The Wire with Caeden

This week on the Thursday Wire, Tuva’a talks to Andrew Little in his weekly chat with the Health Minister about Dr. Shane Reti’s comments on disease vaccines expiring, and about National and ACT looking at getting rid of the Maori Health Authority. 

Emilia covers worker burnout with Professor Jarrod Haar from AUT, Syrian Widow Camps with World Vision, and the NZ Needle Exchange program.

And Joe speaks to Sport NZ about the lack of exercise from New Zealanders over the pandemic, and Lisa Te Morenga, Associate Professor in Nutrition and Maori Health at Massey University, as well as the Acting Chair Health Coalition Aotearoa, about the rising prices in healthy foods. 

That's us from the Thursday Wire!

In 1988, New Zealand became the first country in the world to introduce a national, government-funded needle exchange programme for people who inject legal and illegal drugs.

New data has shown that the New Zealand Needle Exchange Programme has doubled its return in twenty years and has reduced the need for spending on treatment for HIV, Hepatitis B and C and other injection injuries.

Emilia Sullivan spoke to Jason George, National Harm Reduction Lead at the New Zealand Needle Exchange Programme.

Widowed Syrian women who are fleeing war zones with their children are ending up in “widow camps”, where they face chronic violence, and their children are exploited and abused.

Since the start of the civil war in 2011, nearly 7 million Syrians have been displaced internally, and about 2.8 million are living in an estimated 1,300 camps for internally displaced people in the north-west of the country.

World Vision has released a study titled “Women and Children of Syria's Widow Camps: Hardest to Reach, Most at Risk” which illustrates the physical and psychological violence that these vulnerable people are facing, and the barriers to providing humanitarian aid. 

Emilia Sullivan spoke to Grant Bayldon, National Director of World Vision New Zealand about the issue.

Today, Alex's pieces today have a focus on the Fair Pay Agreement Bill: This kicks off with interviews with Unite Union’s John Crocker and Hospitality New Zealand Chief Executive Julie White about the Fair Pay Agreement Bill and what this might mean for hospitality. 

This is followed by Alex speaking with ACT’s Brooke van Velden about the Bill and what this might mean for young people and for the cost of living crisis .

Stella talk to Geoffrey Miller, an international analyst with the democracy project, about the recently announced aid package from New Zealand to help Ukraine 

Frances then speaks with Cameron Mulgan on Eurovision, giving a general update on the situation in Ukraine, the UN's call for an independent investigation into rape there, and politicians visiting Zelensky. We also speak about the EU withdrawing their training mission in Mali, elections in France and solar faming in Greece.

Finally, Stella interviews Dr Amy Lovell from the University of Auckland about a recent study surveying the amount of advertising for unhealthy food and drink around Auckland’s primary schools.