The Wire with Oto

The government announced cancer drug funding on Monday, which was met with support from the Breast Cancer foundation, who say the funding will significantly benefit those currently struggling with cancer. 

The announcement was met with some criticism, as it was a campaign promise for the National party last year, but was absent in last month’s budget. This led to some uncertainty around how the funding would be provided if at all. 

Wire host Castor spoke to chief executive of the Breast Cancer Foundation, Ah-Leen Rayner about the funding, how it will benefit patients, and potential improvements for the future.

For their weekly catch up, producer Evie spoke to the ACT Party's Simon Court about the government’s failure to deliver on the promised funding for cancer drugs, and the ACT party’s views on politicians involvement with Pharmac. They also talk about the party’s policy surrounding social media, as old concerns arise surrounding party leader David Seymour’s use of Snapchat. 

Host Sofia speaks to the director for ActionStation, Kassie Hartendorp, about a new report by ActionStation called ‘Protect Māori Wards’ and the government’s proposal to reverse changes made to increase Māori representation in local government by reverting the Māori ward rules to restore the referendum mechanism.

Evie also caught up with Students for Fair Rent organiser, Matthew Lee, about the decision to end their month long rent strike at the University of Auckland, and what actions the group plans to take next. 

And Sofia spoke to Dr Ritesh Shah, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland about the global refugee crisis, in light of the United Nations Refugee Agency reporting 117.3 million people being forcibly displaced in 2023 - a record high. 

Whakarongo tonu mai!

The government has proposed to reverse changes made to increase Māori representation in local government by reverting the Māori ward rules  to restore the referendum mechanism. 

This would mean if any council wanted to establish a Māori ward, and a petition that had been signed by 5% of people was presented, a binding referendum would have to be held. 

Additionally, the bill requires that all the councils that created Māori wards since 2021 have to hold a poll about whether to keep them at the 2025 local elections, with the results of the poll to be binding and come into force in 2028. 

ActionStation has released a report, ‘Protect Māori Wards’, which has gathered the stories of over 200 community members on their experiences of Māori wards. 

Host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to ActionStation director, Kassie Hartendorp (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), about what the report found, why Māori wards are important, and the government’s proposed changes for Māori wards more generally.

The rising cost of living in Aotearoa is pushing many families out of cities and bringing them to smaller rural communities and towns. 

The influx of new residents and housing developments in these areas is having a massive impact on the schools and teachers within those communities, reshaping the identity of the schools and the way they structure themselves. 

Oto spoke to Dr Jennifer Tatebe, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, to discuss the impacts of urbanisation on rural schools.