The Wire with Castor

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Labour’s Shanan Halbert about Chris Hipkins pre-budget speech at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, the government’s review into the Waitangi Tribunal, and the cost of National’s FamilyBoost policy.

For International Desk, they spoke to Associate Professor in Political Science at Paris Cité University, Speranta Dumitru, about Pope Leo XIV’s views on migration and what this means for the papacy more broadly. 

For City Counselling, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson, about how much of an impact the climate crisis will have on voters heading into local elections and incorrectly recycling lithium-ion batteries.

And Tuesday Wire Host Castor spoke to PhD student in Education at the University of Auckland and primary school teacher Tom Pearce about the government's stance towards testing in schools and his concerns of over-testing.

Yesterday, the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, delivered a petition, which was signed by more than 16,000 citizens. The petition calls on the government to stop the Police’s hasty withdrawal from mental health callouts, until an alternative service is up and running.

Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, Shaun Robinson, has said that “The Police are a critical safety net for people in distress needing urgent access to mental health support”, and that the government removing the support of the police without an alternative in place is comparable to removing the engine of a car while it is running. Robinson believes that both situations are “dangerous, and likely to lead to an accident”.

To talk about the dangers of this development, Producer Max spoke with Shaun Robinson

Just this week, New Zealand’s first measles case in 2 years was reported in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

The patient contracted the disease while travelling in Asia before coming back to Aotearoa and, with global measles cases on the rise, concerns have been raised about the potential for an outbreak and its impacts on New Zealand’s already overburdened healthcare system.

Oto spoke to Helen Petousis-Harris, an Associate Professor in General Practice & Primary Healthcare at the University of Auckland, to discuss the recent measles case in Aotearoa and its potential implications.

This week on the Monday Wire:

For our weekly catchup with Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to her about changes to prisoners’ voting eligibility, the party calling for more funding for Whakaata Māori in Budget 2025, and ECE recommendations.

For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about David Seymour’s proposal to reduce the size of cabinet, an ACT Members Bill aimed at removing mandatory climate-related disclosures for banks, as well as last week's unprecedented senior doctor strikes.

Joel spoke to Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, about animal product imports to New Zealand, as a petition to Parliament to ensure imports are coming from country’s with animal welfare standards on par with ours.

Joel also spoke to Robert Patman, a Professor of International Relations at the University of Otago, about his article on the Conversation, discussing his concerns over the Trump Administration's proposed peace deal regarding Russia’s war on Ukraine, and how New Zealand should proceed with supporting Ukraine.

And Global Innovator, Matt Hart, joins us in studio to discuss young people developing their political views through social media.

Whakarongo mai