Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Castor Chacko, Alex Fox, Emmanuel Orange, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
The expert mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, part of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, has written to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to express its concern about the Treaty Principles Bill.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to University of Auckland Law School Associate Professor Andrew Erueti about the letter and its significance.
The Healthcare exec Brian Thompson was shot dead by a masked assailant last week.
The crime has gained significant controversy and attention online, with many using it to restart the debate on the inequities of the United States healthcare system.
And this week Yale University was the latest college to commit to divesting from weapons manufacturing after a student vote.
For State of the States this week Wire Host Caeden speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about both of these topics.
Last week, the Minister for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Judith Collins, announced that the 30-year-old Marsden Fund would no longer support social sciences and humanities.
In 2024, Māori made up 13% of all Marsden funded investigators. By taking away the humanities and social sciences panel, that number plunges to just 5.5%.
The decision has been harshly criticised by researchers across academic disciplines. Now, 80 Rutherford Discovery Fellows have come together to present an open letter to the Minister voicing their concerns, condemning the ‘damaging changes’ to the Marsden Fund’s terms of reference which they want to see reversed, immediately.
Producer Sofia spoke to Principal Social Scientist at GNS Science Te Pū Ao, Dr Nicholas Cradock-Henry, about this announcement and his concerns.
She also spoke to Kaihautū of Te Whare Whakatupu Mātauranga, Te Wānanga o Raukawa; and Honorary Adjunct Professor at Te Kawa a Māui - School of Māori Studies at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington, Dr Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu), about how the Marsden Fund cuts disproportionately impact Māori researchers.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March the party’s new emissions reduction plan.
He spoke to Professor Guhan Gunasekara - an Associate Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland, to discuss an independent evaluation of the trial usage of facial recognition technology in security cameras at Foodstuffs outlets.
And he spoke to Nicola Gaston - A professor in the department of Physics at the University of Auckland, to discuss cuts to humanities and social science programs in the Marsden fund.
Sasha spoke to Dr Julie Douglas, National President of the Tertiary Education Union, about the recent cuts to humanities and social sciences from the Marsden Fund.
And he spoke to Thomas Dowling, Environment Lecturer and a co-lead on a new earth observation lab launched in collaboration with the University of Auckland.
Just one week ago, science, innovation and technology Minister Judith Collins announced cuts to the Marsden Fund, specifically for humanities and social sciences, reinforcing the government's clear initiative to focus on rebuilding the economy and putting business first.
Following this announcement came major backlash from professors, researchers and mainstream news, which claim to shrink the already small percentage of allocated funds towards humanities to an even smaller number. The cuts will also disproportionately affect Maori researchers, cutting the existing 13% of funded research to a proposed 5.5%.
Many argue that social sciences and humanities are important for understanding societies’ and the science which will be applied to it. However, another viewpoint to consider is the millions of taxpayer money which has been going to silly projects, something which needs to be discussed in further detail.
So Sasha spoke to Dr Julie Douglas, National President of the Tertiary Education Union, who believes that the government is making a shortsighted decision for cutting humanities and social sciences from the Marsden Fund.
Data from environmental observations, such as satellites and specialised cameras, is a powerful tool that has long been restricted to the use of government organisations, businesses and for-profit enterprises.
With collaboration from the University of Auckland, The Earth Observation Laboratory Aotearoa has just launched last week, and is aimed at providing earth observation data that enables businesses, researchers and communities. This data is important for predictions in climate, crop growth and other geological purposes.
Sasha spoke to Environment Lecturer and Co-Lead of the lab, Thomas Dowling, about the new observation lab and its potential uses.
Recently, an independent evaluation was conducted on Foodstuff’s trial of facial recognition technology in their security system at 25 of their outlets in the North Island.
The evaluation found that using facial recognition in security cameras reduced crime and harmful behaviour at foodstuffs outlets by 16%, based on an examination of 1742 facial recognition alerts for repeat offenders.
However, there were also 9 instances were customers were misidentified as offenders by the system, with one woman who was wrongly removed from a Pak’n’save launching a case againsts facial recognition technology with the Human Rights Review Tribunal, claiming that the technology was discriminatory.
Oto spoke to Guhan Gunasekara, an Associate Professor of Commercial Law at the Univeristy of Auckland, to discuss the implications of facial recognition technology at retail outlets, and what we can expect in the aftermath of the independent evaluation into the trial.
Just last week, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister - Judith Collins, announced that the government would be slashing funding to humanities and social sciences programmes funded under the Marsden Fund.
Collins said that Marsden funding needed to be redirected to natural science fields, such as physics, mathematics and biology, which she said had more "tangible" impacts on the economy.
However, the move has been criticised by academics from both humanities and social sciences background, who've highlighted the importance of social science in highlighting societal inequities and called the funding cuts "ideologically-driven".
Oto spoke to Nicola Gaston from the Department of Physics at the University of Auckland for her perspective on the cuts to humanities and social science programs in the Marsden fund as a professor in a natural science field.
This past week has seen the reign of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad collapse, his rule toppled by a group of United States backed rebels. The vacuum left by his absence is expected to be felt by those within and outside of Syria.
To help explain the geopolitical impacts of the fall of the Assad regime, Wire host Castor spoke to Associate Professor Stephen Hoadley.
Pharmac recently announced its decision to bring back funding for the respiratory medicine, palivizumab, beginning on the 1st of January, 2025. Palivizumab is used to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children and babies, but went unfunded for a year after October of 2023.
Alongside the new palivizumab funding announcement, Pharmac also announced funding for a new triple inhaler for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Producer Athena spoke to University of Otago Professor, and Medical Director at the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand, Bob Hancox, about the effectiveness of palivizumab, the benefits of the new triple inhaler, and what these funding announcements mean for Kiwis with respiratory issues.
Last week, NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft put forward a bill that would seek to define the terms “man” and “woman” in law. The bill has been supported by coalition parties through its first reading. Its primary supporters in parliament, ACT and NZ First, say the bill is about prioritising biology over ideology, or about maintaining common sense.
Its opponents, however, say the bill is unnecessary, and that the ideology pushed by its supporters does not align with evidence. Te Kāhui Tika Tangata, the human rights commission, says that the bill is “not necessary”, and “risks harm to communities who continue to experience discrimination on the basis of their gender identity”.
Disability Rights Commissioner and Rainbow rights spokesperson at the Human Rights Commission, Prudence Walker, sez the bill will not only “trample on the mana of trans and intersex people”, but it also “attempts to completely erase non-binary people”.
Despite the strong opposition, the government is pushing for the bill to be considered in select committee.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News Director Castor asked about the bill and why the government is bringing it about.
DISCLAIMER: this interview covers multiple anti-trans talking points, and briefly discusses sexual violence.
A survey of Automobile Association members' views on time-of-use charging has been presented to the Auckland Council’s Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee.
The survey found that members were open to congestion charging if it worked, even if they thought it was unfair.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins gave a ‘State of Auckland’ speech last week, focusing on the need for cross-party collaboration on infrastructure projects.
Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about both of these topics.
Crypto investment schemes are spreading across the Pacific, often through trusted family, church, and community networks. While they are promoted as offering financial freedom and fast returns, regulators have warned that some schemes carry serious risks and limited protections for investors.
Producer Pranuja spoke with Associate Dean Pacific Sione Taufa about how trust can be exploited in Pacific communities, why endorsement matters, and what people should know before investing.
The Government is heading into Budget week with plans to cut the core public service, and RNZ reports public servants' fears that their jobs are once again on the line. At the same time, questions have been raised over MFAT being spared from cuts, and the Government has unveiled major changes to secondary education through its proposed NCEA replacement.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about public service cuts, Budget priorities, and what the education overhaul could mean for students and teachers.
This week has seen discussions on New Zealand Firsts announcement that if they win the election they plan to buy BNZ and nationalise it into kiwibank, a plan some estimate to cost $30,000,000,000 and has been completely ruled out by their coalition partner in the National Party. Despite this, it’s sparked conversations around how we should be engaging with our banking sector, the vast majority of it dominated by Australian owned banks.
And critics fear that National party changes to the accommodation supplement is going to hit poor working families at a time they’re already doing it rough, nullifying other support that they are offering the rest of the country more broadly, repeating a pattern of policies that hurt poorer communities worse than the rich.
So for our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March on what impact he thinks will come from restrictions to the accommodation supplement, particularly for the poor, they then discussed New Zealand Firsts policy to buy BNZ bank, and whether minor parties tend to over promise if they are constrained by the major parties who they will inevitably have to work with if they make into parliament.
Last week, National MP Catherine Wedd’s members bill for an Under-16s social media ban was paused. Instead, Education Minister Erica Stanford has pledged to, before this years election, bring a wider and more robust proposal for a ban in a larger bill.
Last week also saw Prime Minister Christopher Luxon make comments about the National Party’s stance on immigration, amidst criticised changes to compliance officer powers, and previous spats and comments over immigration policy between government coalition partners.
And with the budget expected next week, promises have begun to be made by the government for where funding can be expected, particularly within education.
Host Alex spoke with National MP Ryan Hamilton about these topics, starting with the Social Media ban.
Since 1986, the Ministry for the Environment has been the central policy advising entity in New Zealand for environmental issues. The government has recently proposed the Environment Amendment Bill, which seeks to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment, which would be amalgamated into a larger Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport.
For Green World this week, Wire producer Liam spoke with Professor Nicolas Lewis, of the University of Auckland’s School of Environment, about these proposed changes, how they fit in with the government's current priorities around the environment, and the impact this may have on New Zealand in the short-term and long-term.
Recent weeks have seen the government adopting a series of policies targeted at immigration. Some of these policies are set to be introduced immediately, while others are proposals for the upcoming election. What all of these policies have in common is that they aim to respond to an idea that there is a subset of immigrants who are making society in New Zealand worse.
This is a narrative that we’ve seen dominate conversations about immigration overseas, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. It often leads to gross displays of racism, with mass riots and crackdowns on people who have done nothing wrong. With these recent policies and media attention towards the anti-immigrant rhetoric in Aotearoa this month, concerns have been raised over whether those overseas developments could be seen here.
For this week’s catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News Director Castor planned to ask about both immigration and the move-on orders for rough sleepers, though we ran out of time to discuss both. They began by asking Simon about the government’s recent stance on immigration.
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