The Wire with Caeden

Welcome to the Thursday Wire! Today, Tuva’a has his regular catch-up with Labour’s Andrew Little, this week talking about security concerns with Tik Tok and a new cystic fibrosis medication. Green Desk is back as always, Frances updates us on the week’s environmental news.

Stella speaks to Associate Professor on veterinary epidemiology Carolyn Gates from Massey University about transmission mechanisms of foot and mouth disease. She also speaks to MPI’s chief veterinary officer Dr Mary Van Alden about what New Zealand’s plan is if the disease were to enter the country.

Stella speaks to the Green party’s spokesperson for education, Teanau Tuiono about the party’s calls for pay parity for early childhood teachers.

We finish the show with Stella chatting to a Research Assistant from the Manalagi Project, Allyssa Verner-Pula, about their work documenting the experiences of the LGBTQ+ Pasifika community in healthcare settings. AUSA provides a written comment about the current voting in student elections.

A long-lived atmospheric river is landing on New Zealand shores today, which NIWA says could lead to “well over a month’s worth of rain” this week, especially in parts of the South Island.

To get some more insight on what atmospheric rivers are and what impacts they can have, Emilia spoke to Tristan Meyers, a Meteorologist at NIWA.

The Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments in a case that could decide whether polluting companies are breaching important duties to New Zealanders. 

Sitting at the Environmental Court in Auckland, the Supreme Court will make a decision as to whether or not to strike out a claim against New Zealand’s 7 biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses by a Northland man who says they are breaching well-established common law principles by contributing to climate change.

Mike Smith is the climate spokesperson for the Iwi Chairs Forum, and is claiming that ongoing pollution by corporations such as Fonterra, Genesis and Z Energy has damaged his Whenua and sites of cultural and historical significance to him and his whānau.

To discuss the legal aspects of this case, as well as the role of tikanga Maori in the decision-making, Emilia Sullivan spoke to Geoff McLay from Victoria University Law School.

A couple of weeks ago National Party Housing Spokesperson Chris Bishop indicated at an Auckland meeting that the party is open to making changes to housing zoning laws.

To get a clearer picture of National’s current stance on what policies are needed to allieviate the housing crisis, with a particular focus on Auckland and the discourse around special character areas and intensification, Casper spoke to National MP Dr. Shane Reti.

Casper first asked what major ongoing issues with the housing market could be alleviated by policy and how high a priority it is right now.