The Wire with Caeden

One of the less discussed announcements in 2025’s budget was the disestablishment of Predator Free 2050. The project was announced by former Prime Minister John Key in 2016, with the ambitious goal of complete pest eradication in Aotearoa. 

The government’s contributions to the mission were funneled through ‘Predator Free 2050’ a government-funded organisation created to support conservation projects and technologies. These projects funded through Predator Free 2050 will not be affected by the organisation’s closure, and will instead be passed on to the Department of Conservation. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says the change will increase efficiency and reduce duplication. 

While it’s good news that the funding won’t be affected on paper, the Department of Conservation is already struggling to manage its existing commitments. With these additional responsibilities, the future of the Predator Free mission has become less certain. 

To discuss conservation in Aotearoa and how this cut will affect the Predator Free mission, Wire host Castor spoke to General Manager at Forest and Bird, Richard Capie.

Like the rest of the world, we are currently living in a time of economic uncertainty. Economists are forecasting the NZ dollar’s decrease in value, and there have been debates about whether the official cash rate should decrease.

Professor Robert MacCulloch is one of the academics that believe the OCR should stay as is. Producer Faith spoke to MacCulloch about his stance.

The Budget for 2025 came out two weeks ago, with news for the nation on how funds will be allocated over the coming year. The budget held big news for defence spending, $12 billion over the next four years, including $9 billion of new spending. 

The funding is planned to go towards various technologies and equipment for different branches of the military, including replacements for two Air Force Boeing 757 planes and new helicopters to be operated from Navy ships. Defence Minister Judith Collins also announced plans to acquire new killer drones with increased lethality, raising some human rights concerns. 

In our weekly catchup with National’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the defence spending announcements, concerns over killer drones, and if this money is best spent on more military equipment.

Global military expenditure reached a record high of two point seven trillion dollars in 2024, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. This is the tenth consecutive year that military spending has increased across the world.

Last week’s Budget announcement, as with declarations of investments earlier this year, in which $12 billion was committed to defence over the next four years, with an aim to reach 2% of GDP, demonstrate the New Zealand government’s interest in keeping up with global standards. 

Peace Movement Aotearoa have called this central government decision “deplorable”, as the same budget made cuts to crucial social services, and has underinvested in urgent issues within sectors like health, climate action, and infrastructure.

Producer Sara spoke with Massey University’s Associate Professor in the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Anna Powles, about why both global and national military spending is increasing despite other crucial areas needing investment.

Sara also spoke with Peace Movement Aotearoa co-ordinator Edwina Hughes about the effects of this increased militarisation taking priority over efforts to address humanitarian issues. 

She began her interview with Associate Professor Anna Powles, by asking what some of the key drivers of this increased global military spending are.