For Dear Science this week, Doctor Cushla McGoverin about microbes in the baths of Bath, genetically isolated trout, and the James Webb Space Telescope.
Wire host Castor spoke to the National Party’s Tom Rutherford about the first home buyers bonus and last week's budget announcements.
Producer Sofia spoke to Executive Director of Greenpeace Aotearoa, Russel Norman, about funding cuts to environmental sectors in Budget 2024 and the March for Nature in Tāmaki Makaurau this Saturday
She also spoke to Tatau Urutahi shared leader at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata, the Human Rights Commission, Julia Whaipooti, about the Budget in terms of whether it upholds te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Last week the government released its budget, announcing cuts and new funding across sectors. Particularly notable were the tax cuts, promised during the campaign last year to support lower and middle-income families. The government’s calculator indicates that many will not receive a significant amount of money from these cuts, with those on high incomes benefiting the most.
The budget also contained changes to fees free in universities, moving the free year from students’ first year to their last.
Additionally, before the budget announcements, the government also scrapped the first home buyers grant, a policy introduced to support New Zealanders into their first homes.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the first home buyers bonus, public reception of the tax cuts, and the changes to fees free in universities.
Last week the government announced a $24 million funding commitment to I Am Hope, the foundation behind Mike King’s Gumboot Friday initiative. The $6million annual allocation is set to fund two counselling sessions for those ages 5-25 years old. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine, Dr. Hiran Thabrew, on differing strategies to address mental health investment needs.
Strike action by more than 290 NZ Blood Service Workers across the motu begins tomorrow. The decision follows seven months of stalled negotiations in pursuit of funding that seeks to rectify the 13-35% pay gap between NZ Blood Service Workers and their colleagues of the same job roles, skills, experience at Te Whatu Ora. Representatives of strike action have affirmed the support of the executive team at NZ Blood during this process, and have emphasised that frustrations lie around the unnecessary and harmful delays in securing the funding to solve the issue. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Public Service Association Delegate, Sian Dallaway, ahead of tomorrow’s strike.
June is the month for Sweat With Pride in Aotearoa, where Kiwis can sign up to sweat for 21 minutes everyday to raise money for services provided by the Burnett Foundation, Rainbow Youth, OutLine and InsideOut for our rainbow and Takatāpui communities. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to the Burnett Foundation’s Ella Sarigson ahead of the initiative kicking off this Saturday!
It’s not too late to get involved - head to sweatwithpride.com to signup and support our rainbow and takatāpui communities.
This week the Thursday Wire's usual host Caeden was away, so Tuesday Wire host Castor filled in.
For City Counselling this week, Castor spoke to Shane Henderson about the draft regional land transport plan for Auckland and the council’s hopes for budget announcements later today.
Producer Jasmine spoke with Dr. Hiran Thabrew about mental health funding following the Government’s budget announcement regarding investment in the I Am Hope Foundation.
She also spoke PSA Delegate Sian Dalaway about pay parity negotiations for NZ Blood Service workers ahead of tomorrow’s strike.
She also spoke with Ella Sargison from the Burnett Foundation about June’s Sweat With Pride initiative.
The Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 is the first legal major reform to implement the Waitangi Tribunal's recommendations in response to Wai 262: Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, or more commonly known as the indigenous flora and fauna claim.
Senior Lecturer Above the Bar at the University of Canterbury Faculty of Law and legal anthropologist, Dr David Jefferson, is researching the Act, as well as other legal frameworks, focussing on the impacts and potential for mana whenua in biodiversity management to protect taonga plants and mātauranga Māori.
Producer Sofia spoke to Jefferson about his research, and whether the Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 fulfils the Crown's treaty obligations.
Last week, resources Minister Shane Jones released a draft strategy for mineral mining, aiming to double the amount of exports in the sector.
The strategy also mentioned "significant amounts of different types and grades of coal deposits" in Aotearoa, and aimed to align consents for coal to other minerals in order to increase coal extraction.
In response, the Green party has created a petition, calling on the government to completely roll back on its coal mining initiatives and to protect the natural ecosystems of Aotearoa.
For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP, Ricardo Menendez-March, to discuss the petition. We also had a conversation about the Defence Minister Judith Collins decision to extend New Zealand Defence Force deployments to the Middle East and Africa
Health outcome gaps for Māori and Pasifika suffering from cardiovascular conditions have been apparent for quite some time.
In order to address this ongoing problem, a group of researchers involved in Manawataki Fatu Fatu for ACCESS conducted a qualitative study, where they interviewed Māori and Pasifika patients in cardiovascular care to uncover the causes behind these health gaps, as well as potential solutions.
To discuss the study and its findings, Oto spoke to Senior Research fellow Karen Brewer from the University of Auckland, of Whakatōhea and Ngaiterangi descent, who conducted the study and had some insights to offer on Māori and Pasifika cardiovascular health gaps.