The Wire with Oto

Among the various inquiries into the government’s response to last year's Auckland Anniversary and Cyclone Gabrielle flooding was Te Weu me Te Wai, a report assessing the floods' impact on marginalised communities and identifying potential changes the government could make.

Wire host Castor spoke to Associate Professor George Laking, one of the report’s authors, about the issues with the current system and the report’s recommendations.

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. 

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden speaks to Carmel Sepuloni about the sunken naval ship Manawanui and the projects chosen to be fast tracked.

For States of the States this week they speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about recent political events at Yale and the political response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

They speak to Student Justice for Palestine organisers and protest attendees about yesterday’s Auckland universities rally for Palestine.

And they speak to Tessa Ingram, Global UNICEF spokesperson, about their efforts to supply aid in Lebanon.

For City Counselling this week, Sofia speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about Auckland Council’s stance on Israel’s war on Gaza, in light of a year since October 7th. 

For States of the States, she also speaks to honorary academic at the University of Auckland Faculty of Science and climate scientist Dr Kevin Trenberth about recent and current hurricanes in Florida.

For State of the States, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about recent events on the Yale campus and the political implications of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. 

Sofia also spoke to honorary academic at the University of Auckland Faculty of Science and climate scientist Dr Kevin Trenberth about the science behind these hurricanes.