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 Thursday the first reading of the ACT party’s controversial “Treaty Principles Bill” took place in Parliament. Members of the opposition joined in the hīkoi in response to the bill and were there to greet protestors at Parēmata.
And yesterday was the third and final reading of the Citizenship Western Samoa Amendment Bill. The bill restores the citizenship of 3480 Samoan elders.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these topics.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum occured last week with the United States in attendance. The 21 nations discussed issues of free trade and climate change impact in the region.
The United States has also shifted their foreign policy on Ukraine, allowing the use of their missiles in Russia.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has received scrutiny for unconventional cabinet picks over the past week. The most controversial of these is Attorney-General nominee Matt Gaetz, who is under investigation by the House ethics committee for drug use, misuse of campaign funds, and allegations of sexual misconduct.
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'oso from the Yale Daily News about all of these topics for State of the States.
Earlier this week, the nine-day trek that was Hīkoi mō te Tiriti made it to its final destination, the grounds of Parliament.
The hīkoi was in response to a myriad of policies from the National, ACT, and NZ First coalition government regarding Māori and te Tiriti o Waitangi, including the ACT Party’s highly controversial Treaty Principles Bill, and sought to highlight how te Tiriti unites Aotearoa through kotahitanga.
Producer Sofia spoke to renowned Māori activist and artist, Tāme Iti, about the overall energy on the hīkoi, the support for its kaupapa, and the message he thinks it sent to the coalition.
Wire Hosts Caeden and Castor were at the hīkoi in Te Whanganui-a-Tara on Tuesday. They spoke to Tangata Whenua, Tangata Moana, and Tangata Tiriti about why they were there, also asking protestors if they had a message for ACT leader David Seymour, who brought the Bill to Parliament.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the arrival of hīkoi mō te tiriti on parliament grounds, as well as the government’s plan to introduce visitors fees to conservation areas.
He spoke to Margaret Mutu, a professor of Māori studies at the University of Auckland, for a follow up conversation about the hīkoi with a focus on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
For this week’s Get Action! He spoke to Charlotte Melser representing the Concerned Communities of Taranaki and Manawatu, to discuss a petition of theirs opposing the granting of any seabed mining consents to Trans Tasman Resource Limited.
And he spoke to Emeritus Professor of Law - Jane Kelsey, to discuss the impacts of Donald Trump’s tariff proposal on the economy of New Zealand.
Producer Yesenia spoke to Director of Organising at E Tū - Savage, about the unions calls to the ministry of health to improve the Work and Safety Act of 2015 in wake of the 10-year annviersary of the Pike River mine disaster which killed 29 miners.
On November 19th, 2010 a coal mining accident in Pike River Mine resulted in a methane explosion claiming the lives of 29 miners on the site. Now as the ten year anniversary has come and gone, the minister of Workplace relations, ACT MP Brooke van Velden read a statement commenorating the miners who have passed.
This comes after the minsters' actions on health and safety failed to understand the lessons of Pike River, the reduction of serious injuries and death at work, the harsh realities of workers needing safety standards.
Producer Yesenia spoke to Savage, Director of Organusations at E Tū about the core messages workers have for the ministry of Health, the high number of deaths occuring in a singular day and where the Work and Safety Act of 2015 could be improved ro reflect workers vitality.
It’s been almost two weeks since republican candidate Donald J Trump was announced victor of the 2024 US presidential elections.
One of the promises of the president-elect was that he would introduce tariffs on all imported goods coming into the United States.
With the US being the third largest trading partner of Aotearoa New Zealand, Trump’s tariff policy poses serious implications for our economy and relationship with the United States.
Oto spoke to Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Auckland Jane Kelsey, to discuss Donald Trump’s Tariff proposal and it’s implications for Aotearoa, New Zealand
Oto spoke to Professor of Māori studies at the University of Auckland - Margaret Mutu of Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa and Ngāti Whātua descent, to discuss the treaty principles bill and why it generated such a strong reaction from those in attendance at the Hīkoi.
Margaret is an expert on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and says that ACT’s treaty principles bill would reinterpret Te Tiriti in a way that would undermine the rights of Māori and tangata whenua.
As it is Fraud Awareness Week, the government has announced its plan to tackle the issue of scamming in Aotearoa by collaborating with the public and banking sectors.
Producer Athena spoke to Professor of Law at the University of Auckland, Alexandra Andhov, about why this step is welcome, while also indicating a broader issue of Big Tech companies having unregulated influence over social media users.
With the Black Friday shopping season approaching, the anticipated consequences of overconsumption in Aotearoa have prompted the company, Buy NZ Made, to encourage New Zealanders to reconsider their participation in Black Friday sales.
Producer Athena spoke to Buy NZ Made Executive Director, Dane Ambler, about the effects of overconsumption in Aotearoa, and how shoppers may be conscious of their spending during the Black Friday period.
For Dear Science, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chats to us about how mining old data from NASA’s Voyager two has solved a variety of mysteries about Uranus, lizard spit being able to detect a rare pancreatic tumour, and elephants turning a hose into a showering tool, thanks to MOTAT.
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the Treaty Principles Bill passing its first reading in Parliament, the haka in protest of this, and Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon considering joining Pillar 2 of the AUKUS agreement.
Tuesday Wire Host, Castor, spoke to acting head of research and advocacy at Consumer NZ, Jessica Walker, about scamming in New Zealand for Fraud Awareness Week.
Producer Athena spoke to Professor of Law at the University of Auckland, Alexandra Andhov, about frameworks being implimented to combat scamming, also in light of Fraud Awareness Week.
And Athena spoke to Buy NZ Made Executive Director, Dane Ambler, about the concerns regarding overconsumption during the upcoming Black Friday shopping season, and how consumers can be mindful during this period.
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.
95bFM 
