says the Cook Islands didn’t consult with Aotearoa about what was in the agreement - which the country is bound to doing under the 2001 Joint Centenary Declaration. 

However, the 2001 agreement is complex, and has certain clauses that means these rules don’t always apply. 

Producer Evie spoke to Geopolitical Analyst at the University of Otago Geoffrey Miller about the complex relationship between us and the Cook Islands - as he broke down the topic and whether anyone has really breached any agreements in this situation.

For their weekly catch up with the Green Party Oto spoke to Ricardo Menendez March to Shane Jones’s new mining strategy and critical minerals list, as well as his and NZ First leader Winston Peter’s comments in Parliament about migrants and the Kāinga ora Turnaround plan introduced by Chris Bishop.

He spoke to Dulani Jayasuriya - A senior lecturer in the accounting and finance Department at the University of Auckland, about the Deepseek AI model developed in China and how it might impact businesses here in Aotearoa.

And he spoke to Antje Fielder, Senior Lecturer in Management and International Business at the University of Auckland, to discuss US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China and how they will impact exporters.

Sasha spoke to the Professor of Law and Business at The University of Auckland, Alexandra Andhov, about the idea of the Trump Crypto Launch.

And he spoke to Justin O’ Sullivan from the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, about the government lifting the ban on genetic research.

95bFM producer Castor spoke with President of the Post Primary Teachers Association, Chris Abercrombie, the effectiveness of the charter school model and what more the government could do for existing public schools.