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 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to axe 1500 roles within public health care that would affect Data & Digital media groups responsible for managing outdated IT systems.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.
Producer Evie speaks to Te Pāti Māori's Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about the thousands who have enrolled in the Māori Roll following the hīkoi mō te tiriti, the gang patch legislation coming into effect, and the COP29 climate summit talks.
Evie also catches up with the ACT Party's Simon Court about the party marking one year in government and how they think they’ve done so far, along with the gang patch ban legislation officially coming into power.
Producer Yesenia speaks to the PSA’s National Health Sector lead, Ashok Shankar, on the Government planning to axe 1500 public health care roles.
She also speaks to Associate Professor of Global Studies at the University of Auckland, Chris Ogden, about Donald J. Trump's return to the oval office and his push to authoritarianism.
And finally, producer Evie speaks to senior research fellow at the University of Auckland Dr Anna Brooks on the just released Royal Commission Inquiry into Covid-19 and how it fails to address the long term impacts of the disease.
In 2022, world leaders made a historic agreement to negotiate a global and legally-binding treaty on plastic pollution by 2024. This week, negotiators from across the globe are in Busan, Korea for the final negotiations on this International Plastics Treaty to end plastic pollution.
Producer Sofia spoke to Researcher at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Dr Olga Pantos, who is on the ground in Busan for these final negotiations
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden speaks to Labour spokesperson for Auckland and Rainbow issues Shanan Halbert about the new Federal Street Police Station in the Auckland CBD, a potential 70% surge in Public Transport pricing, and an evidence brief on Puberty Blockers from the Ministry of Health.
For State of the States this week they speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about new targeted tariffs proposed by Trump, the case against Trump for election interference being dropped, and the new Attorney-General Nominee.
For City Counselling this week, Sofia speaks to Councillor Shane Henderson about the new police station on Federal Street in Auckland CBD which was announced earlier this week.
She also speaks to Professor of Law at the University of Auckland, Mark Henaghan, about calls to reform children’s housing rights.
And she speaks to Researcher at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Dr Olga Pantos, who is on the ground in Busan, Korea for the final International Plastics Treaty negotiations.
The University of Auckland’s Professor Mark Henaghan and researcher Christian Poland argue that children’s rights to a stable home are neglected by laws that prioritise adult interests.
For our weekly catch up with the Green Party's Ricardo Menéndez March, News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to him about the gang patch ban coming into effect last week, as well as New Zealand's fall in ranking on the Climate Change Performance Index and The Ministry of Health's evidence brief and position statement on puberty blockers.
Wire Host Oto speaks to a representative of the student led-advocacy group - We Are the University, Java Grant, and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work and member of the Tertiary Education Union, Sean Sturn, about a recent protest led by students and lecturers outside the University of Auckland’s new Recreation centre.
Producer Sasha speaks to UNICEF Aotearoa Director of Communications, Tania Sawicki Mead about the recent State of the World’s Children Report and its implications for the future of childhood.
Oto speaks to Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, Treasa Dunworth, about the arrest issued by the International Criminal Court towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister - Yoav Gallant
And Oto also speaks to Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury, Bronwyn Hayward, on the recent COP29 summit in Azerbaijan and whether or not it effectively addressed climate change.
The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as COP29, concluded in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku last week.
This year’s climate change conference was particularly controversial, with the host - Azerbaijan, being a major oil producer, with almost 2,000 lobbyists from the oil and gas industry attending and with many small island nation states in attendance objecting to the conference’s $300 billion financial agreement to help them address the impacts of extreme weather events.
Wednesday Wire Host, Oto, spoke to Bronwyn Hayward a Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury, to discuss the outcomes of the COP29 conference and the New Quantified Goal in Climate Finance that came from it.
Last week, Judges at the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister - Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence minister - Yoav Gallant and the military commander of Hamas - Mohammad Deif.
As a result of the warrants, any countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court would be required to arrest those charged and hand them over to the court in the Hague.
The move is considered to be particularly significant, as it’s the first incident in which the leaders of a western-allied country are receiving warrants from the court.
Wednesday Wire Host, Oto, spoke to Treasa Dunworth - An Associate Professor in the Faculty of :aw at the University of Auckland, to discuss the warrants, their significance and efficacy.
What does the future hold for the world’s children? Twenty-fifty is now twenty-six years away, and a recent report made by UNICEF makes predictions based off of three megatrends they have developed.
By the twenty-fifties, the global child population is expected to stabilise at 2.3 billion, the most substantial areas of growth being in South Asia and most of the African continent. These areas already struggle to meet children’s basic needs, which are also now affected by a rapidly changing climate and a lack of adequate digital infrastructure.
Half of the world’s children today - 1 billion - live in countries where there is a greater risk of climate and environmental hazards. Adding on to this is the gradual increase of urbanisation, the development of compact city living. Without adequate infrastructure to support this influx, these factors will jeopardise the future development of children.
The future is ours to shape, and to continue down a ‘business as usual’ is the easiest path, but will create a worse reality. To understand these ideas in full, Sasha spoke to UNICEF Aotearoa Director of Communications, Tania Sawicki Mead about the recent report and its implications for the future of global childhood.
On the 25th of November, the University of Auckland’s new recreation and wellness centre officially opened for students and staff members.
The recreation centre boasts a 26,000 square metre facility equipped with amenities such as an 8-lane swimming pool, two sports halls and a large gym.
However, around the time of the centre’s opening, a protest was held outside the building by students, lecturers, university staff and members of the Tertiary education union in opposition to the rec centres opening and the expenditure that went into it.
According to the protestors in attendance, the $320 million expenditure that went into the rec centre’s development could not be justified, while staff were still fighting for fair pay agreements with university management and while numerous courses are facing cuts.
Wednesday Wire Host, Oto, spoke to Java Grant - A Representative of the student led-advocacy group - We Are the University, and Sean Sturn - an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and Member of the Tertiary Education Union, to discuss why the protest outside the new rec centre was held, and the concerns that staff and students had with UoA management.
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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