The Wire with Castor

The government has proposed to reverse changes made to increase Māori representation in local government by reverting the Māori ward rules  to restore the referendum mechanism. 

This would mean if any council wanted to establish a Māori ward, and a petition that had been signed by 5% of people was presented, a binding referendum would have to be held. 

Additionally, the bill requires that all the councils that created Māori wards since 2021 have to hold a poll about whether to keep them at the 2025 local elections, with the results of the poll to be binding and come into force in 2028. 

ActionStation has released a report, ‘Protect Māori Wards’, which has gathered the stories of over 200 community members on their experiences of Māori wards. 

Host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to ActionStation director, Kassie Hartendorp (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), about what the report found, why Māori wards are important, and the government’s proposed changes for Māori wards more generally.

Last week United States bank Wells Fargo made headlines for firing a dozen employees who were caught faking working from home.

Wells Fargo has started monitoring employees' computers which showed software being used to establish fake activity from employees’ computers.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to the University of Auckland’s Dr Emmy van Esch about this Wells Fargo example and the ethics of monitoring employees' computers more generally.

The rising cost of living in Aotearoa is pushing many families out of cities and bringing them to smaller rural communities and towns. 

The influx of new residents and housing developments in these areas is having a massive impact on the schools and teachers within those communities, reshaping the identity of the schools and the way they structure themselves. 

Oto spoke to Dr Jennifer Tatebe, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, to discuss the impacts of urbanisation on rural schools.

This week is scrutiny week in Parliament. This is a chance for the opposition to question relevant Ministers about the budget in select committees, and for the public to see the inner workings of government questioned in an accessible way. 

Some of the headlines to have come out of this week include discussions of New Zealand failing to uphold climate commitments, supporting media, and what makes this country liveable in light of the high numbers of New Zealanders moving overseas.

For our weekly catch-up with Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March Wire host Caeden asks about all these topics. 

They started by asking about what scrutiny week means.