The Wire with Caeden

Until yesterday, the Ukrainian city of Lviv has been a safe place for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. 

Ukraine says up to 30 Russian missiles have been fired at the Yavoriv military training base near the border with NATO member Poland.

Officials say at least 35 people were killed, and 134 were critically injured in the attack.

A few days before this horrific attack, I spoke with Victoria Vasyliuk, a resident of Lviv who has been hosting refugees from Kyiv. 

We discussed what it has been like on the ground for internally displaced people in Ukraine. She also gave a personal account of Russia's aggression against her country.

Please note this interview took place prior to the recent tragedy in Lviv.

Today on the Wire Liam spoke to the chairperson of the Public Broadcasting Governance Group, Tracey Martin about the new public media entity being built out of a TVNZ and RNZ merger.

Casper talked to Dr Robert Patman from the university of Otago about the government's recently passed Russia sanctions bill.

Casper also had his fortnightly chat with Auckland city counceller Pippa Coom. This week they discussed Auckland's regional fuel tax.

Finally, Liam interviewed Dr Matiu Rātima about Ngā Hau e Whā o Tāwhirimātea, his new guide for tertiary educators on culturally responsive teaching.

On Thursday, Broadcasting and Media Minister Kris Fafoi announced that a new public media entity will be created through the merging of TVNZ and Radio New Zealand.

Fafoi has stated that this will future proof both organisations and provide a centralised source for all New Zealanders to rely on for public journalism.

The announcement has received mixed responses from across the media sector, with it being called a "solution looking for a problem” by National Party broadcasting spokesperson Melissa Lee .

Liam spoke to former MP Tracey Martin, who was a chairperson on the Public Broadcasting Governance Group about what we could see out of the new entity.

The Government has introduced legislation that would see random roadside drug testing beginning in 2023. Police would use saliva testing to check for the presence of drugs in a driver's system, and if the test detects any, the driver will be fined and stopped from driving for a minimum of 12 hours.

Emilia Sullivan spoke to Kali Mercier, Policy and Advocacy Manager of the New Zealand Drug Foundation about how this new legislation would work.