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.
Last week, the first phase of the royal commission of inquiry into New Zealand’s covid response was released to the public.
The report looked at the lockdowns, the border response and vaccine mandates and made 39 recommendations on how New Zealand could plan for future infectious disease outbreaks more effectively.
The report also made numerous references to the impacts of fake news and misinformation, regarding vaccines and the origins of COVID-19 which had impacts on the ability of medical staff to carry out their responsibilities and lead to unrest during New Zealand's second lockdown in 2021.
However, while addressing it earlier in the report, the recommendations made to the government in the inquiry had no references to the role of misinformation in the pandemic or how to address it in future infectious disease outbreaks.
Oto spoke to Helen Petousis-Harris, an associate professor at the University of Auckland, to discuss the prevalence of misinformation during the pandemic and how the inquiry report failed to address it in its 39 recommendations to the government.
Last week, the first phase of the royal commission of inquiry into New Zealand’s covid response was released to the public.
The report looked at the lockdowns, the border response and vaccine mandates and made 39 recommendations on how New Zealand could plan for future infectious disease outbreaks more effectively.
The inquiry concluded that New Zealand’s COVID-19 response began successfully, bringing our fatality rates to among the lowest in the world. However, the report also said that many amongst the general public had concerns regarding the lockdowns and vaccine safety, and that recent job cuts at Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand, would reduce New Zealand’s preparedness for future pandemics.
For their weekly catchup, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March about the party's thoughts on the COVID-19 Response Inquiry.
They also talked about a new initiative by the government to get people of the jobseeker benefit and into work, as well as a directive by Waka Kotahi - The New Zealand Transport Agency, to increase public transport fares.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March the recent COVID-19 Response Inquiry report, which was just released to the public, the government’s new initiative to get people on the jobseeker benefit into work and the New Zealand Transport Agency’s plan to increase public transport fares.
And he spoke to Associate Professor Helen Petousis-Harris, also about the COVID-19 Response Inquiry, with a specific focus on the role that misinformation played in shaping the government’s response and the public’s perception of lockdown measures.
Sasha spoke to Sarah Helm, Executive Director of The NZ Drug Foundation about a concerning increase in drug use and availability
And he spoke to Letitia Harding - CEO of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation about youth vaping rates
Just less than two weeks ago, two new drug use surveys have been released, showing significant increases in drug use and availability, especially cocaine.
In the past five years, drug prices have continued to fall and in turn use for some substances have almost doubled. The nearly fifty-year-old drug law is outdated and has resulted in greater supply and addiction. The government’s current approach of infrequent drug busts and supply restrictions are ineffective at preventing that.
Sasha spoke to The New Zealand Drug Foundations Executive Director, Sarah Helm, about the new survey results and issues surrounding safe use.
A recent Vaping in New Zealand Youth Survey reveals that the vaping rates from school years 9-13 have dropped significantly to 12 percent - down from 27 percent in 2021.
Despite this, vaping has increased amongst older students, pointing to an ineffective and outdated system of education against vaping. The government's gradual implementation of a child-safety mechanism and lowering the nicotine strength indicates a serious problem which needs to be addressed.
Sasha spoke to Letitia Harding, CEO of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ about the survey findings and strategies to reduce harm.
American singer, Katy Perry, recently had a court win in a long-running trademark dispute with Australian fashion designer, Katie Perry. The singer successfully appealed a 2023 Federal Court decision, resulting in the fashion designer having her trademark cancelled, and being ordered to pay costs.
Producer Athena spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Law, Rob Batty, about what gave rise to the case, how trademark law was applied, and what the recent decision might mean for smaller names.
For Dear Science this week, our expert Doctor Joel Rindelaub spoke to us about fungi recognising patterns, planting trees to reduce inflammation, and how to give the best gifts.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about several controversial National Party policies in light of the Labour Party’s annual conference and claims that the current government is ‘taking us backwards’.
Producer Athena spoke to The University of Auckland Law Faculty’s Rob Batty, about a trademark dispute between Australian fashion designer, Katie Perry, and US pop-star, Katy Perry.
And they spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, George Laking, about concerns regarding the Getting to Smokefree 2025 Plan.
The Getting to Smokefree 2025 Plan, launched last week by Associate Minister of Health, Casey Costello, is predicted by academics, and Health Coalition Aotearoa, to fail. Concerns have risen regarding the plan's focus, as many of the previous governments successful population-based strategies appear to be excluded.
Producer Athena spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, George Laking, about what the Smokefree 2025 plan is, who it is expected to fail, and where the focus should be to make the plan more effective.
The government plans to axe 1500 roles within public health care that would affect Data & Digital media groups responsible for managing outdated IT systems.
Producer Yesenia spoke to the PSA’s National Health Sector lead, Ashok Shankar regarding the upcoming fears that come with these roles no longer being available, how this massive cut will affect nurses and health care workers and the impact of this axing of 1500 roles will affect the general public.
Last week the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 was released.
The report delved into the lessons learnt during the pandemic, featuring 39 primary recommendations within the 713 page report.
These recommendations explored a number of social, economic and health impacts of the pandemic, how the government responded and how the country could be better prepared for future pandemics.
The report explores the good and not so good moves by the government, and how they could have been more efficient in their response.
However, research fellow at the University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute, Dr Anna Brooks says that the report fails to consider the long term impacts of Covid-19 that continue to affect many New Zealanders today.
Producer Evie spoke to Dr Brooks about these concerns, and how realistic it is that the recommendations will actually be implemented.
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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