The Wire with Caeden

A breakthrough in understanding chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease linked to repeated head blows, has been made at the University of Auckland.

Neuroscientists at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research examined brain tissue, primarily from former rugby players, with the research shedding new light on how specific cells respond to damage from repeated head knocks.

Producer Amani spoke with Senior Author of the research Dr Helen Murray about how the findings open the way for a deeper understanding of the causes of CTE and about what the research process involved.

Auckland Council's Community Committee has recently reported a 53% rise in rough sleeping over four months, with the data showing the number of people known to be living in cars, parks, or on the streets has risen from 426 in September 2024 to 653 in January 2025.

Kickback, a youth development and social justice community responding to youth homelessness, is calling for an urgent review of The Ministry of Social Development's approach to homelessness.

Producer Amani spoke with General Manager Aaron Hendry about why it is calling for a review and which suggestions it has for the public service department.

As previously discussed, New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters, has proposed a new member’s bill to be placed in the ballot, aiming to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, targets in the public sector.

This bill would amend the Public Service Act, which Peters, and NZ First, voted for when in a coalition government with the Labour Party in 2020.

DEI refers to frameworks that aim to equitably represent certain individuals and communities not represented as much as other demographics in the country.

The reception for this bill varies between the parties. Senior National MP, Chris Bishop, says if the bill were to be pulled out of the ballot, that the party would consider the bill, as they believe in “meritocracy,” however, would want a “public service that is reflective of modern New Zealand”.

Opposition Leader from the Labour Party, Chris Hipkins, says he would want a public sector that represents all New Zealanders.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the National Secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons, about Peter’s members bill, and how she believes this will impact the public sector.

They started off by asking how DEI targets work regarding the public sector.

The government has recently removed Relationships and Sexuality Education, or RSE, guidelines in schools without implementing a clear alternative.

The RSE guidelines were changed in 2020, to better support, and include updates to the the 2007 curriculum for primary and secondary school students, on topics such as the prominence of social media, bullying and cyber-bullying, and consent, in an age-appropriate manner.

With the removal of the 2020 guidelines, many educators are wondering how they adequately cover the topics covered in RSE.

As well as this, concerns have been raised about whether a move like this will impact the mental health of students, especially from minority communities, such as the LGBTQIA+ community.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation New Zealand, Shaun Robinson, about the removal of RSE guidelines without the government clearly indicating to an alternative, and the organisations concerns regarding these developments.

They started off by asking him what RSE is.