The Wire with Oto

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in London. Starmer thanked Aotearoa for its “support” for its “coalition of the willing” regarding safeguarding the potential peace deal being put forward by the Trump Administration.

However, concerns have been raised about what the administration is proposing, which could result in original Ukraine land annexed by Russia, such as Crimea in 2014, belonging to Moscow, and ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Host, Joel, spoke to Robert Patman, a Professor of International Relations at the University of Otago, about his article on the Conversation, discussing his concerns regarding this and how New Zealand should move forward in reiterating support for Ukraine.

*This caption has been edited to add "safeguarding" regarding Luxon and Starmer's meeting in London while discussing Ukraine and Russia.

A recent review of Pharmac, also known as Te Pātaka Whaioranga,  has found their current approach not fit for purpose, calling for an overhaul of their strategy and internal culture. 

The pharmaceutical management agency faced criticism last year as a result of a lack of credibility and inconsistency of services. 

With the proposal this week to scrap Pharmac’s Māori directorate, concerns were especially emphasised about the equitable outcomes for Maaori and Pasifika populations.

While the aim of the independent review was to look into ways to improve the services of Pharmac, it found that staff were sceptical that any meaningful changes could occur.

Producer Sara spoke with University of Auckland’s Professor of Health Economics Paula Lorgelly about the review and what changes are necessary. She started by asking about the key findings

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni about the government removing voting rights from prisoners and the strikes happening across Aotearoa for May Day today.

For International Desk, they spoke to Aleksi Toiviainen, co-organiser for Vote16 Canada and a democracy advocate, about the recent Canadian election result.  

And they spoke to University of Auckland Associate Professor Brendon Dunphy about the threats facing seabirds in Aotearoa and the recent Oceania Seabirds Symposium.

For City Counselling, Producer Sara spoke with Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson about the Waitākere Ranges management plan

She also spoke with Professor of Health Economics Paula Lorgelly about the latest review of Pharmac.

Gaza currently has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world, with over 23,000 children having sustained conflict-related injuries, and many thousands facing disabilities and needing long-term rehabilitation.

This week it was announced that UNICEF would be launching a groundbreaking project to 3D print prosthetic limbs for war-injured children in Gaza, thanks to funding from the Federation of the Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ).

To talk about this project, as well as the impacts it could have on the children in Gaza, Producer Max spoke with the Head of Communications at UNICEF Aotearoa, Tania Sawicki Mead.