The Wire with Oto

During Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s visit to the United States, he spoke to several leaders and figures about New Zealand’s relationship with the country. Particularly, he spoke about further aligning and the potential for Aotearoa to join AUKUS. 

In response, former Prime Minister Helen Clark and her political rival Don Brash released statements criticising the move, particularly for its potential impact on Aotearoa’s relationship with China.  

Wire host Castor spoke to Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland and Director of the China Studies Centre in the New Zealand Asia Institute, Stephen Noakes, about Aotearoa’s relationship with each of these countries, their value, and how it can be preserved moving forward.

On July 1st, the excise tax on heated tobacco products (or HTPs) was dropped unannounced by fifty percent. 

Speaking on the change, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello sez the reduction will help the government test the effectiveness of HTPs as a tool to help people quit smoking. 

However, given Costello’s previous parroting of tobacco industry talking points, there are worries that this change could also be coming from industry backed research. In addition, the scientific research to support the use of HTPs is slim to nonexistent. 

Wire host Castor to professor of public health at the University of Otago and co-director of the Aspire Aotearoa Research Centre, Janet Hoek, about heated tobacco products and the evidence to support them.

On Wednesday the 17th of July, the government opened submissions on the second Emissions Reduction Plan.

The Emissions Reduction Plan outlines the steps the government intends to take to meet its emission budgets.

This second Emissions Reduction Plan will lay out the government’s climate plans from 2026-2030.

The plan includes initiatives such as setting a target of 10,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030, investigating carbon capture and storage, and improving organic waste and landfill gas capture.

However, the draft has received criticism from climate experts for not being ambitious enough in it’s initiatives to reduce emissions.

Producer Josef spoke with Ralph Sims, Professor Emeritus of Sustainable Energy and Climate Mitigation at Massey University, about the draft plan and how he thinks the plan will impact Aotearoa’s emissions reduction efforts.

For more information on the plan and to have your say, you can go to consult.environment.govt.nz, submissions close on the 21st August 2024.

In breaking news early this morning, President Joe Biden stepped down as the democratic candidate in the election race. It comes following mounting concern around Biden’s age and competence to serve another term as President, as well as a campaign from the party itself for the President to step back. 

Now, only three and half months out from election day the democrats must pick a new candidate, likely to be Vice-President, Kamala Harris. 

Producer Evie spoke to Geopolitical Analyst from the University of Otago, Geoffrey Miller, about what happens next and what effect this will have on the democrats chances of staying in office. We also talk about what impact the result of the election will have here in Aotearoa, as well as on the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.