The Wire with Caeden

Labour has reshuffled its portfolios ahead of the election this year.

The Royal Commission Inquiry into Covid-19 has released its final report for phase two of the inquiry.

And the Education and Workforce Select Committee has released its final report on online harm and young people.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, I spoke to MP and member of the Education and Workforce Committee Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.

The Covid 19 Pandemic saw wide-reaching policy interventions to save lives, keeping our hospital open and emergency beds available. Over the course of lockdowns, traffic lights, vaccines and mandates, the government at the time found that increasingly vocal opposition grew in response to their efforts. 

This opposition grew into a severe division that marked that period of time can be seen to this day. 

The groups protesting the pandemic control measures often viewed these restrictions as conspiratorial threats or vast overreach that infringed their rights, while supporters of the governments actions saw them as neccessary steps to save lives.

Following an inquiry into our pandemic response done by the Labour government that found appropriate actions were taking and no wrongdoing, momentum grew in certain minor parties for another look. 

This week, we saw the release of this with the release of a second inquiry.

To get her perspective on the second inquiry, Wire host Manny spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, Doctor Siouxsie Wiles, about the Covid 19 inquiry and her takeaways on social trust and cohesion.

In the past couple of months, the United States military has successfully decapitated two foreign regimes, capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Military action in Iran is still underway, but the Trump administration already appears to be eyeing up its next target: Cuba. Trump recently said that regime change in Cuba is now “just a question of time,” and that it may or may not be “a friendly takeover.”

Producer Toby spoke to Dr. Paul Taillon about the prospect of regime change in Iran and Cuba. They discussed the history of American involvement in these countries and the differences between what Trump is currently doing and previous attempts at regime change

Last year, the government scrapped Pay Equity rules in a move that was widely panned due to its speed and lack of notice. A recent select committee looking into pay equity, as well as international women’s day on Sunday, has brought forth the issue once more into the political limelight.

Tuesday Wire Host Alex spoke with the TEU’s Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary, Amy Ross, about the Pay Equity situation, the reality for those facing pay equity struggles in the time since their channels were scrapped and, crucially, the role that tertiary institutions, as employers and influential voices, can play in supporting New Zealanders, and advocating for a return to pay equity