The Wire with Caeden

Shari Nevalagi created the organisation Rise Up for Homelessness. She's a solo mother of two children, both with autism, and has autism herself. She spends time volunteering with homeless Whānau and neurodiverse Whānau in Tāmaki Makaurau, and is currently working in Manurewa helping to provide rough sleepers with food and support. 

Lillian Hanly spoke with Shari following the news that Mayor Phil Goff has announced a 'homelessness count', and talked with her about her concerns.

The number of apprentices has been increasing in the last few years while university enrolment has stagnated, but is still not enough to meet the shortages in a number of industries. Lachlan spoke with Josh WIlliams, CEO of the Industry Training Federation about apprenticeships.

First up on today’s Wire, Lachlan speak with Josh Williams, CEO of the Industry Training Federation about the rise in the number of apprentices. Neutral corner returns on the upset victory of a left wing candidate in the democratic primaries. Andrew LIttle joins LAchlan for their regular chat, this week discussing the sensible sentencing trust and a NZ First private member’s bill. Jemima speaks with Kylie Ryan about mental wellbeing for students. Finally, This Day in History is on the 2009 coup in Honduras.

You would have possibly seen in the news recently that Auckland has a number of buildings with the same type of cladding as that of the Grenfell Tower. This came out around the same time as the anniversary of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Auckland Council had conducted their own investigations into the possible dangers of this cladding and their conclusion reads as follows:

Auckland Council has reviewed over 300 buildings which comprise of a mix of residential and commercial buildings (some of these involve sites with multiple buildings which we have also individually assessed).

All hospital buildings were included in the investigation regardless of height and some sites had multiple buildings.

The investigation found 116 buildings that appear to utilise ACP cladding to some extent. In some cases the cladding material possesses a modified FR (fire resistant) core, while far fewer cases have cladding with a combustible polyethylene core. The extent and use of ACP on the buildings varies considerably from the full façade, to decorative features only and, as noted above, many buildings examined did not contain ACP at all.

We haven’t identified any building that would be considered dangerous due to ACP cladding.

In many cases, the use of ACP is limited and the safety from fire of such buildings and their occupants is maintained by features such as sprinkler systems that reduce potential fire risks.

The buildings comprise a mix of residential and commercial, all are considered low risk.

Lillian Hanly spoke with Auckland Council Building Control general manager Ian McCormick to find out more about the council’s investigation and really understand the similarities between the cladding and the risks they are looking to mitigate.