The Wire with Justin Wong

First Union and E Tū are filing a case to the employment court to advocate for better rights for Uber drivers. The current system, where drivers are contractors rather than workers, means drivers are not entitled to rights such as sick leave, holiday pay or a guaranteed minimum wage.

Noah Ferguson-Dudding spoke to Anita Rosentreter from First Union about why the unions are going to court. Noah also spoke to Mea'ole Keil, a Wellington-based Uber driver who is also advocating for change.

This week, Ilena spoke with several people about conversion therapy and queerness in the Church, off the back of announcements made today solidifying the details of the conversion therapy ban legislation in NZ.

For those who might not have heard of the practise, conversion therapy is the- now widely considered- pseudoscientific practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity to heterosexual or cisgender, using psychological, physical, or spiritual interventions. There is no clear evidence that sexual orientation can be changed, and medical institutions warn that conversion therapy practices are ineffective and harmful.

The government has pledged to ban conversion therapy by the end of the year, and announced today that they will criminalise conversion therapy with a maximum of five years imprisonment facing those who cause “serious harm”.

Ilena spoke to Neill Balantyne from Diverse Church, an LGBTQ+ affirming New Zealand church group, about the latest updates to the legislation on the conversion therapy ban.

Charlotte Moffat had some interesting things to say on growing up as a Christian and still identifying as a Christian, despite recognising, in some respects, a lack of transparency and openness towards queerness in the Church.  

Lastly, Ilena spoke with Steph Edlin, a former Head Girl of St Catherine's College and a candidate for the next Wellington City Council.

International Desk reports on Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissing the government and dissolved parliament after anti-governments against Covid-19 handling, economic depression, and poverty.

Mariam Ben Slama is a masters student from the Paris Institute of Political Science.  She spoke to Justin from the city of Sousse.

The Commerce Commission released a draft report analysing competition within the grocery sector. The initial findings are not promising for the consumer, highlighting a lack of competition leading to high prices and a smaller range of products. Conor first spoke to students about their experiences with grocery shopping, seeing what the current consumer attitudes are towards groceries. Conor then interviewed Senior Lecturer Dr. Bodo Lang of the University of Auckland for a deeper analysis on the report, touching on problems, solutions, and government possibilities.