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, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts outlined the government's latest climate strategy; a three-page document narrowing the government’s pathway to reducing emissions and decarbonising our industries into five core strategic pillars.
For their weekly catch-up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez-March to discuss the climate strategy, and went through the plan by addressing each of the strategy's core pillars.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the new climate strategy announced by Climate Change Minister Simon Watts.
He spoke to John Minto from Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa about the updated death toll in Gaza published by UK Medical Journal - The Lancet, as well as New Zealand’s participation in RIMPAC and the government’s increased support for Ukraine.
For this week’s Get Action! He spoke to Ayah Kayed from Students for Justice in Palestine Pōneke to talk about a petition calling for Victoria University of Wellington to divest from the state of Israel.
And he spoke to Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney from the University of Auckland about advancements in solar and wind power and the contribution to our net zero emissions goals.
Sasha spoke to Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney from the University of Auckland about advancements in solar and wind power and it's contribution to our net zero emissions goals.
Along with wind energy and electric vehicles, the growth of solar power is expected to have one of the largest contributions to reducing global carbon emissions.
According to statistics from Climate Analytics, 2024 is likely to be the year that carbon dioxide emissions peak and start to fall, in part thanks to innovations that have allowed the growth of renewable energy sources.
Sasha spoke to Professor Emeritus Ralph Cooney in the department of chemical sciences at the university of Auckland to discuss the evolution of solar power and its contribution to reducing global emissions.
The government recently announced its climate strategy for 2024, including five pillars in the different areas they plan to focus on. This government has been criticised previously for its inaction or ignorance of climate issues, particularly through policies such as agriculture’s removal from the Emissions Trading Scheme, the scrapped clean car discount, and the Fast Track Approvals Bill.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the government’s new Climate Strategy for 2024, particularly its focus on businesses.
For Dear Science this week, we chatted to Doctor Cushla McGoverin about giving an old antibiotic a makeover, frozen woolly mammoth DNA, and a mummified crocodile’s final snack .
In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the government’s climate strategy 2024.
He also spoke to Senior history lecturer at the University of Auckland Paul Taillon, about the attempted assassination of former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and its potential social impacts.
And he spoke Sarah Bickerton from the University of Auckland about risks of using generative AI in education.
Artificial intelligence and generative AI have seen a major uptick in usage over the past two years, with impacts across society. Of particular note is the impact on education, with students using artificial intelligence to brainstorm, write, or edit their assignments.
Wire host Castor spoke to the Doctor Sarah Bickerton from the University of Auckland about issues with generative AI in education and what educators can do about it.
This weekend during a rally in Philadelphia, former president of the United States, Donald Trump, was injured in an attempted assassination. This morning, Trump was confirmed as the Republican party’s presidential nominee in this year’s US Presidential election.
In recent years, the United States has seen extreme levels of political polarisation, leading to increased tensions and activism across the political spectrum. Wire host Castor spoke to senior history lecturer at the University of Auckland, Paul Taillon, about what kind of impact the assassination attempt could have both on society and in the United States historical context.
Last week, the Employment Court’s judgement found that Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles’ employer, the University of Auckland, breached its contractual obligations to protect her against ongoing threats, abuse, and harassment for her public commentary and science communication work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the many concerns Wiles raised with the university were verbal threats, being filmed without consent, and calls for her to be executed, all of which escalated both in volume and violence over time.
In the Employment Court’s judgement, Wiles was awarded general damages of $20,000 to be paid to her by the university within 28 days.
Research director at the Disinformation Project, Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa, was called upon as an expert witness, and provided the court with a brief of evidence in support of Siouxsie's case against the University of Auckland.
Wire host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Hattotuwa about the judgement and its implications.
Last week, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced a five-point climate strategy which aims to reduce the impacts of climate change and prepare for future effects.
The five core pillars announced were:
Infrastructure is resilient and communities are well prepared
Credible markets support the climate transition
Clean energy is abundant and affordable
World-leading climate innovation boosts the economy
Nature-based solutions address climate change
Watts said the three-page strategy is “comprehensive” and “ambitious”, however, there is no explanation as to how each goal will be achieved.
Wire host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to climate lead at Forest and Bird, Scott Burnett, about the nature-based solutions pillar and the strategy more generally.
The government recently announced a reversal on the oil and gas exploration ban, which was put in place by the Labour government in 2018.
This has been met with concerns around the increased emissions that will be caused by this exploration. Many environmental groups have stressed that the government will have to offset these emissions to meet Aotearoa’s targets.
I spoke to Associate Professor in Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, David Dempsey about the history of the ban, the environmental implications of it being reversed and what sustainable alternatives Aotearoa can use to gather energy instead.
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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