The Wire with Manny

Two weeks ago, 1News aired a story discussing the fact that gang members in New Zealand now outnumber police officers. The story was aired the same day as the government released data showing that the number of victims of violent crime has decreased. 

After the releases, Police Minister Mark Mitchell complained on Facebook that on the same day as the government announcement, 1News ran a story seemingly with a contrary argument. Later in the week, 1News aired a new story discussing the decrease in victims of violent crime. 

After the first story was aired, Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith confirmed he had called the journalist to share his thoughts. He then was called by TVNZ’s board chair, Andrew Barclay, where he says they discussed a range of matters, including the story.

The situation has drawn criticism from some, who say it could indicate biased reporting by 1News. To discuss the situation and the importance of independent journalism to a democracy, News Director Castor spoke to Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies at Auckland University of Technology, Gregory Treadwell.

The New Zealand Government is currently in talks with officials from the United States (US) about a new border security agreement that would allow New Zealanders' biometric information to be handed over to the US government. 

The new agreement could give the United States full automated access to New Zealand's national databases.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to the chair of the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties, Thomas Beagle, about this issue.

Late last year, the High Court ruled against the Ministry of Social Development on one of their practices in recovering welfare payments. MSD had, for the last twenty years, required that successful ACC claimants pay back any supplementary assistance they had received while waiting for their claim to be resolved, such as through the accommodation supplement. 

This approach would often mean claimants would be left with a significantly reduced payout, and even debt.

Last month, the government began passing legislation that would retroactively make these practices legal, slashing any hopes of forgiving the outstanding debts that were - until recently - unlawful.

The Social Security (Accident Compensation and Calculation of Weekly Income) Amendment Bill has been pushed through parliament in urgency, limiting scrutiny. However, despite a narrow timeframe to submit on the select committee, over eight hundred responses were received.

Producer Theo spoke to Dr Susan St John, Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Auckland - and one of the submitters to the bill’s select committee - about the consequences this legislation will have.

Despite being at the backbone of our health system, primary care in Aotearoa is facing unprecedented struggles.That's according to a recent study looking at six wealthy countries healthcare systems, including New Zealand's.

An Increasing shortage of GP's, with the marjority of the workforce planning to retire in the next 10 years, an ageing population of patients, along with outdated and disconnected degital systems hampering the streamline transfer of patients between health organisations is putting unprecedented strain on the system, increasing wait times, and worsining outcomes.

To discuss their study and dig into their solutions I spoke to one of the study's researchers, Professor Felicity Goodyear-Smith from the Department of General Practice and Primary Healthcare.