The Wire with Caeden

This week on the Monday Wire...

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about the party’s stance on Te Tiriti in light of this past Waitangi Weekend, and the employment relations amendment bill in light of a recent protest.

They also spoke to Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Auckland, Avril Bell, about public sentiment on Te Tiriti and interpreting the government’s stance on it. 

And producer Alex spoke to Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Practice at the University of Auckland, Dr Jude MacArthur, about the Government’s recent moves to fund new ‘special schools’ for disabled children, and what that says for exclusivity versus inclusivity in our education.

This past week saw multiple polls on public support for Te Tiriti o Waitangi in lawmaking. In RNZ’s Reid Research poll, while 38.1% thought Te Tiriti had too much influence, 34.1% thought it was just right and 16.6% called for more. 

The complex array of approaches to Te Tiriti were on full display this weekend, with politicians and MPs talking about what it means to them. Some of the narratives shared, especially by the act party, framed Te Tiriti’s role in politics as taking rights away from Pākehā and favouring Māori. 

To discuss all of these, News Director Castor spoke to senior lecturer of sociology at the University of Auckland, Avril Bell. 

You can find the article by Avril Bell here and more information on Matike Mai here. 

This week on the Thursday Wire...

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, News and Editorial Director Castor spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about the party’s plans for Waitangi Day and Labour’s take on the government’s secret mineral talks. 

Usual Thursday Wire Host Caeden spoke to Catherine Cheung, researcher for Climate Justice Taranaki and Marco de Jong, Pacific historian and lecturer at AUT law school and co-director of Te Kuaka, about the critical mineral talks between the governments of New Zealand and the United States.

For City Counselling this week, producer Jasmine spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about Waitangi Day, Laneway, Yellow-legged hornets and back-to-school.

She also spoke to Age Care Concern CEO Kevin Lamb about the generational inequities of NZ Post closures around the motu.

This week on the Wednesday Wire...

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Civil Defence Payment for disaster victims, the state of the economy, and Waitangi Day.

They then spoke to Professor of General Practice and Primary Care Bruce Arrol, on the changes being made to ADHD diagnosis and access to medical treatments.

Producer Theo spoke with the spokesperson for Ka Lāhui Hawai’i, Healani Sonoda-Pale, on the seventeen-member delegation to Waitangi from Hawai’i, and solidarity between Māori and Kanaka Maoli.

They then spoke to Public Health Medicine Specialist Dr Sainimere Boladuadua on the Pacific shift in global health she and her colleagues have proposed.