The Wire with Castor

ACT MP Simon Court discussed ACT’s proposal for primary industries they announced at the Fieldays agricultural event and party leader David Seymour's comments comparing Palestine to Russia and China. 

News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins also spoke to Palestinian New Zealander and descendant of Palestinian refugees Tameem Shaltoni and John Minto from the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa about Seymour's comments. 

Caeden spoke to Kay from We Back Our Kaiako about their upcoming protest in support of teachers.

They also talked to Jack from RainbowPath about the ramifications of the Human Rights Campaign's decision to declare a state of emergency for LGBTQIA+ people in the US.

And Nicholas spoke to Dr Kelly Garton from the University of Auckland about the impact of the Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches Programme and the petition to extend it.

The government’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches Programme began in 2019 in an effort to reduce food insecurity for New Zealand children.

The programme has now been extended to 220,000 students at 989 schools across the country.

The findings of a recent study into its impact has prompted a petition seeking further government funding to expand the programme. 

Nicholas spoke to the lead author of the study Dr Kelly Garton about why more students would benefit from the programme.

This Tuesday, City Impact Church held what they dubbed a "Christian summit" on the "state of the nation", where multiple far-right groups and figures met to give speeches and push for a coordinated electoral campaign ahead of October's election. 95bFM obtained a recording of the event, and along with outlining what was discussed, Spike speaks to activists Byron C Clark and Hannah Blake about the state of the conservative/Christian extremist movements in Aotearoa, and what the meeting means for the far-right moving forward. 

Kia ora, and welcome to The Wire for Rāpare!

This week, Spike speaks to:

- Andrew Little about the new defence deal with Fiji

- Lisa Woods from Amnesty NZ about a new report into Corrections' use of prisoner separation and solitary confinement

- and a report on City Impact's "Christian Summit" event held this week, serving as a meeting point for far-right and evangelical groups going into October's election, featuring activists Byron C Clark and Hannah Blake

Simon speaks to:

- Councillor Shane Henderson for City Counselling about the budget agreement reached last week, and the sale of airport shares and rates rises

- Alice Lake-Hammond about the AF8 roadshow in the South Island raising awareness about a potential Alpine Fault earthquake

- and Senior Lecturer Bill McKay about the ongoing revitalisation of Queen St