The Wire with Sara

The government has released its consultation document on He Waka Eke Noa, the system of farmgate pricing that has been in the works for almost three years. However, not everyone is pleased with the government’s announcement.

Starting in 2025, farmers will start to pay a price for their methane emissions. Consultation will run until near the end of the year with Cabinet expected to make final decisions in early 2023.

Host Emilia Sullivan first spoke to Christine Rose, lead agriculture campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, and started by asking her what she made of the government’s decision.

News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to Federated Farmers Climate Change Spokesperson Andrew Hoggard who says the amendments to He Waka Eke Noa are “unacceptable.”

Ukraine won’t be intimidated by Russia following a wave of missile strikes on urban populations this week, that is according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russian strikes targeted the country’s capital Kyiv, as well as in other civilian centres, in what Russian President Vladimir Putin calls ‘retaliation’ for an explosion over the weekend that damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge between Russia and Crimea.

To discuss these recent escalations, Emilia Sullivan spoke to Professor Robert Patman from the University of Otago.

The National party is proposing a set of tax cuts should it get into government next year. These cuts would index tax brackets to inflation but also reduce the overall tax burden of top earners in particular, raising many concerns about a similar scheme which was recently walked back in the UK after causing economic damage and drawing warnings from the IMF.

For Casper's weekly catchup with National MP Dr Shane Reti he asked him about the tax cuts, as well as a call he’s put forward as the party’s health spokesperson to increase free breast cancer screening up to the age of 74.

Streaming, or putting students into high, middle, or low ability groups, is a common practice in schools across Aotearoa. 

In theory, streaming matches students’ needs to the appropriate resources and attention from teachers, but in reality, it can be discriminatory and lead to low self esteem. 

Christina spoke to Dr David Pomeroy, a University of Canterbury education lecturer, and Caitlin Soulsby, the head of Maths at Mana College, about what streaming actually means for rangatahi in Aotearoa.