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 Auckland Council is set to decide when the Auckland Local Alcohol Policy will be put in place for the city.
The policy details stricter measures in Tāmaki Makaurau, which means bottle shops won’t be able to sell liquor after 9pm, and would put a two-year freeze on new liquor licences in high priority areas.
Joel spoke to Lawyer and Secretary of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, Dr Grant Hewison, about the policy, and what this will mean for Aucklanders.
For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori, News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about Waitangi Tribunal calls for Treaty Principles Bill to be scrapped, and the controversial development of a cultural space, that shares the same attributes as a marae, in Sydney, Australia
Producer Evie, for her weekly catch up with the ACT Party, speaks to Simon Court about the Waitangi Tribunal’s calls to scrap the Treaty Principals Bill, as well as the party’s calls for stricter sanctions on beneficiaries.
Joel speaks to Lawyer and Secretary of Community Against Alcohol Harm (CAAH), Dr Grant Hewison, about Auckland’s planned alcohol restrictions.
They also speak to Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, Mark Thomas, about the new Mpox clade, and what this will mean for New Zealand.
and Evie speaks to Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Peter O'Connor about the government’s stricter maths curriculum pushing arts and music education to the side.
The government recently announced that they’ll be moving forward with changes to maths teaching in schools a year earlier than intended.
Changes revolve around implementing stricter structure to the way maths is taught, and introducing more standardised maths assessments for children in years 0-8.
The Prime Minister has said that this may mean deferring the arts and music curriculum to allow for these changes.
In a Newsroom article, Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Peter O'Connor says that pushing the arts curriculum to the side would be detrimental for students.
Producer Evie spoke to O’Connor about why arts and music is so important for students, as well as having the ability to lift their maths and literacy results.
This week in States of the States, Presidential candidate Donald Trump joins a livestream on the streaming app with internet personality Adin Ross. Ross is known for his sometimes controversial videos of livestreaming apps “twitch” and “kick”.
Another celebrity streamer, Kai Cenat, has also claimed the Harris campaign reached out to him for the pair to do a livestream together.
Amongst this, the FBI have launched an investigation in what seems to be a hack into the Trump campaigns computer systems. The campaign is blaming Iran-backed hackers, but this has not been confirmed.
Wire host Caeden speaks to Andre from the Yale Daily News, on the candidates joining livestreams and the alleged Trump campaign hack.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire Host Caeden speaks to Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni about the government’s new benefit sanctions and the New Plymouth Mayor’s call for Labour to continue oil and gas exploration until 2050.
For States of the States Caeden speaks to Andre Fa'aoso on candidates joining, or potentially joining, livestreams. As well as the Trump campaign internal document hack, which they are blaming on Iran.
And they speak to Frankie Barclay from Amnesty Aotearoa on the recent alt-right riots in the UK, and their new report linking these riots to institutional racism.
For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia speaks to Councillor Julie Fairey about plans to reform council controlled organisations, rates, and Council paying out secret financial settlements.
She also speaks to Principal Scientist at Plant & Food Research and Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland, Dr Andy Allan, about the government announcing to end the ban on genetic modification and genetic engineering outside the lab.
The Government has announced new sanctions for beneficiaries who do not meet their obligations. These include putting half a person’s benefit on a payment card and community work experience.
Social Development Minister Louise Upston said this is to move people into work and provide tougher consequences for those who repeatedly fail to meet benefit obligations. The changes will be introduced alongside a new “traffic light” warning system for beneficiaries the government campaigned on.
The move has been criticised from opposition parties, including Labour Leader Chris Hipkins who said the move would continue to push people into poverty.
In other news, the Mayor of New Plymouth has called on the Labour Party to support oil and gas exploration until 2050. Neil Holdom states energy policies affected by constraints of the electoral cycle i not working and would like to see a bipartisan approach taken to energy policy.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party Wire host Caeden spoke to Labour Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about both of these issues.
Amnesty International UK has released a new report that links a government failure to address institutional racism to the far-right violence that has erupted in UK streets.
The UK’s failure to address racism is also a failure to address international human rights obligations on race.
The report lists concerns over legislation introduced by the previous government including the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act (2022), Elections Act (2022), and the Nationality and Borders Act (2022), saying these have combined to pose a sustained threat to the civil and political rights of people of colour in the UK.
Wire host Caeden spoke to Frankie Barclay from Amnesty Aotearoa about the report and recent far right riots in the UK, as well as if these have any connection to the political climate here.
This week the government announced it is moving forward on overhauling restrictions on the use of gene editing and other genetic technologies in New Zealand - establishing a dedicated gene tech regulator before 2026.
The law will be based on similar legislation in Australia - the Australian Gene Technology Act 2000 - while taking a ‘hybrid approach’ to regulation with applications assessed under a risk framework.
With legislation expected to go through parliament by the end of 2024, it will remove regulatory hurdles that have been in place for the last 30 years on developing genetic technology beyond the lab.
Producer Sofia spoke to Principal Scientist at Plant & Food Research and Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland, Dr Andy Allan, about this announcement and whether he welcomes the change.
The government recently announced that they would be introducing a “traffic light” sanction system for people on the jobseeker support benefit who did not fulfil their obligations as beneficiaries. This includes a green level for compliant beneficiaries and an orange and red level for beneficiaries who haven’t met their obligations and who may face sanctions.
For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez-March to discuss his thoughts on the newly introduced sanctions.
They also had a chat about job cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency and the party’s petition calling for Simeon Brown’s speed limit increases to be rolled back.
For their regular catch-up, Oto speak to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the government’s new traffic light sanctions for beneficiaries, as well as cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency and the party’s petition to roll back speed limit reversals.
He spoke to Maude Loutsch from the University of Auckland about the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle on housing in Aotearoa.
And, for this week’s Get Action! He spoke to Louisa Wall and Samantha Green a about a petition of theirs calling on public officials to be held accountable for sharing disinformation.
Sasha spoke to Professor Jodi Gardner from the University of Auckland to discuss government-funded energy deals for lower-income New Zealanders, including concerns surrounding heating and electricity
Fuck-knuckles, cock, and piss, balls. These are words that you may be hearing much more, or much less, on 95bFM after the government announced earlier this month that it will be scrapping the Broadcasting Standards Authority (or, BSA).
The Authority has responsibility over the broadcast of radio and television, but has long called for regulatory changes to be made given the shift toward digital media. The issue reached prominence last year, when the BSA decided to hear a complaint about the digital media company, The Platform.
The move was met with severe criticisms from the government, with the ACT Party and NZ First in particular calling for the abolishing of the authority.
In its place, the government has proposed the Media Council - a voluntary body - will be involved in self-regulation of the media. However, this proposal has been widely criticised as lacking regulatory teeth.
Instead of scrapping the BSA, the Better Public Media Trust has proposed that the government strengthens it with the recommendations from the government’s ‘Safer Online Services' research project, which would see greater regulation of online and digital spaces.
So, for this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke with the Better Public Media Trust’s Myles Thomas, to discuss their petition to reinstate and strengthen the BSA.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
Two Green Party members' bills were drawn recently; the first would ban mining on conservation land. It comes at a time when parties in the government coalition seem to have their hearts set on turbo-charging the mining industry, with a key bill being put forward that would enable a range of new commercial activities on conservation land and potentially allow the sale of over 60% of the land.
The other green party bill aims to protect children leaving care in Oranga Tamariki from finding themselves without a place to live.
Finally, a landmark climate lawsuit against six major companies was stopped in its tracks by the government. The government says that it made the decision to prevent the suit to ensure businesses had legal clarity and certainty. However, it has now been revealed that the government and business lobbyests had been in contact, and knowledge of this contact may have been unduly withheld, prompting critics to raise the alarm that the government may be circumventing core democratic processes to satisfy business interests.
So for our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about their parties members bill, especially mining on conservation land, and what it means for the government to intervene in such as way with this case.
Last week, the government announced that it would intensify AI usage in the public sector, in a move to further reduce spending in the sector. The government have defended this move, but concerns have been raised about the safety, regulation, and vulnerability of AI services.
Last week also saw the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill pass its first reading. The member’s bill would seek to, in New Zealand law, define genders, in a move that has been criticised by many as transphobic.
Last week also saw the change of government agencies’ names to give primacy to their English names, rather than te reo Māori first.
This week, Wire Host Alex spoke with National MP Ryan Hamilton about these topics.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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