The Wire with Max

Ukraine won’t be intimidated by Russia following a wave of missile strikes on urban populations this week, that is according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russian strikes targeted the country’s capital Kyiv, as well as in other civilian centres, in what Russian President Vladimir Putin calls ‘retaliation’ for an explosion over the weekend that damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge between Russia and Crimea.

To discuss these recent escalations, Emilia Sullivan spoke to Professor Robert Patman from the University of Otago.

The National party is proposing a set of tax cuts should it get into government next year. These cuts would index tax brackets to inflation but also reduce the overall tax burden of top earners in particular, raising many concerns about a similar scheme which was recently walked back in the UK after causing economic damage and drawing warnings from the IMF.

For Casper's weekly catchup with National MP Dr Shane Reti he asked him about the tax cuts, as well as a call he’s put forward as the party’s health spokesperson to increase free breast cancer screening up to the age of 74.

Streaming, or putting students into high, middle, or low ability groups, is a common practice in schools across Aotearoa. 

In theory, streaming matches students’ needs to the appropriate resources and attention from teachers, but in reality, it can be discriminatory and lead to low self esteem. 

Christina spoke to Dr David Pomeroy, a University of Canterbury education lecturer, and Caitlin Soulsby, the head of Maths at Mana College, about what streaming actually means for rangatahi in Aotearoa.

US President Biden announced last Friday he would be pardoning thousands of cannabis possession charges, signalling a change of course in drug policy from the home of the War on Drugs, and a path towards decriminalisation of cannabis in the States. 

Cannabis has been completely banned in Aotearoa since 1961 after the signing of the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs, a treaty pushed heavily by the US. Between 1980 and 2022, over 120,000 people have been convicted of cannabis use or possession. In the wake of Biden’s announcement, the New Zealand Drug Foundation has renewed calls for reform and launched a petition calling on the government to decriminalise cannabis and pardon possession charges.

Spike Keith spoke to New Zealand Drug Foundation Executive Director Sarah Helm about the effects of cannabis criminalisation here, and what decriminalisation would look like.