The Wire with Alex

This morning, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child called out the failure of the New Zealand Government to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Referring to the current minimum age of criminal responsibility, the Committee stated clearly that the NZ Government is "just not getting children’s rights right".

Joe speaks to Lisa Woods, Campaigns Director for Amnesty International Aotearoa on this matter.

University of Canterbury Astronomer Professor John Hearnshaw is calling for national legislation to limit light pollution.

He proposed a national law that would set new controls on outdoor lighting, such as 10pm curfews for illuminated advertising signs, limits on what street lights could emit, and reductions in blue light across cities and towns.

David spoke to Richard Easther from the University of Auckland about what would happen if New Zealand started to regulate light pollution.

E whai akei nei, on the Thursday Wire today:

Liam spoke to Robert MacCulloch from the University of Auckland about the recent reports on Aotearoa’s stagnant inflation. 

They also had a chat with Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington's Dr Mona Jeffreys about long covid and reports on how the pandemic has been managed over the past few years. 

We also heard from Troy Merry from UoA about a possible new life extending drug.

And lastly Liam spoke with Nicola Roos from UoO and the DOC about a research project utilising citizen science to track Kekeno AKA NZ fur seals. 

A project aiming to track the lives and mortality rates of Kekeno AKA NZ fur seals has recently been approved for extension. 

The Department of Conservation project was originally slated to take place from June to November of last year, getting citizens to become involved by submitting photographic sightings of the seals in various places across Aotearoa. 

To learn more about their next steps and how the extension will benefit the research, Liam spoke to Nicola Roos, a student at Otago Uni who’s assisting with the research.