The Wire with Alex

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s plan to address the budget shortfall includes cutting funding to many public services, while retaining expensive golf courses that ratepayers are paying for. 

It also suggests selling public assets like shares in Auckland Airport to help fill a $295m budget shortfall. 

FIRST Union, a union representing 30,000 workers in Aotearoa, recently made a budget submission to Auckland Council. They branded Mayor Wayne Brown’s Submission as insufficient and irredeemable, and made several suggestions for improvement. 

Arno spoke to FIRST Union President Robert Reid, and started off by asking what FIRST’s position is on the proposed $21m budget cut for bus services.

Better housing, income equality, and better access to healthcare and education are some of the things researchers believe will improve the quality of living for Pasifika children in Aotearoa. The recommendations are in a report titled Tamaiti Ole Moana, and alongside the recommendations of the report is a 10-year-pacific health plan driven to provide better outcomes for Pacific children and families. 

The health plan focuses on improving Pasifika’s access to quality housing, boosting incomes, improving access to quality healthcare, and finally, a quality education. 

Andre Fa'aoso spoke with Dr Teuila Percival, Paediatrician and Director of Moana Connect in the studio this morning. I first asked her whether the government had been receptive to the report.

Last month, Auckland Transport was criticised for encouraging people to travel at off-peak times during what they called “March madness”. Since then, we have also seen mass delays and cancellations across Tāmaki Makaurau. 

News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Public Transport Users Association spokesperson John Reeves about this issue. 

She started off the interview asking Reeves if he believes we are in a public transport crisis.

Parents in Tallahassee, Florida were outraged when their children were shown Michelangelo’s statue of David in a class about the Renaissance, calling it pornographic. Beth spoke to Professor Susanna Trnka about the uproar and what this means culturally.