The Wire with Caeden

The New Zealand government has recently provisionally approved the Monkeypox, or MPOX vaccine in New Zealand. This comes after two new cases being linked to the Queenstown Winter Pride festival. 

The overall risk of MPOX to New Zealand still remains low, despite the World Health Organisation Director-General declaring MPOX outbreak a public emergency of International Concern. Despite this, the virus may still prove deadly without proper vaccination or treatment.

Sasha spoke to Associate Professor Mark Thomas from the University of Auckland Molecular Medicine and Pathology about the recent adoption of an MPOX vaccine.

The government recently announced a number of amendments to the employment relations act which would clarify whether a worker was legally considered to be an employee or a contractor. 

The amendments included a test with four added criteria, such as a written agreement with the worker specifying they were an independent contractor and that the business did not restrict the worker from working for other businesses and requiring them to take on additional tasks and engagements among other criteria.

If a worker met all of the criteria specified in the act, they would be considered as a contractor and wouldn’t be able to challenge their employment status through the courts. 

While Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said that the changes would provide greater certainty for contractors and businesses, union members and labour rights advocates have criticised the move, saying that it would allow companies to strip away the rights of workers to boost profit margins.

For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss the recent changes to the Employment Relations Act and the party’s take on it.

They also had a korero about the Waitangi tribunal’s findings into the recent changes to the Marine and Coastal Areas act, as well as the recently released draft list of 35 minerals considered essential to New Zealand’s economy.

Three years ago, the kaumatua hauora research team from the James Henare research centre from the university of Auckland, met with a number of Kaumātua and elderly Māori from the Waikato region to discuss the experiences of Kaumātua in healthcare facilities across Aotearoa.

The study found that Kaumatua largely had unpleasant experiences in healthcare facilities, that they felt misunderstood by Pākeha healthcare professionals, were placed in mixed gender wards and often times left neglected. 

On top pressing concerns regarding the health disparities between Māori and non-Māori, the study prompted discussions about opening Māori led hospitals, which would be hollistic centres run by Iwi and Māori organisations operating with a kaupapa Māori approach.

Oto spoke to Associate Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Auckland Marama Muru-Lanning to discuss the concept of Maori hospitals and the steps needed to establish them.

The government recently announced proposed changes to the Marine and Coastal Area Act, which, among other changes, would require iwi to prove continuous and uninterrupted occupation of a coastal area since 1840 to make a claim. The proposed changes were reviewed by the Waitangi Tribunal, and the resulting report was released yesterday. In their weekly catchup, Wire host Castor asked Katie Nimon about the government’s reaction to criticisms in the report.

They also asked about the government’s policies on Māori wards. Last year the National Party campaigned on putting Māori wards to referendums, with the goal of ‘restoring democracy’. Since asking councils to vote on the issue, all but two of Aotearoa’s local councils have voted to retain their wards. Local government minister Simeon Brown has expressed some discontent at this response, implying that the government may push for binding referendums. 

Wire host Castor spoke to National’s Katie Nimon about these issues in their weekly catchup, starting with the Marine and Coastal Area Act.