The Wire with Alex

The Government is introducing a new bill to Parliament today aiming to fast track consent processes for economic activities such as farming and mining. 

Caeden talks about the bill with Greenpeace Spokesperson Genevieve Toop while she was outside Parliament protesting it going ahead.

The population of Aotearoa is growing rapidly, increasing by more than 100,000 people annually, with the largest recent growth happening in the years after COVID-19. In order to accommodate for this increase, Aotearoa needs to ensure that there is robust investment going into its public infrastructure so that the growing population has adequate access to services such as medical care and public transport. 

Currently, the coalition government seems to be ensuring the opposite of that, cutting around $2.4 billion in expenditure across the public sector to fund tax cuts as part of their commitment to what they call “fiscal responsibility”. As a result, it is speculated that already limited and struggling public services in Aotearoa will become more scarce and inaccessible to both Kiwis and the growing population. 

Oto spoke to Craig Renney, the economist and director of policy at the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, who wrote a report titled “Investing in a growing population” that specifically details the problem and impacts of public spending cuts on the growing population here in Aotearoa.

Associate Education Minister and ACT Party Leader David Seymour has indicated that Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches Programme is under review as the government puts together their new budget.

Ka Ora Ka Ako was introduced under the Labour Government in 2019. The programme currently provides lunches for 220,000 students at a cost to the Government of around $325 million a year.

Seymour has claimed that there is no hard evidence that the programme positively affects academic performance, a claim that is disputed by Health Coalition Aotearoa.

A petition has been launched by the Health Coalition Aotearoa, to advocate for the government to continue supporting the programme.

Nicholas spoke to Co-chair of the coalition Professor Lisa Te Morenga about the programme's benefits, as well as their new petition.

https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/save-healthy-free-school-lunches

Last week, three unions representing care and support workers delivered an open letter with over 9,100 signatures to Te Whatu Ora demanding urgent action on their pay equity claim. 

Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Public Service Association Delegate and Mental Health Support Worker, Christie Cox, about the current situation for care and support workers in Aotearoa and the significance of the letter being delivered on International Women’s Day.