The Wire with Oto

Student-led Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been taking place at multiple Universities in the US, with encampments being set up on campus grounds.

Protesters are calling on their universities to divest investments supporting Israel, which United Nations experts and humanitarian organisations say is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. 

Videos have shown hundreds of students and faculty members being forcefully arrested, including Columbia University in New York and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), and students have been threatened with suspension if they do not vacate encampments.

News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Senior Lecturer of Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland, Dr Maria Armoudian about this.

The fast track approvals bill is a planned piece of legislation that aims to cut through existing consent processes for several future works. These developments include bridges, roads, and drilling, which each could infringe on conservation or protected land.

The bill has been met with backlash from members of the public, who up until the 19th of April have been able to make submissions on the bill as it goes through the select committee process. Criticisms and protests against the bill have continued in recent weeks, with many claiming that it undermines democracy and allows members of parliament to circumvent conservation laws or expert advice. 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s James Meager, Wire host Castor asked him about the Fast Track Approvals Bill: whether his opinions have changed since the last time I interviewed him, how this bill affects New Zealand’s democracy, and the overall theme of urgency we’ve been seeing with the current government.

Last week, National MP Melissa Lee was demoted from Cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio. National’s Penny Simmonds was also taken off the Disability Issues portfolio.

This comes after Lee faced criticism for her response to Warner Brothers Discovery announcing it would be shutting down Newshub and Simmonds apologising for mishandling the announcement of changes to purchasing rules for disabled people's equipment and support services.

News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to PhD Candidate in New Zealand Politics at the University of Otago, Michael Derek Swanson, about this cabinet reshuffle and the public response to it.

She started off the interview asking Swanson about Lee and Simmonds time in their various roles. 

In the later half of 2023, the University of Auckland announced rent increases of more than 8% at their halls of residence. The University justified this as a necessary measure, caused by the impacts of inflation

However, students bearing the full brunt of the rent increase said the University’s decision to increase rent and subsequent explanation were unacceptable, pointing out that inflation rates only increased by 5.6%, and that the increases would make the cost of living unaffordable for a large number of students living at the halls of residence. 

This prompted a number of students to form a “Students for Fair Rent”, a group advocating for rental rates at the University of Auckland to be made more affordable by matching rental rates to inflation rates and the average cost of housing in Central Auckland. 

In August last year, Students for Fair Rent organised a petition on change.org that received 1500 signatures, urging the University of Auckland to lower the cost of living which the University of Auckland reportedly ignored.

Last week, on the 19th of April, Students for Fair Rent held a rally on Campus calling for a rent strike as a last resort protest against the cost of living at the halls and the University’s dismissal. 

95bFM News Reporters, Shane and Oto, went down to the rally and spoke to Matthew Lee, the founder of Students for Fair Rent, as well as Green Party Co-Leader Chloe Swarbrick, to discuss call for a rent strike.