The Wire with Oto

There are at least 150,000 children in Aotearoa living under the poverty line who come from households dependent on government assistance schemes like Working for Families. 

However, as Susan St John, associate professor in economics at the University of Auckland Business School and spokesperson for Child Poverty Action group, said in a recent newsroom article, there are barriers in accessing support schemes for low-income families not found in those aimed at Kiwis over the age of 65, such as the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. 

Oto had a chat with Susan about the state of government assistance for low-income families in New Zealand, and why she believes it’s better to be old than young if you’re poor in New Zealand.

For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about: 

• The government’s decision to boost Pharmac Funding
• The introducing of a new Sentencing Category for Young Offenders
• And the implementation of check-in requirements for those on the Jobseeker Benefit.

He also spoke to Susan St John from the University of Auckland to talk about assistance gaps in the Working for Families Scheme

And he speak to Paula Lorgelly, also from the University of Auckland, for her perspective on the government’s recent Pharmac funding announcement.

Rawan spoke to Bianca Ranson from Forest and Bird about The Hauraki gulf protection bill being recommended to parliament in its entirety.

And spoke to Aaron Hendry from Kickback about a Petition of his against the government's new Ram-raid Bill.

As part of their pledge to fund 13 new cancer drugs the coalition government has given Pharmac at least $600 million.

This is welcome news to the 330,000 patients that are currently on the waiting list for medicines on Pharmac’s Options for Investment List.

I spoke to the chair of Patient Voice Aotearoa about the current state of Pharmac’s process, funding and what other reforms are needed on top of the recent changes. 

Patient Voice Aotearoa is a collective of patients, caregivers, whanau, advocates and charitable organisations that campaign for the rights of New Zealand patients.

I began by asking about the state of Pharmac funding prior to the developments.

For Dear Science this week, we chatted to Professor Allan Blackman chats to us about the environmental impact of green hydrogen, chimpanzees using drugs, and the 3 Nobel laureates born today. 

Wire host Castor spoke to the National Party’s Tom Rutherford about the government’s proposed military style bootcamps for youth offenders and public sector job cuts. 

Castor also spoke to chief executive of the Breast Cancer Foundation, Ah-Leen Rayner, about the government’s cancer drug announcements and what they mean for cancer patients. 

Producer Elle spoke to the Chair of Patient Voice Aotearoa, Malcolm Mulholland about Pharmac’s recent funding for cancer medication.