The Wire with Caeden

This morning Air New Zealand announced new Covid-status restrictions for passengers on all domestic flights. From December 14 2021 people aged 12 and over will have to be fully vaccinated or have tested negative for Covid-19 to board.

News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks live to Air New Zealand General Manager Customer Leanne Langridge about the move. They discuss the airline's motivations, why there is an option to have a vaccine passport or a negative test, what input the government had in the decision, and what processes will be put in place to guarantee authentic vaccination passports and test results, as well as the safety of Air New Zealand staff and customers. 

Yesterday, Greenpeace released a statement detailing how Fertiliser Companies are responsible for nitrate-contaminated water which has caused people to die from bowel-cancer. Studies have shown that in New Zealand, there are up to one-hundred cases of bowel-cancer a year with forty deaths. The organisation has called for the government to phase out synthetic fertilisers which contain nitrogen due to how it’s impact our waterways, as well as the environment. Joe speaks to Steve Abel, the Senior Campaign Manager for Greenpeace, on the issue of water contamination and how it affects efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A collective of 40+ organisations including student associations has launched a petition, calling for the Minister of Transport to implement free public transport for Community Service Card holders, full and part-time tertiary students, and under-25s nationwide.

The campaign states that many people in these groups rely on public transport the most, but are the most likely to not be able to afford it.

Jessica Hopkins spoke with National President at New Zealand Union of Students' Associations Andrew Lessels about why this is an important issue for students in particular.

Here is that interview.

This morning, Ilena spoke with Saunoamaali'i Dr Karanina Sumeo, the EEO Commissioner for the Human Rights Commission, on a report on the harmful treatment and subsequent breaches of human rights of women in segregated housing in prisons across Aotearoa.

In addition to the disproportionate use of unreasonable force against women in comparison to men, the report found that Māori and Pacific women face prolonged segregation, with as many as 93% of those segregated in prison for 15 days or longer being Māori or Pacific women. 

The report was authored by Dr. Sharon Shalev from the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford, and commissioned directly by Dr. Karanina Sumeo to look into the use of such punitive practices and provide recommendations for Corrections to improve these conditions.