The Wire with Caeden

A family-friendly Auckland Pride Event was stormed by about 50 protestors in Te Atutū on Saturday.

The event, involving a Drag King talking to children about the science of Rainbows, was invaded by members of Destiny’s Church. Later the same day Destiny’s Church intimidated attendees at Auckland’s Rainbow Parade.

And the government has launched a new tourism ad campaign with the tagline “Everyone Must Go!”

The tagline has had a mixed reception, however, it aims to boost Australian tourism numbers, which haven’t recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

For our weekly catch-up with Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni, Wire host Caeden asks about both of these topics.

The Cook Islands and China have released the details of their recent partnership agreement.

The agreement has raised concern amongst the New Zealand government, who have close constitutional ties with the Cook Islands, as they felt they were not adequately consulted before the agreement was signed.

The controversial agreement, and New Zealand’s opposition to not being adequately consulted, have gained international attention.

For International Desk this week, Wire host Caeden spoke to AUT Law Senior Lecturer Sione Tekiteki about the agreement and the controversy surrounding it.

The Cook Islands and China have released the details of their recent partnership agreement.

The agreement has raised concern amongst the New Zealand government, who have close constitutional ties with the Cook Islands, as they felt they were not adequately consulted before the agreement was signed.

The controversial agreement, and New Zealand’s opposition to not being adequately consulted, have gained international attention.

For International Desk this week, Wire host Caeden spoke to AUT Law Senior Lecturer Sione Tekiteki about the agreement and the controversy surrounding it.

For their weekly catch up with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Ricardo Menendez March about the government’s recent tourism and biodiversity fund, as well as Destiny Church’s protests at recent pride events and the deportation notice given to 18-year-old Daman Kumar.

For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Vanessa Cole from public housing futures to discuss a campaign of hers calling for the government to construct more public housing for people on the “true waitlist”.

And he spoke to Carrie Leonetti - an associate professor in Law at the University of Auckland at the University of Auckland, to discuss the government’s new anti-stalking legislation, and why it falls short of protecting stalking victims.

Sasha spoke to Dr Chanelle Duley, a lecturer in Business at the University of Auckland, about the introduction of a new bill that will aim at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses.

Amani spoke to University of Auckland’s School of Population Health and spokesperson for Health Coalition Aotearoa, Dr. Kelly Garton, on why we should give kids a break from junk food ads.

She also spoke to Professor at Lincoln University’s Department of Soil & Physical Sciences and Co-Director of Bioprotection Aotearoa, Amanda Black, on how the use of pesticides is worsening the “biodiversity crisis.”