The Wire with Oto

On the 25th of June, our regular City Counselling guest Julie Fairey was involved in a road collision while she was biking in her local area. Fairey wrote about the close call, which she says could have been a lot worse, in a piece published in the Spinoff, as a reinvigoration of her previous advocacy around the need for road safety measures that improve how safely and efficiently Aucklanders can get around the city.

As well, this week we’ve seen the release of the State of the City report, which compares Auckland on metrics including opportunity and prosperity, culture and experience, place and connectivity, innovation and knowledge, and resilience and sustainability.
The report found that we are ‘falling behind’ other cities, with the biggest emphasis placed on our poor economic productivity in comparison with similar locations.

Producer Sara spoke with Julie Fairey about both of these topics, firstly by asking her what motivated her to write about her recent collision.

Once a beacon of democratic progress, Georgia is at risk of sliding into authoritarianism, particularly due to Russian influence. 

Six opposition leaders face criminal charges, and the major opposition parties have been banned, while “Georgia Dream”, the political party in power, faces allegations of corruption and voter fraud.

However, the party faces increasing opposition within Georgia, including mass protests over their pro-Russia laws. 

82% of Georgians feel their country is in crisis, with 78% directly citing the Georgian Dream political party as the cause. 

Wire Host Caeden spoke to Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Essex, about Georgia’s anti-democratic crackdowns and public response.

The government has announced that Te Pūkenga is set to return to ‘regional governance,’ re-establishing 10 polytechnics that were merged under the previous Labour-led government.

In 2020 under the previous Labour-led government, 16 polytechnics and nine industry training organisations were merged into the mega-institute Te Pūkenga, as a “head office”. Despite this, the polytechnics were allowed to maintain their unique images and continue operating.

Vocational Education Minister, Penny Simmonds, announced the move, to establish a vocational education system that is “locally led, regionally responsible, and future-focused”.

The move has faced backlash. The Tertiary Education Union’s national secretary, Sandra Grey, says the move would be a disaster for regional education and that the sector is being treated as a “political football”.

For our weekly catchup with the Labour Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with MP Shanon Halbert, about this move from the government.

They also discussed Te Pāti Māori members expressing concerns over Labour’s choice of running MP Peeni Henare in the upcoming Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.

Te Pāti Māori media liaison, Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, says a vote for Henare would be “wasted,” as Henare already has a seat in Parliament. She has called for people to vote for Te Pāti Māori’s candidate, Oriini Kaipara, so that there would be two Tāmaki Makaurau-based Māori MPs in Parliament.

But first, they discussed vocational education.

Extreme weather events such as the recent Tasman floods, are becoming more common in New Zealand. With that, the risk of severe flooding is only increasing.

The question is: how prepared is Aotearoa for the next severe flood and what action is needed to prepare for it? 

Producer Max spoke to Dr. Iresh Jayawardena, a lecturer in Urban Planning at the University of Auckland, to talk about New Zealand’s lack of awareness when it comes to floods and why short term planning has left many areas vulnerable to severe weather.