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New report highlights poor state of New Zealand drinking water w/ Greenpeace Aotearoa's Will Applebe: 2 July, 2025

New report highlights poor state of New Zealand drinking water w/ Greenpeace Aotearoa's Will Applebe: 2 July, 2025 New report highlights poor state of New Zealand drinking water w/ Greenpeace Aotearoa's Will Applebe: 2 July, 2025, 18.48 MB
Wed 2 Jul 2025

Recently, the Water Services Authority published their Taumata Arowai report analysing the state of drinking water safety.

The report found that seven registered water supplies exceeded levels of nitrate contamination, carrying possible risks of increased risk of preterm birth and other health conditions for a number of rural communities in the North Island.

Oto spoke with Greenpeace Aotearoa’s Freshwater Spokesperson - Will Applebe who says that the contamination of water supplies, largely caused by industrial agricultural output, is linked to the government’s removal of freshwater protections and their planned changes to the Resource Management Act.

Weekly Catchup w/ The Green Party's Ricardo Menendez-March: 2 July, 2025

Weekly Catchup w/ The Green Party's Ricardo Menendez-March: 2 July, 2025 Weekly Catchup w/ The Green Party's Ricardo Menendez-March: 2 July, 2025, 22.88 MB
Wed 2 Jul 2025

Last week it was revealed that the government had withdrawn New Zealand from the Beyond Oil and Gas alliance, an international coalition dedicated to phasing out the use of fossil fuels.

This was confirmed by climate change minister Simon Watts, who said that the exit from the alliance was prompted by the government’s repeal of the oil and gas exploration ban.

In that same week, Immigration minister Erica Stanford recently announced that the government was looking to electronically monitor some asylum seekers and migrants, in preparation for mass arrivals of asylum seekers by plane.

And, just recently, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith introduced a number of sentencing reforms that included capping the discounts judges can give to offenders and treating one-punch attacks as separate offenses.

For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issue.

How Does The Weight-Loss Drug, Wegovy, Impact Obesity in Aotearoa W/ Boyd Swinburn: July 02, 2025

How Does The Weight-Loss Drug, Wegovy, Impact Obesity in Aotearoa W/ Boyd Swinburn: July 02, 2025 How Does The Weight-Loss Drug, Wegovy, Impact Obesity in Aotearoa W/ Boyd Swinburn: July 02, 2025, 18.68 MB
Wed 2 Jul 2025

Wegovy, also known as Ozempic when marketed in lower doses, is a weight-loss drug that is already making headlines globally, and now as of the 1st of July, it’s available for prescription in Aotearoa.

Given that New Zealand is currently ranked 31st in the world for obesity rates, according to The World Obesity Federation, some experts believe Wegovy could have a major impact on obesity levels nationwide. Especially if it were to become publicly funded.

To talk about why the drug isn’t publicly funded at the moment, and what kind of impact Wegovy could have on obesity in Aotearoa, Producer Max spoke with Boyd Swinburn, Professor of Population, Nutrition and Global Health at the University of Auckland.

Healthy Homes Standards Have Arrived w/ Bill McKay: July 02, 2025

Healthy Homes Standards Have Arrived W/ Bill McKay: July 02, 2025 Healthy Homes Standards Have Arrived W/ Bill McKay: July 02, 2025, 16.82 MB
Wed 2 Jul 2025

As of the 1st of July 2025, the Healthy Homes standards have kicked in. This requires all rental properties to meet the regulations, designed to improve renters’ health, by preventing damp, mouldy and cold conditions.

Now that the final deadline has passed, landlords who fail to comply with the standards could face fines of up to $7200. The only problem is who might be regulating them…

To break down what this means for renters, landlords and the wider housing sector, Producer Max spoke to Bill McKay, from the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.

New NIWA-led research on carbon dioxide w/ Forest and Bird's Dean Baigent-Mercer: 1 July, 2025

New NIWA-led research on carbon dioxide w/ Forest and Bird's Dean Baigent-Mercer: 1 July, 2025 New NIWA-led research on carbon dioxide w/ Forest and Bird's Dean Baigent-Mercer: 1 July, 2025, 8.62 MB
Tue 1 Jul 2025

Recently, new NIWA-led research has shown that Aotearoa’s native forest’s are absorbing substantially more carbon dioxide than previously thought.

This has raised concerns that the government is not doing enough to regulate pests that are harming native forest carbon sinks.

News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the Northland Regional Manager for Forest and Bird, Dean Baigent-Mercer, about this, and what the government is doing regarding these concerns.

The Wire w/ Joel: 1 July, 2025

The Wire w/ Joel: 1 July, 2025 The Wire w/ Joel: 1 July, 2025, 83.31 MB
Tue 1 Jul 2025

This week on the Tuesday Wire:

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chats  about the importance of uranium 235, thanks to MOTAT.

In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Tuesday Wire Host Castor asks about New Zealand’s exit from the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, and new systems in place for ADHD diagnosis.

News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to Make It 16 member, and Youth MP for Ilam, Sam Allan, about a majority of Youth MPs backing calls to lower the voting age in both local and general elections.

And Joel speaks to the Northland Regional Manager for Forest and Bird, Dean Baigent-Mercer, about a recently conducted NIWA-led study that shows Aotearoa’s native forests are absorbing substantially more carbon dioxide than previously thought.

Whakarongo mai!

Further calls to lower voting age w/ Make It 16's Sam Allan: 1 July, 2025

Further calls to lower voting age w/ Make It 16's Sam Allan: 1 July, 2025 Further calls to lower voting age w/ Make It 16's Sam Allan: 1 July, 2025, 6.21 MB
Tue 1 Jul 2025

A majority of Youth MPs across the political spectrum are calling for the current voting age to be decreased for local and general elections, allowing 16-and-17-year-olds the right to vote.

These Youth MPs have also signed an open-letter calling for the voting age to be lowered.

This follows the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that the current voting age of 18 discriminates against 16-and-17-year-olds, with the decision made on the grounds listed in the Human Rights ACT 1993.

A bill to allow 16-to-17-year-olds to vote in local elections had previously passed its first reading in August 2023, but was axed by the government last year.

News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Make It 16 member and Youth MP for Ilam, Sam Allan, about lowering the voting age, and what it means to have young voices represented in local and general elections.

*This caption has been edited to clarify that not all political parties had Youth MPs who had signed the open letter. NZ First Youth MPs did not sign the letter.

Meta, AI, and copyright violations w/ the University of Auckland's Joshua Yuvaraj: 30 June, 2025

Meta, AI, and copyright violations w/ the University of Auckland's Joshua Yuvaraj: 30 June, 2025 Meta, AI, and copyright violations w/ the University of Auckland's Joshua Yuvaraj: 30 June, 2025 , 11.3 MB
Mon 30 Jun 2025

Recently, Meta, the company that owns Facebook, has won a copyright case against 13 authors over the unlicensed use of their work to train Meta’s Llama AI models.

The case, referred to as Kadrey v. Meta, resulting in US District Court judge Vince Chhabria, ruling that Meta did not violate copyright law.

As this case is a first of it’s kind as AI becomes more prominent across the globe, this has raised the question of the grey area between copyright infringements and the use of AI.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Joshua Yuvaraj, a Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Auckland, about this case, and what this ruling means for the future copyright claims not only internationally, but also here in Aotearoa as well.

Healthy Homes Standards coming into effect w/ the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation's Bob Hancox: 30 June, 2025

Healthy Homes Standards coming into effect w/ the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation's Bob Hancox: 30 June, 2025 Healthy Homes Standards coming into effect w/ the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation's Bob Hancox: 30 June, 2025, 5.43 MB
Mon 30 Jun 2025

From tomorrow onwards, the Healthy Homes Standards will come into effect.

The guidelines require landlords to meet minimum standards of heating, insulation, ventilation, among other things; a law that was signed into effect in 2019.

Despite this, many are concerned that landlords can ‘self-confirm’ they meet these standards without external scrutiny.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Medical Director of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, Bob Hancox about these guidelines, and how the organisation are feeling about the standards heading into tomorrow.

The Wire w/ Joel: 30 June, 2025

The Wire w/ Joel: 30 June, 2025 The Wire w/ Joel: 30 June, 2025, 84.55 MB
Mon 30 Jun 2025

This week on the Monday Wire:

There will be no catch up with Te Pāti Māori, and for the immediate future, due to the tragic passing of our spokesperson, Takutai Kemp, last week. Our thoughts go out to her whānau, friends, loved ones, and Te Pāti Māori as a whole.

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to him about the passing of Takutai Kemp, and the Regulatory Standards Bill, specifically about David Seymour’s posts criticising individuals opposing the bill for suffering from "Regulatory Standards Derangement Syndrome".

Joel speaks to Joshua Yuvaraj, a Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Auckland, about Meta’s copyright win over 13 authors, over using the authors work to train their Llama AI models, and what this case means heading forward regarding AI and copyright infringements.

Producer Sam speaks to Saeid Baroutian, a Professor in the Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering at the University of Auckland, about a world-first study looking into electrical fires in rubbish trucks caused by improperly disposed ion-lithium batteries.

Joel speaks to the Medical Director of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, Bob Hancox, about the Healthy Homes Standards coming into effect tomorrow, and the organisation’s concerns regarding landlord’s ability to self-certify that their homes meet these guidelines.

And Sam speaks to the Regional Conservation Manager at Forest & Bird, Nicky Snoyink, about a bill in Parliament that would allow pests such as deer and tahr into our national parks.

Whakarongo mai