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The Wire with Laura: 30th of August, 2019

 The Wire with Laura: 30th of August, 2019 The Wire with Laura: 30th of August, 2019, 106.62 MB

This week on the Friday Wire, Denise Lee joins us to have a chat about the alcohol trading hours after the extending trading hours amendment, the revitalized controversy of a large donation to the National Party by a New Zealand company owned by a foreign billionaire and the National Party's opposition to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act. 

Following that, foreign interference in local and national elections have been raised as a concern by the GCSB and SIS with one of the primary concern being around political donations. Producer, Bronnie Wilde reached out Marama Davidson about why the Green Party is pushing for law changes around political donations

Next, Auckland Action Against Poverty Spokesperson, Ricardo Menendez March joins Laura Kvigstad to explain why AAAP is calling for better regulations around tobacco lobbying. 

Finally, Benjamin J Goldson looks at the media coverage around the suspension of parliament by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Neutral Corner. 

Low turnout in local elections and what to do about it: September 2, 2019

 Low turnout in local elections and what to do about it: September 2, 2019 Low turnout in local elections and what to do about it: September 2, 2019, 9.4 MB

Local elections are fast approaching and there’s been a trend of declining participation. The problem is particularly bad in Auckland where turnout was under 40%. This causes problems around representation at local government level as well as setting the agenda in elections.  Lachlan spoke with Professor Janine Hayward from Otago University about local government elction turnout.

 

White Ribbon Day: November 25th, 2019

 White Ribbon Day: November 25th, 2019 White Ribbon Day: November 25th, 2019, 16.66 MB

Dhan-nun speaks with White Ribbon New Zealand’s Manager Rob McCann, from the national branch of an international organisation dealing with ending Male domestic violence. Today, the 25th of November, is international White Ribbon day, a day symbolising opposition to violence against women.

White Ribbon commissioned some remarkable research on prevalent male stereotypes in Aotearoa, and how they contribute to our exceptionally high rates of domestic violence.

Torture claims at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital w/ Mike Ferriss: January 20th, 2020

 Torture claims at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital w/ Mike Ferriss: January 20th, 2020 Torture claims at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital w/ Mike Ferriss: January 20th, 2020, 8.97 MB

The United Nations Committee on Torture recently released a report requesting the NZ government reinvestigate torture claims at the former psychiatric hospital Lake Alice. The report is a result of a complaint from 2017 by Victor Boyd of independent watchdog group Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights on behalf of a previous patient of the facility. The UN has upheld that complaint recommending the government conduct a ‘prompt, impartial and independent investigation’ into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment at Lake alice, as well as, where appropriate, the filling of ‘specific torture and/or ill-treatment charges against perpetrators, and the application of the corresponding penalties under domestic law.’ The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry has announced it would investigate the allegations, but they have said they will not make any findings ‘civil, criminal or disciplinary liability’ as recommended by the UN. Mike Ferriss is the current director of CCHR New Zealand, Deb Rawson spoke with him to find out more.

 

Please note this conversation contains discussions of torture including electrocution and sexual assault

 

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra heads online: April 1, 2020

 The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra heads online: April 1, 2020 The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra heads online: April 1, 2020, 7.37 MB

No - it is not a joke. The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra have moved their performances online. They did their first performance last week, the Wednesday night in which the rāhui was about to start. Lillian Hanly spoke to NZSO’s Principal Trombonist David Bremner to find out how that’s going to work.

NZ First: April 22, 2020

 NZ First: April 22, 2020 NZ First: April 22, 2020, 30.06 MB

Lillian spoke to Fletcher this morning about contact tracing, an injection of cash into the regions and the announcement from the SFO that their decision regarding NZ First’s political donations will be out before the election. She started by asking how he felt about moving to level 3 next week.

Fletcher stated the government would have had the necessary capacity for contact tracing as of the 23rd April - the originally stated day to come out of Level 4 before the government announced an extentions. I wrote to the Ministry of Health asking whether this was indeed the case and this was their response:

"The Ministry is confident that New Zealand can provide high quality contact tracing. The Public Health Units (PHUs) and National Close Contact Service (NCCS) have a baseline capacity in place as well as additional capacity they can call on to deal with the contact tracing needs that might be ahead of us.  This includes managing under a range of scenarios that could occur within the different alert levels and controls and includes a current ability to scale up to 10,000 calls a day. From our most recent information from public health units and the National Close Contact Service, for the period 13-17 April, 80% of close contacts were traced within 48 hours of the case being notified to the units."

An Ethical Approach to Māori Data Collection with Karaitiana Taiuru: 8th of May, 2020

 An Ethical Approach to Maori Data Collection with Karaitiana Taiuru: 8th of May, 2020 An Ethical Approach to Maori Data Collection with Karaitiana Taiuru: 8th of May, 2020, 34.54 MB

Covid 19 is presenting new concerns around privacy and data as governments are launching apps to have more effective contact tracing. There is speculation on how that data may be used, whether the data may be used to police rather than protect. This is particularly concerning for some within Māori communities and there are calls for a collaborative approach from government in order to honour te tiriti. Karaitiana Taiuru recently wrote a report on the importance of data privacy for indigenous communities. He's developed an ethical framework around the collection of data using some of the principals of a Māori worldview. He joined Laura Kvigstad to express the importance of incorporating te ao Māori in the development contact tracing apps. 

The Alert Level 2 Guidelines So Far...: 8th of May, 2020

 The Alert Level 2 Guidelines So Far...: 8th of May, 2020 : 8th of May, 2020, 12.02 MB

Government has announced some guidelines of Alert Level 2 with more expected to come. Laura Kvigstad gives you a quick rundown of the guidelines so far and the response that some industries have had to them. 

Budget 2020 and The State Of Welfare with Brooke Fiafia: 15th of May, 2020

 Budget 2020 and The State Of Welfare with Brooke Fiafia: 15th of May, 2020 Budget 2020 and The State Of Welfare with Brooke Fiafia: 15th of May, 2020, 11.95 MB

Many have commented that welfare did not receive the increases in spending for the 2020 Budget that they were hoping for. In a time where more people will need financial support, it has left some perplexed. Brooke Fiafia of Auckland Action Against Poverty joined Laura Kvigstad to discuss welfare spending in this budget… 

CPAG research shows the difficulty of getting out of poverty - as measured by governmental indicators: May 20, 2020

 CPAG research shows the difficulty of getting out of poverty - as measured by governmental indicators: May 20, 2020 CPAG research shows the difficulty of getting out of poverty - as measured by governmental indicators: May 20, 2020, 10.89 MB

New research from the Child Poverty Action Group has shown families with children receiving benefits would require an estimated $110 a week on average to reach 50 per cent of equivalised median after-housing-costs (AHC) income. These are the measures used by the government to measure the amount of children living in poverty, as in, after you pay for rent how much money is left over. Those families would also require an extra $215 to reach 60 per cent of the same measure, meaning income support levels for the 2020/21 year are well below the Government’s official poverty measures, even when recent benefit increases are included. Lillian spoke to Janet McAllister who was part of the research team to find out more: