The Wire with Caeden

Today, Ilena talked to a swathe of people about this week's announcement that the government and Auckland Council will be inveting $35 million into the Auckland Film Studios in Henderson. A privately-funded, $280 million film studio project is also being planned in Wānaka. 

She spoke first with Stuart Nash, the Minister of Economic Development, to give some more details on the Auckland development. Ashley Williams and Tim Hamilton both gave their opinions on these high-end investments and how they do/don't feed back into local filmmaking. Queenstown Lakes District Deputy Mayor Calum McLeod discussed the advantages of the proposed Wānaka studio.

Finally, Nikki Boucher from Screen Wellington commented on the current status of film in Wellington, as well as the appearance of a new purpose-built studio opening in Upper Hutt. The speakers also had many thoughts on the New Zealand screen industry's role in our post-Covid recovery as a desirable, well-resourced and safe location for inter/national productions.

A packed Friday Wire:

Noah speaks to Christopher Luxon about the latest polls and conversion therapy, as well as Forest & Bird's George Hobson about taking the Southland District Council to court for failing to protect the environment

Ilena chats to plenty of people about funding for Aotearoa's film industry: the Minister of Economic Development, Stuart Nash; Kiwi filmmakers Ashley Williams and Tim Hamilton; and finally, Deputy Mayor for the Queenstown Lake District, Calum McLeod.

Finally, Dr Sue Bagshaw phones in for a live interview on hormone blockers for young people transitioning gender.

Mā te wā!

Forest & Bird's George Hobson speaks to Noah Ferguson-Dudding about taking the Southland District Council to court over coal exploration expansion. Forest & Bird claims the Council failed to take the environmental impact on Southland when granting permission for Bathurst Resources Limited to explore for a new coal mine. They are now trying to convince the courts to revoke the permission, in order to protect the environment.

A report into media company Mediaworks has found the workplace persisting toxic 'boys club' culture. The culture is filled with harassment, peer pressure, bullying, and sexual allegations that has predominantly affected younger female staff. Conor spoke to Dr. Matt Mollgaard, Head of Radio at AUT, about the findings of the report, particularly in regards to the effect it can have on students entering the media industry.