The Wire with Caeden

Justin spoke to Health Minister Andrew Little about the interim report from the review into PHARMAC, and releasing unvaccinated Māori data for the rest of the North Island to the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency.

Statistics released last week by the Ministry of Health give us an updated insight into the drinking of New Zealanders as part of the New Zealand Health Survey in the 2020/2021 year. However, Alcohol Action say these results show a negative view of alcohol consumption in New Zealand. Joe speaks to Professor Jennie Connor, a spokesperson for Alcohol Action the matter.

Yesterday, the latest Franchising New Zealand 2021 report was launched. In this report, there were many significant details - there are 590 different business format franchises in Aotearoa, the annual turnover of business format franchises showed major growth, and New Zealand is still the most franchised country in the world. 

The survey was conducted between the 30th of September and the 29th of October by the Massey Business School, which means that this survey was also performed during a time when businesses were facing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Zazi spoke with the author of this report, Jonathan Elms. He is the director of Research for Massey Business School and the Professor of Retail Management. He spoke to Zazi about these significant details within the report, what they mean, and why the franchising sector is important for Aotearoa’s economy. 

This week on the Wednesday Wire, the show kicks off with Christina having her regular segment Dear Science with AUT Professor Allan Blackman. They speak on the running of the bulls; discuss how spaceflight can affect the body; and talk about why getting rid of cataracts in our eyes could reduce the risk of dementia.

After that, Christina speaks with the Chair of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, Hayden Wano, about their Te Rau Tira wellbeing report, and how we can improve outcomes for vulnerable communities in Aotearoa. 

Then, Zazi talks to the Director of Research for Massey Business School and Professor of Retail Management, Jonathan Elms, about the Franchise sector growing in contribution, despite the pandemic.

And finally, Zazi has her regular talk with ACT's Brooke van Velden, where they talk about Brooke’s favourite political moments of the year, goals for next year as well as her summer plans.