The Wire with Caeden

On Monday Cabinet announced the approval of regulations to ban the sale and manufacture of synthetic microbeads.

The government says the regulation will come into force in six months, although the New World, Pak'nSave and Four Square supermarket chains stopped selling products with microbeads from July.

Penalties for ignoring the ban may include fines of up to $100,000, with the Environmental protection Authority enforcing it.

Reuben McLaren spoke to Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage to find out more.

An academic says New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry has no business controlling Tokelau because it’s a realm state.

Under New Zealand’s direction, Tokelau has suffered restrictions on its capital spending and has been forced to suspend two public servants this year.

The University of Auckland’s John McCaffery said a 2010 parliamentary report on New Zealand’s relationship with the Pacific made it clear that  there needed to be change in how realm countries are treated.

McCaffery told producer Mack Smith that New Zealand’s recent involvement in Tokelau were an affront to the nation and unconstitutional.

In the last week, RNZ has come under fire for its use of Te Reo with Don Brash among others annoyed by its presence on national radio, and television. Brash says he doesn’t understand the language, says it has no value to him, and that it is being rammed down peoples throats. Other people like media commentator John Drinnan say RNZ does not have a strategy for its use of Te Reo, with no reason given as to why it is being used and what is being said. The Monday Wire team were joined for a live panel discussion on the use of Te Reo in the media by news director Lillian Hanly, Morning Glory host Geneva Alexander-Marsters, and former Wire producer Atereano Mateariki. 

 Producer Leonard Powell caught up with Sam Dowdall who's travelling the country cutting men's hair and helping men open up about mental health while sitting in the barber chair, as this is something that's often obscured by ideas of masculinity. He's known as the Barter Barber and is trying to do something about a problem that he along with so many others have seen first hand.

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