The Wire with Caeden

Last week, the Professional Firefighters Union went on strike from 12-1pm on Friday, calling for better pay and conditions for firefighters across New Zealand.

This week, we will see a ‘megastrike’ of nurses and teachers which is predicted to potentially be the largest labour action in forty years.

Among their agenda items are Palestine, NCEA changes, AI marking and the curriculum.

Finally, a petition with 20,000 signatures was delivered to Parliament relating to an amendment which will see tightened eligibility for Maaori groups to receive customary title under the Marine and Coastal Area act.
The amendment bill passed its second reading last week. 

Wire Host Sara spoke with National MP Carl Bates about all of these topics, starting with the firefighter union strike

Last week, the Government released their first ‘National Adaptation Framework’ for adapting to Climate Change.

The announcement highlights the risks those in Aotearoa face regarding climate related disasters and harms, such as floods or storms as climate change gets worse. This comes alongside a focus on ensuring that Aotearoa’s economy is able to withstand, handle, and grow in the face of these risks.

While this is a positive step, there remain concerns around how adaptation fits in, whether this plan covers all bases, and what still needs to be done.

Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Principal Scientist at Earth Sciences New Zealand, Dr Cradock-Henry, about the framework, its strengths, and its drawbacks.

The government has recently reduced biogenic methane emission targets to 14-24% by 2050, changing the reductions passed in 2019 under the Zero Carbon Act of cuts between 24-47% below 2017 levels by 2050.

These changes have faced criticisms from the Opposition and climate activists, and scientists. Green Party co-leader, Chlöe Swarbrick, says “This methane denial betrays farmers who are on the front line of climate-driven extreme weather events that threaten global food production and rural livelihoods”.

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, New and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to Court about the target changes.

They also discussed this week’s multi-sector strike action, which will be attended by workers from various sectors, such as the medical and education sector.

Public Service Minister Judith Collins, regarding teachers striking, called the strike action “unfair and unwarranted,” and said that the union, the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association’s (PPTA’s) primary agenda was to discuss Palestine with Education Minister Erica Stanford. However, PPTA President, Chris Abercrombie, disputed this, saying Palestine was one of several topics the union had wanted to discuss with the Minister, including AI in education and changes to NCEA.

They discussed this, but first, we discussed the government’s changes to methane targets.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Shanan Halbert about the local elections turn-out, the ceasefire in Gaza, and the infighting in Te Pāti Māori.

On City Counselling this week, Producer Sanat spoke to freshly elected councilor Shane Henderson about his campaign and what he’s most looking forward to over the next three years. 

He also spoke to Justine Smythe, chair of the Breast Cancer Foundation about the extension of free mammogram screenings to women up to 74 year olds. 

Lastly, he had a conversation with Te Punaha Matatini’s Co-Director Markus Luczak-Roesch about the Science System Advisory Group’s latest report and changes to New Zealand’s science research funding regime.

And Producer Jasmine spoke with Meg de Ronde, CEO of Te Kāhui Tika Tangata (Human Rights Commission), on the mahi and obligations of Aotearoa as signatories to the UN Subcommitee on the Prevention of Torture, in light of their visit earlier this month.