The Wire with Castor

This week on the Tuesday Wire...

For Dear Science this week, our expert Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about the Nobel prize winners. 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Katie Nimon about overhauling the emergency management system and the government’s climate targets.

They also spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, George Laking, one of the authors of Te Meu o Te Wai, a report looking into the outcomes of Cyclone Gabrielle and making recommendations to the government. 

And they spoke to Dorothy Wilson from the Stickered Area Residents Group about how people on the ground are still responding to cyclone damage.

On the Green Desk this week we heard the second half of our reporter Jack Marshall’s chat with Spinoff Wellington editor Joel McManus about how things are going in the Big Apple of Aotearoa.

A year and a half ago Cyclone Gabrielle made landfall, thrashing the North Island with widespread damage. 

The disaster left many without a home, and over a year on houses are still red stickered, people are left waiting for insurance assessments, and climate change is still causing extreme climate events. 

Earlier this month the Otago region was affected by major flooding, damaging homes and other community centres. 

Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, George Laking says that extreme weather events like these impact people’s homes, whānau and livelihoods, and in the wake of them it’s paramount to consider people’s mental health. 

Following Cyclone Gabrielle, Laking identified five key health priorities that should be prioritised in natural disaster responses. 

Producer Evie spoke to Laking about these responses, how they related to Cyclone Gabrielle, and how they could be better applied in the wake of the Otago floods. 

New Zealand is currently facing its highest numbers of whooping cough cases since early 2019, with 187 cases being reported in September, more than double the cases that were reported in August.

The spike has resulted in Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora to say that  Aotearoa is “on the cusp” of a national outbreak.

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand has since called for urgent action regarding the concerning rise in the infection.

Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Chief Executive of the foundation, Letitia Harding, about the rise in cases, and how we can tackle the rising cases.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to Tess Ingram, a UNICEF Global Spokesperson, about UNICEF’s work to deliver aid in Lebanon amongst bombings. Ingram has spent recent months in Gaza, and is now on the ground in Beirut.