The Wire with Castor

New Zealand’s employment court recently rejected an appeal by taxi and delivery company Uber to reverse its earlier ruling regarding the status of Uber drivers. In 2022, the employment court ruled that Uber drivers should be classified as employees rather than contractors. Uber then appealed the decision, with the employment court reaching its final verdict this week.

Alongside this decision are discussions by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Brooke Van Velden, surrounding potential changes to how workers are classified. 

Wire host Castor spoke to national secretary of the E tū union, Rachel Mackintosh, about the appeal and potential upcoming legislation.

Changes were recently announced to the Fast Track Approvals Bill - most notably removing the controversial ministerial override that would allow ministers to go past expert advice. These changes follow public protests and submissions regarding the bill, one of this government’s most discussed. Wire host Castor spoke to Katie Nimon about the changes to the bill, and some of the criticisms that remain.

We also spoke about the potential amendment of Section 58 of the Marine and Coastal Area Act. The amendment would require Māori to prove continuous, uninterrupted occupation of a coastal area in order to make a claim to it. The Waitangi Tribunal recently filed an urgent claim to discuss the amendment, particularly criticised for its impact on coastal iwi with fewer land claims. 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor asked MP Katie Nimon about each of these issues, starting off with changes to the Fast Track Approvals Bill. 

For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie speaks to Simon Court about the ACT Party's absence from the Māori King’s Koroneihana, questions about the ministry of regulation and changes to the the Fast Track Approvals Bill

For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori, News and Editorial Director and Wire Host, Joel, speaks to Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about the increase in Māori vaccination rates, comments PM Christopher Luxon had at Koroneihana at Tūrangawaewae, report into Māori being disproportionately targeted by police.

Joel also spoke to Criminology Lecturer at the University of Auckland, and spokesperson for People Against Prisons Aotearoa, Emmy Rākete (Ngāpuhi) about the recently released Understanding Police Delivery report, which shows that Māori are disproportionately more likely to be persecuted by police.

Evie speaks to Socio-Cultural Teaching Fellow in Physical Education, Sport and Exercise sciences at The University of Otago, Sebastian Potgieter about Israel’s place in international sporting competitions.

And finally, Joel speaks to Associate Professor in the Faculty of Science, and geologist, Phil Shane, about a new vent being discovered at Whakaari / White Island, which has resulted in various flights being delayed, and what this means for the volcano.

The findings of the Understanding Policy Delivery report have recently been released, which has shown that the NZ Police found “bias” and “structural racism,” targeting Māori individuals.

The report says that Māori are ELEVEN percent more likely to be persecuted compared to Pākeha, despite the same variables, and Māori are disproportionately more likely to be stopped and tasered by officers.

News and Editorial Director, and Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Criminology Lecturer and the University of Auckland, and spokesperson for People Against Prison Aotearoa, Emmy Rākete (Ngāpuhi), about these findings, and what can be done to mitigate these statistics.