The Wire with Joel

This week on the Tuesday Wire...

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Doctor Cushla McGoverin, talked to us about using glowing gel to improve surgery, using rats to sniff out contraband wildlife, and how parrots change their plumage. 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to MP Katie Nimon about Mike King’s comments regarding alcohol and mental health, and David Seymour’s comments regarding a ban on swastikas in public. 

Wire host Castor spoke to Social Work Doctoral Candidate and addiction researcher, Suzette Jackson, about the extent of substance abuse in Aotearoa and how it affects our most vulnerable populations. 

Producer Josef spoke to Nadia Abu-Shanab, an organiser of the Don’t Bank on Apartheid Campaign, about this week’s protests outside ASB branches across the country.

Josef also spoke to the New Zealand Veterinary Association’s Head of Veterinary Services for Companion Animals, Sally Corey, about a new petition to ban the sale of fireworks to the public.

The New Zealand Veterinary Association has recently joined a petition to ban the public sale of fireworks.

The petition comes as a number of pet advocates are increasingly concerned about the fear and stress which is inflicted on pets and other animals by firework use.

Producer Josef spoke to the New Zealand Veterinary Association’s Head of Veterinary Services for Companion Animals, Sally Corey, about the petition, the impact of fireworks on animals, and how to keep your pet safer on Guy Fawkes Day.

This week on the Monday Wire...

For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party's Simon Court, producer Evie spoke to Simon about his members bill to change alcohol laws in West Auckland, Mike King’s controversial comments surrounding alcohol and mental health and the government’s funding of King’s Gumboot Friday initiative, as well as police pulling back from mental health call outs.

News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Population Health at the University of Otago, Dr Rose Crossin, about a briefing she co-authored regarding the correlation between suicide and alcohol, following controversial statements made by I Am Hope and Gumboot Friday campaigner, Mike King, in which he claimed alcohol is a solution for people with mental health problems.

They also spoke to Associate Professor in the School of Health at the University of Waikato, Sarah Gordon, about the police’s phased approach to attending fewer related mental health callouts that are not correlated with a level of high risk or crime.

And Evie spoke to climate scientist and honorary academic at the University of Auckland, Kevin Trenberth about calls for world leaders to scrap net zero targets that look to offset emissions, and instead endeavour to remove all emissions in a ‘real zero’ initiative.

Whakarongo mai!

The Police have announced a new phased approach to attending lesser mental health-related callouts, that are not of high risk or are related to crime, with the next phase aimed at handing over these responsibilities to health staff.

The first phase is beginning this month, with the fourth and final phase set to begin from July to September 2025.

Police Commissioner, Andrew Coster, in a statement, sez Police received one mental health callout every seven minutes, taking up half a million hours of Police frontline time per year, of which of these callouts, only 11% are given a priority response.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Associate Professor in the School of Health at the University of Waikato, Sarah Gordon, about what this phased approach will look like heading forward.