The Wire with Caeden

The Israeli parliament recently passed a law that would ban the United Nations Relief and Works agency, more commonly known as the UNRWA, from operating in Israel and East Jerusalem.

News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, Dr Ritesh Shah, about this ruling, and what this will mean for those relying on the services of the UNRWA amidst the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

Sustainability, recycling, carbon emission etcetera are terms commonly overused by corporations and companies who engage in greenwashing to make consumers feel less guilt. However, new groups of architects are dedicated to creating homes which meet all the standards of style and comfort without compromising the environmental impact that comes with construction.

Through a newly developed carbon calculation technology, architects can integrate carbon offsets to prioritise sustainable housing, which can greatly reduce a project’s environmental footprint. 

Sasha spoke to Dr Sarosh Mulla, senior lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning, about the new carbon calculation tech and the future of sustainable housing. Additionally we also discussed what generates the greatest amount of waste during a construction project and how carbon calculation aims to fix that.

Airam Magpantay is a BA (Hons) student in at the University of Auckland in Politics and International relations at the University of Auckland who recently released a report on the state of housing for the people living with disabilities in Aotearoa after completing an internship at the disability advisory service - Disability Connect.

In her report, Airam revealed that there was a significant deficiency in the availability of housing for those living with disabilities, with disabled New Zealanders struggling to find accommodation with accessible infrastructure in a market already heavily impacted by a nationwide housing crisis. 

Oto spoke to Airam about her internship, her subsequent report and the state of housing for people living with disabilities in Aotearoa.

This week on the Tuesday Wire... 

For Dear Science this week, our expert Doctor Allan Blackman chatted to us about the largest known prime number, Carl Djerassi, and recycling e-waste.

In our weekly catchup with the National Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to MP Katie Nimon about Christchurch becoming the first city in the country to sanction Israel, and the rest worker’s rally, which was attended by thousands.

They spoke to the Assistant Secretary for the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons, about the recent workers' strikes.

They also spoke to the National Chair for the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, John Minto, about Christchurch sanctioning Israel.

And finally, they spoke to Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social and Cultural Studies at the Victoria University of Wellington, Lynzi Armstrong, about a study into sex work in New Zealand compared to Scotland and Ireland.