The Wire with Castor

Last week, the government announced its plan for the next Resource Management Act amendment bill.

The Resource Management Act seeks to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources including land, water, and air. 

As part of the first changes being made, farming, mining and other industrial regulations are being scrapped or amended. 

In response, Greenpeace has criticised the repeal of intensive winter grazing regulations and revision of Te Mana o Te Wai, highlighting concerns for the protection of freshwater and the health of rural communities. 

Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to the Head of Campaigns for Greenpeace Aotearoa, Amanda Larsson, about these changes, and the consequences they will have on our environment and access to safe drinking water in rural areas.

She started off the interview asking Larsson what the hierarchy of obligations under Te Mana o Te Wai are.

Last week, National MP Melissa Lee was demoted from Cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio. National’s Penny Simmonds was also taken off the Disability Issues portfolio.

This comes after Lee faced criticism for her response to Warner Brothers Discovery announcing it would be shutting down Newshub and Simmonds apologising for mishandling the announcement of changes to purchasing rules for disabled people's equipment and support services.

News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to PhD Candidate in New Zealand Politics at the University of Otago, Michael Derek Swanson, about this cabinet reshuffle and the public response to it.

She started off the interview asking Swanson about Lee and Simmonds time in their various roles. 

In the later half of 2023, the University of Auckland announced rent increases of more than 8% at their halls of residence. The University justified this as a necessary measure, caused by the impacts of inflation

However, students bearing the full brunt of the rent increase said the University’s decision to increase rent and subsequent explanation were unacceptable, pointing out that inflation rates only increased by 5.6%, and that the increases would make the cost of living unaffordable for a large number of students living at the halls of residence. 

This prompted a number of students to form a “Students for Fair Rent”, a group advocating for rental rates at the University of Auckland to be made more affordable by matching rental rates to inflation rates and the average cost of housing in Central Auckland. 

In August last year, Students for Fair Rent organised a petition on change.org that received 1500 signatures, urging the University of Auckland to lower the cost of living which the University of Auckland reportedly ignored.

Last week, on the 19th of April, Students for Fair Rent held a rally on Campus calling for a rent strike as a last resort protest against the cost of living at the halls and the University’s dismissal. 

95bFM News Reporters, Shane and Oto, went down to the rally and spoke to Matthew Lee, the founder of Students for Fair Rent, as well as Green Party Co-Leader Chloe Swarbrick, to discuss call for a rent strike.

In early April, Christopher Luxon and David Seymour addressed journalists with promises of several policies aimed at reducing absences in public schools. 

These policies join other policies introduced by the current government, such as the school cellphone ban and ban on disposable vapes, which hope to improve education outcomes in our schools and increase attendance. 

Additionally, the government recently announced 565 job cuts in the Ministry of Education, including some currently vacant roles, in part of their larger move to cut costs across all ministries. 

Wire host Castor spoke to the president of the Secondary Principals Association NZ and principal of Papatoetoe highschool, Vaughan Couillault, about these changes and how they affect teachers on the ground in Aotearoa.