The Wire with Castor

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, absent Thursday Wire Host Caeden spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about changing free speech rules for universities, the government’s increase in defence spending, and the impact of Trump’s tariffs.

For City Counselling this week, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about the the Western Springs Speedway Association launching a court battle against the council and councillors deciding what to do with vacant land from storm-affected housing.

For International Desk, Caeden spoke to Charles Hunt from Boise State University about United States Senator Cory Booker’s record-breaking 25-hour filibuster. 

And Caeden spoke to Lara Greaves (Ngāpuhi, Pākehā, Tararā) from the Victoria University of Wellington about research into the high levels of harassment and abuse that female MPs face.

For their weekly catchup w/ the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March, Oto spoke to him about the Justice Committees recommendations for the treaty principles bill, the $12 billion boost to the New Zealand Defence Force and Donald Trump’s Tariffs on New Zealand

He spoke to Valerie Morse from Peace Action Wellington for a follow up conversation on the government’s boost to the defence budget.

And he spoke to Shaun Awatere, Kaihautū Māori Research Impact Leader at Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, about the state of the environment report released by the Ministry for the environment.

Max spoke to the Director of the Otago Paleo Genetics Lab at the University of Otago, Nic Rawlence, about the supposed “de-extinction” of the Dire Wolf, and the ethics of bringing back extinct species.

For this week’s Green Desk, Producer Sara spoke to Rongoā Māori expert kuia Donna Kerridge, on her upcoming EcoFest 2025 event into understanding Māori medicine.

Just Yesterday, the Ministry for the Environment released their Our environment 2025 report, highlighting the impacts of land use on the ecosystem of Aotearoa.

The report revealed that between 75-95% of Taonga birds, reptiles, frogs and freshwater fish species were at risk of extinction or being threatened and that a significant proportion of groundwater had accumulated excess nitrate due to activities such as intensive farming, logging and urbanisation.

These findings also paint a grave picture for te iwi Māori and tangata whenua, whose livelihoods and mana whenua are also threatened by the extinction of native species and degradation of land.

Oto spoke to Shaun Awatere, a Kaihautū Māori Research Impact Leader and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, about the findings from the Ministry for the Environment’s recent report and the initiatives led by Iwi and Hapu to address it.

A new report has highlighted the pressure major infrastructure projects are putting on local businesses and communities.

The research from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research shows short-term disruptions are being felt across the country: from Auckland’s City Rail Link to Wellington’s ‘Let’s Get Wellington Moving’ and CBD upgrades in Tauranga and Dunedin.

While it’s widely accepted that Aotearoa needs to invest in infrastructure to futureproof the economy, Retail NZ says more support is needed to help businesses get through the long and often disruptive construction periods.

Producer Amani spoke to Retail NZ’s Chief Executive Carolyn Young to find out more on this.

This description has been edited to add clarification that the work in the report was undertaken as a part of the New Zealand Institute of Economics's (NZIER) Public Good Programme, and has not been funded by Retail NZ.