The Wire with Oto

For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the party’s upcoming Special General Meeting to discuss using the Waka Jumping Legislation to remove former MP Darleen Tana from Parliament. They also spoke about Nicola Willis’s announcement to clamp down on public sector Work From Home Arrangements and Minister for Social Development Louise Upston rejecting suggestions for a $3 billion investment to fix child poverty

He spoke to Dr Paula O’Kane from the University of Otago for an expert’s perspective on Nicola Willis’s Work from Home proposals

He spoke to Shohil Kishore from the University of Auckland to discuss a study he conducted evaluating the role of social media in mental health discussions during the Pandemic.

And he spoke to Dr Chris Wilson, also from the University of Auckland, to discuss the release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens from captivity by the West Papuan Liberation Army, as well as the conflict itself in West Papua.

Sasha spoke to professor of Business and Economics Robert MacCulloch from the University of Auckland about the United State’s Federal Reserve rate cut putting pressure on RBNZ.

And for this week’s Get Action! Sasha spoke to Dave Macpherson from The Future is Rail about a petition he started to ensure replacement Cook Strait ferries can carry trains.

Discussions on mental health and wellbeing became a focal point during the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people around the world being confined to their homes during lockdown and having both their social lives and self-autonomy restricted and changed.

However, for many, the period of time in lockdown was an important period of introspection, and so the time spent at home allowed for key discussions about mental health to be held on social media platforms such as X, formerly twitter.

Forwarding to the present day, a team of researchers from the University of Auckland conducted a study evaluating how social media platforms were used during and how they played a key role in facilitating discussions on mental health.

In line with mental health awareness week, Oto spoke to Shohil Kishore, a researcher in the Business School of the University of Auckland who conducted the study, who I also spoke with about the role social media platforms played in facilitating mental health discussions.

Recently, the United States Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by 50 basis points, citing signs of economic slowdown and lowering inflation rates. This decision, although overseas, is heavily connected to New Zealand as almost all state economies are tied to the United States. Following this decision, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand may choose to follow in the same footsteps.

This decision may reduce or slow the current recession, which New Zealand is already in the midst of, worse than the two-thousand and eight financial crisis. However, the odds of igniting consumer price may also increase leading to asset inflation additionally increasing.

Sasha spoke to professor of Business and Economics Robert MacCulloch from the University of Auckland about a deeply complicated issue, which affects all New Zealanders.

This week on the Tuesday Wire...

For Dear Science our expert Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted to us about pandas eating better in the past than they do now, using light to spot COVID, and separating liquids using other liquids.

In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Katie Nimon about hospitality spending and the potential for a four-year parliamentary term. 

They also spoke to general manager of the Restaurant Association, Nicola Waldren, about hospitality spending in Aotearoa and what more the government could do. 

And on the Green Desk, Jack Marshall spoke to lecturer of sustainable architecture at AUT, Priscilla Besen, about solutions to Aotearoa’s energy crisis.