The Wire with Manny

The Tertiary Education Commission does not have enough funding for all student enrollments, meaning they’re carrying unsubsidised domestic students.

The living wage is increasing by 95c, to $29.90. It is calculated independently and released by Living Wage Aotearoa NZ. 

And from yesterday, the default rate for KiwiSaver contributions from both employers and employees has increased by half a per cent to 3.5 percent.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked MP Shanan Halbert about all of these issues.

About a month ago, Wednesday Wire host Manny spoke to a researcher sounding the alarm over the state of our primary healthcare, here and globally.

Across the globe, services meant to be the first port of call for health issues such as dental, GPs and pharmacists, were found to be increasingly under stress as costs grow and the workforce fails to keep pace with demand.

Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners Workforce Survey in 2022 raised concerns: Over half of GPs were planning to retire within the next decade, a declining number of GPs work in GP run practices and filling that gap is an increasing number of corporate healthcare providers.

As the holder of the Green parties Primary Healthcare Portfolio, our Green Party interviewee is the perfect subject to discuss his parties platform on the subject.

So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, we talk primary healthcare, it’s current state in Aotearoa, the issues it faces and where the Green Party would like to take it.

This July, the United States of America will celebrate 250 years since the declaration of independence, when the original thirteen colonies broke away from the British Empire under King George III. Recently, however, millions of Americans have taken to the streets to voice their disapproval of a man they see as a new monarchical figure: President Donald J. Trump.

The original ‘No Kings’ protests were held on the fourteenth of June last year, to coincide with Donald Trump’s birthday military parade. The most recent round of demonstrations occurred last weekend, and drew an estimated 8 million people, united by the belief that the President must respect the boundaries of his office.

Producer Toby spoke to Jennifer Frost, professor of history at the University of Auckland and chairperson of the New Zealand chapter of ‘Democrats Abroad’ about the significance of these demonstrations in the context of American history.

RNZ recently conducted an investigation into sales of illicit tobacco in Aotearoa New Zealand, finding an increasing sale throughout the country. The investigation described illicit tobacco as an open secret, with many dairies now stocking and imported cigarettes and indicated an increase in both supply and demand.

Professor Chris Bullen, Professor of Public Health in the Department of General Practice and Primary Care at the School of Population Health of the University of Auckland has refuted the claims made in the RNZ investigation and Flo spoke to him about his research into the illegal tobacco market.