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.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party's Simon Court, Producer Evie, spoke to Simon about the HMNZS Manawanui, Cutting Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori programme, and ACT Party leader, David Seymour, doing treaty principles debate.
For our weekly catchup with Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Kemp, News and Editorial Director, and Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Takutai about the HMNZS Manawanui and the 149 projects selected to be fast tracked as a part of the Fast Track Approvals Bill.
Evie spoke to Associate Professor at the University of Auckland, George Laking, about the importance of considering mental health in wake of Otago floods.
and Joel spoke to the Chief Executive of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand, Letitia Harding, about the significant rise of Whooping cough cases.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni on the environmental impact of the sunken naval ship, Manawanui, and the projects chosen for the fast track legislation.
For State of the States, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about recent events on the Yale campus and the political implications of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Sofia also spoke to honorary academic at the University of Auckland Faculty of Science and climate scientist Dr Kevin Trenberth about the science behind these hurricanes.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Tess Ingram, a UNICEF Global Spokesperson, about UNICEF’s work to deliver aid in Lebanon amongst bombings. Ingram has spent recent months in Gaza, and is now on the ground in Beirut.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden speaks to Carmel Sepuloni about the sunken naval ship Manawanui and the projects chosen to be fast tracked.
For States of the States this week they speak to Andre Fa’aoso from the Yale Daily News about recent political events at Yale and the political response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
They speak to Student Justice for Palestine organisers and protest attendees about yesterday’s Auckland universities rally for Palestine.
And they speak to Tessa Ingram, Global UNICEF spokesperson, about their efforts to supply aid in Lebanon.
For City Counselling this week, Sofia speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about Auckland Council’s stance on Israel’s war on Gaza, in light of a year since October 7th.
For States of the States, she also speaks to honorary academic at the University of Auckland Faculty of Science and climate scientist Dr Kevin Trenberth about recent and current hurricanes in Florida.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the government’s recently announced fast-track project list, as well as a leaked report of cuts to public health services and The Finance and Expenditure Committee’s inquiry into climate adaptation.
He spoke to Emmy Rakete from the University of Auckland and People Against Prisons Aotearoa to talk about the inclusion of capacity upgrades at Auckland Prison to the fast track project list.
He spoke to Antje Fiedler from the University of Auckland and the small enterprise association of Australia and New Zealand to talk about how small businesses are struggling under current economic conditions.
And, for this week’s Get Action! He spoke to Keremia Tairua who’s started a petition to increase funding and awareness for Functional Neuroogical Disorder Awareness.
Sasha spoke to Aaron Hendry from the Kickback Charity about changes to emergency housing and their campaign to end homelessness.
And he spoke to Professor Karen Waldie of the School of Psychology about a recent study which links the development period of pregnancy to postliminary adolescent mental illness.
Homelessness is not a new issue, but rather a persistent one, and will never go away unless our society confronts it directly. This is an issue which affects all of us, as no one is guaranteed housing or basic needs.
Work and Income have declared changes to their emergency housing as of August. These changes make it harder for those experiencing homelessness to receive the help they need, as they now need to fill a criteria to receive this help.
The Kickback Organisation, a charitable trust focused on delivering support for those experiencing homelessness, are advocating for parliament to pass legislation to support those at risk of homelessness. Similar legislation has been successful in Wales.
Sasha spoke to Aaron Hendry from Kickback about their campaign efforts, and their event at their charity on Karangahape road.
There is no doubt that adolescent depression psychological issues have been on the rise for the last couple years. Researchers have investigated many factors for this, such as Covid-19, or in the case of the GUiNZ study, factors present in pregnancy.
GUiNZ, or Growing Up in New Zealand is a long-term study of child development. This study has located a multitude of factors that may develop adolescent depression. This research could help guide mental health interventions within children and adolescents.
Sasha spoke to a Professor from the School of Psychology, and co-author of the research paper, Karen Waldie, about the new study which links perinatal risk scores with adolescent development of depression and other mental illnesses.
Amidst a cost of living crisis and subsequent drops in consumer spending, it’s no surprise that small businesses in Aotearoa are going through tough times.
Data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has shown that company liquidations were up by 40% in the first eight months of 2024 compared to figures from last year, and the economic climate in Aotearoa has been compared, by many experts, to the 2008 financial crisis.
Oto spoke to Antje Fiedler, a Senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and director of the small enterprise association of Australia and New Zealand, to discuss the impacts small businesses have been experiencing amidst the cost of living crisis and current economic climate.
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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