The Wire with Caeden

Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, declared Mpox, formally known as monkeypox, a global health emergency for the second year in a row.

This follows the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) experiencing its largest outbreak of the disease ever recorded, which has resulted in tens of thousands of infections.

Joel spoke to Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, Mark Thomas, about Mpox, and what this means for the country.

They started off by asking him if we should be concerned about this outbreak in New Zealand.

For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori, News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about Waitangi Tribunal calls for Treaty Principles Bill to be scrapped, and the controversial development of a cultural space, that shares the same attributes as a marae, in Sydney, Australia

Producer Evie, for her weekly catch up with the ACT Party, speaks to Simon Court about the Waitangi Tribunal’s calls to scrap the Treaty Principals Bill, as well as the party’s calls for stricter sanctions on beneficiaries.

Joel speaks to Lawyer and Secretary of Community Against Alcohol Harm (CAAH), Dr Grant Hewison, about Auckland’s planned alcohol restrictions.

They also speak to Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, Mark Thomas, about the new Mpox clade, and what this will mean for New Zealand.

and Evie speaks to Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Peter O'Connor about the government’s stricter maths curriculum pushing arts and music education to the side.

The Government has announced new sanctions for beneficiaries who do not meet their obligations. These include putting half a person’s benefit on a payment card and community work experience.

Social Development Minister Louise Upston said this is to move people into work and provide tougher consequences for those who repeatedly fail to meet benefit obligations. The changes will be introduced alongside a new “traffic light” warning system for beneficiaries the government campaigned on.

The move has been criticised from opposition parties, including Labour Leader Chris Hipkins who said the move would continue to push people into poverty.

In other news, the Mayor of New Plymouth has called on the Labour Party to support oil and gas exploration until 2050. Neil Holdom states energy policies affected by constraints of the electoral cycle i not working and would like to see a bipartisan approach taken to energy policy.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire host Caeden spoke to Labour Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these issues.

This week the government announced it is moving forward on overhauling restrictions on the use of gene editing and other genetic technologies in New Zealand - establishing a dedicated gene tech regulator before 2026.

The law will be based on similar legislation in Australia - the Australian Gene Technology Act 2000 - while taking a ‘hybrid approach’ to regulation with applications assessed under a risk framework. 

With legislation expected to go through parliament by the end of 2024, it will remove regulatory hurdles that have been in place for the last 30 years on developing genetic technology beyond the lab.

Producer Sofia spoke to Principal Scientist at Plant & Food Research and Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland, Dr Andy Allan, about this announcement and whether he welcomes the change.