The Wire with Sara

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin chats with us about food waste and strategies for limiting food waste and E.coli being used to create rainbow dye.

Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!

Christmas Lights at MOTAT - experience Auckland’s most magical Christmas lights - heritage trams, festive music, Santa visits, and thousands of sparkling lights Tickets at motat.nz 

The government has recently announced some major reforms to how regional councils operate, with regional councillors proposed to be replaced by boards made up of city and regional mayors, and potentially even Crown-appointed representatives, called combined territories boards, or CTBs.

The ‘shake-up’ of regional councils has left concerns that the move would water down environmental regulations at a local level, reduce Māori and iwi voices in decision making, and would result in central government overreaching into local politics.

As well as this, Parliament’s Justice Committee has recommended passing the Electoral Amendment Bill, albeit with some amendments

For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about both of these topics, starting with the changes to regional councils.

This month, the government will begin a roll out of roadside drug testing, starting in Wellington. The move is aimed at tackling road safety concerns around the impairment of drivers on substances such as marijuana, methamphetamine, Cocaine, and MDMA, among others.

While this aim is noble, concerns have been raised over the effectiveness of these tests at controlling impairment – compared to alcohol, Marijuana remains detectable in the system for far longer, raising concerns for those using medical marijuana, and potentially those using New Zealand's most common illicit drug.

Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to a Research Fellow at the department of primary healthcare and rural health at the Dunedin School of Medicine, Dr Geoffrey Noller, about this testing, and what problems around impairment and drug usage remain.

Bay of Plenty Reggae festival One Love have announced their 2026 cancellation earlier this week, citing the ongoing cost of living crisis and unforeseen behind-the-scenes developments as the reason why. Speculation around the cancellation continues to tie the festival's legacy to its previous promoter and founder, Pato Alvarez, following his sex offending conviction in 2023.

Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to musician and sound engineer Lora Thomson, about what the cancellation of the festival indicates for Aotearoa’s live music scene, and the accessibility of venues and touring circuits for musicians in Aotearoa.