The Wire with Caeden

A year and a half ago Cyclone Gabrielle made landfall, thrashing the North Island with widespread damage. 

The disaster left many without a home, and over a year on houses are still red stickered, people are left waiting for insurance assessments, and climate change is still causing extreme climate events. 

Earlier this month the Otago region was affected by major flooding, damaging homes and other community centres. 

Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, George Laking says that extreme weather events like these impact people’s homes, whānau and livelihoods, and in the wake of them it’s paramount to consider people’s mental health. 

Following Cyclone Gabrielle, Laking identified five key health priorities that should be prioritised in natural disaster responses. 

Producer Evie spoke to Laking about these responses, how they related to Cyclone Gabrielle, and how they could be better applied in the wake of the Otago floods. 

Yesterday students, staff, and alumni across the University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology rallied in support of Palestine.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to protest organisers Layan Khalil and Ayyan Ali as well as protest attendees on why they were marching.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden speaks to Carmel Sepuloni about the sunken naval ship Manawanui and the projects chosen to be fast tracked.

For States of the States this week they speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about recent political events at Yale and the political response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

They speak to Student Justice for Palestine organisers and protest attendees about yesterday’s Auckland universities rally for Palestine.

And they speak to Tessa Ingram, Global UNICEF spokesperson, about their efforts to supply aid in Lebanon.

For City Counselling this week, Sofia speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about Auckland Council’s stance on Israel’s war on Gaza, in light of a year since October 7th. 

For States of the States, she also speaks to honorary academic at the University of Auckland Faculty of Science and climate scientist Dr Kevin Trenberth about recent and current hurricanes in Florida.

Homelessness is not a new issue, but rather a persistent one, and will never go away unless our society confronts it directly. This is an issue which affects all of us, as no one is guaranteed housing or basic needs. 

Work and Income have declared changes to their emergency housing as of August. These changes make it harder for those experiencing homelessness to receive the help they need, as they now need to fill a criteria to receive this help.

The Kickback Organisation, a charitable trust focused on delivering support for those experiencing homelessness, are advocating for parliament to pass legislation to support those at risk of homelessness. Similar legislation has been successful in Wales.

Sasha spoke to Aaron Hendry from Kickback about their campaign efforts, and their event at their charity on Karangahape road.