The Wire with Sara

As we venture deeper into the second half of President Donald Trump’s first year of his second term, his actions continue to sow chaos and undermine stability across the globe.

Under this Trump Administration, the US has increasingly acted as a ‘rogue state’ - a term used to denote both uncertainty in international politics, and oppressive domestic policies.

Producer Alex spoke to Associate Professor and Programme Director for Global Studies at the University of Auckland, Chris Ogden, about how Trump has turned America into a Rogue State, and how that will impact the world.

Early last week, ACT MP, Todd Stephenson, re-lodged his End of Life Choice Amendment Bill, which seeks to expand the eligibility of the End of Life Choice Act.

This follows recommendations from the Ministry of Health’s office review into the law, which was an official requirement of the original 2019 Act. Stephenson’s bill has accepted all 25 recommendations.

National’s coalition agreement with ACT requires any proposed changes to the Act having to be progressed through as a member’s bill.

As well as this, Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche, has not ruled out absorbing ministries such as the Ministry of Women and Ministry of Pacific People into larger ministries.

In 2023, the ACT Party had campaigned on removing these ministries.

And last week, The Justice Select Committee report into four-year parliamentary terms recommended a referendum on the potential move, but had recommended some provisions of ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, be scrapped.

These provisions include an incoming government only being allowed a four-year term if the government agreed to give the opposition the majority in the select committee. This would mean that some governments would be three-terms, and some would be four terms.

For our weekly catchup with ACT MP Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about all these topics, starting with Todd Stephenson’s members bill.

Content Warning: This story mentions Image Based Sexual Abuse.

An open letter signed by over 20 AI experts has been sent to the government, expressing the urgent need for AI regulation in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The letter points to low trust, as well as potential harms of AI, as serious issues that need to be addressed. The experts have called for regulations and guardrails to support regulatory confidence and innovation, and reduce harm from deepfakes, fraud, and environmental costs, among others.

Producer Alex spoke to The University of Canterbury’s Dr Cassandra Mudgway about how unregulated AI enables gendered harm against women and vulnerable demographics through Deepfakes and other AI.

A select committee report has recommended going ahead with a referendum on four-year Parliament terms.

Māori health providers have brought a case to the High Court asking for a declaration of inconsistency between the Government's disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

And the Public Service Commissioner, Sir Brian Roche, is currently considering a “major shakeup” of several ministries, including those for Women, Pacific Peoples, Disabled People, and Māori Development.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, regular Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.