The Wire with Caeden

A recent report detailing complaints to the health and disability commissioner about disability support services revealed that the sector suffered from inadequate care standards, poor management of resources and the abuse of those in care. 

One of the suggestions made in the report was that better funding and staffing was needed to improve standards in disability care, based on complaints from workers in the sector that understaffing was impacting their ability to provide adequate care.

Oto spoke to Peter Reynolds, CEO of the New Zealand Disability Support Network to discuss staffing shortages in disability care, and the solutions needed to address it. 

The final report from the abuse in state care inquiry is due to be published on July 24th at 4pm. The report will discuss historic and present issues of abuse in state care, particularly how it affects marginalised groups such as Māori, Pasifika, and disabled children and young people. The report will then provide a recommendation to parliament on potential policy or funding changes. 

Additionally, last week, associate Health Minister and minister in charge of Pharmac, David Seymour, issued new instructions regarding the organisation’s focus. Particularly notable in the instructions were discussions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, with Seymour 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Katie Nimon about the abuse in state care inquiry and the government's advice to Pharmac. 

On July 1st, the excise tax on heated tobacco products (or HTPs) was dropped unannounced by fifty percent. 

Speaking on the change, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello sez the reduction will help the government test the effectiveness of HTPs as a tool to help people quit smoking. 

However, given Costello’s previous parroting of tobacco industry talking points, there are worries that this change could also be coming from industry backed research. In addition, the scientific research to support the use of HTPs is slim to nonexistent. 

Wire host Castor to professor of public health at the University of Otago and co-director of the Aspire Aotearoa Research Centre, Janet Hoek, about heated tobacco products and the evidence to support them.

On Wednesday the 17th of July, the government opened submissions on the second Emissions Reduction Plan.

The Emissions Reduction Plan outlines the steps the government intends to take to meet its emission budgets.

This second Emissions Reduction Plan will lay out the government’s climate plans from 2026-2030.

The plan includes initiatives such as setting a target of 10,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030, investigating carbon capture and storage, and improving organic waste and landfill gas capture.

However, the draft has received criticism from climate experts for not being ambitious enough in it’s initiatives to reduce emissions.

Producer Josef spoke with Ralph Sims, Professor Emeritus of Sustainable Energy and Climate Mitigation at Massey University, about the draft plan and how he thinks the plan will impact Aotearoa’s emissions reduction efforts.

For more information on the plan and to have your say, you can go to consult.environment.govt.nz, submissions close on the 21st August 2024.