The Wire with Caeden

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ACT MP Karen Chhour about their new contractor policy, serious allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards children in Oranga Tamariki care, and ACT's opposition to ethnicity being one of the factors to consider for surgical waitlist prioritisation. 

She also spoke to  E tū Union Spokesperson Annie Newman about ACT’s proposal to ban contractors from challenging their employment status. 

Producer Caeden spoke to Ellie Hooper from Greenpeace about the UN Oceans Treaty. 

And Lecturer in Theatre Dr James Wenley and Senior Lecturer of Education Dr Margaret Gleeson discussed cuts to programmes and staff at Victoria University.

Victoria University of Wellington has proposed significant cuts to staff and several courses including secondary education and theatre.

The University is blaming the underfunding of the tertiary sector and a drop in international and domestic student enrolments. 

News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins first spoke to Senior Lecturer of Education at Victoria University Dr Margaret Gleeson about the secondary education programme, which is set to be cut completely. 

She also spoke to Lecturer in Theatre Dr James Wenley at Victoria University. They started by discussing how the theatre programme, in particular, will be affected. 

Spike speaks to Aotearoa Alliance of Progressive Indians and Greens candidate Dr. Sapna Samant about the recent growth of Hindutva inside India and abroad, what the ideology pushes for, and the risks that could come from its growth. 

Live music venues in Aotearoa have increasingly come under threat from growing densification in urban centres, with many now contesting noise complaints from new residential neighbors. Spike speaks to Taylor MacGregor, a representative from Save Our Venues, about how to make sure venues can survive this shift, along with how councils and the government can plan for and support a thriving music scene.