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 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.
Producer Evie speaks to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about the government’s five point climate strategy, renewed calls from the party to abolish the human rights commission and a member's bill that would prohibit regional councils from considering climate change in their decisions.
She also speaks to Associate Professor in Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, David Dempsey, about the Oil and Gas ban reversal and its implications, and what energy alternatives could look like in Aotearoa.
Wire host Sofia speaks to Research Director at The Disinformation Project, Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa, about the Employment Court’s judgement of Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles’ case against the University of Auckland over the university’s failure to protect her from ongoing and escalating abuse and harassment for her science communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also speaks to the climate lead at Forest and Bird, Scott Burnett, about the climate strategy announced by Climate Change Minister Simon Watts last week.
And she speaks to Associate Professor of French at the University of Auckland, Deborah Walker-Morrison, about the France elections and the current state of French politics.
The ACT party is introducing a bill which, in their words, will “ensure our nation’s founding document delivers on its promise of equal rights for all New Zealanders.” They claim they are only clarifying the Treaty and not rewriting it.
However, academics are saying their interpretation distorts the language and meaning of the text and the bill could significantly alter the practical application of Te Tiriti.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Margaret Mutu from the University of Auckland about the intentional mistranslation of Te Tiriti in this bill and why it is so harmful.
They started by asking why the Treaty Principles Bill is “deeply misleading.”
This month is Disability Pride Month, a month-long event celebrating disabled communities. It began in the United States to commemorate the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July 1990, and now celebrates people with disabilities, their identities, their culture, and contributions to society across the world.
The months aims to end the stigma of disability and ultimately change the way we think about and define the term.
Wire Host spoke to Sam Morgan from the Disability Persons Assembly about the month and what it means in an Aotearoa context.
They started by asking what Disability Pride Month means.
Last week the UK Labour Party won their election in a landslide result, giving the Tories their lowest election result ever.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to University of Auckland Global Studies Lecturer Chris Ogden about these results, including what led to them and what is expected to change in the UK.
Former Green Party MP Darleen Tana was suspended from the party after claims of migrant exploitation surfaced at a business owned by her husband Christian Hoff-Nielsen, leading to subsequent allegations of Darleen’s involvement in, or awareness of the situation.
Tana announced her official resignation from the Greens last weekend, a move which Chloe Swarbrick and her contemporaries in the party had been urging since the allegations surfaced, however Tana still maintains both her and her husband’s innocence and has not yet resigned as a member of parliament.
Some experts have suggested that the Greens might subsequently invoke the “waka-jumping legislation”, a law requiring MPs to leave parliament if they switch parties, which the Greens have historically opposed.
For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to Green party MP Ricardo Menéndez-March, about the allegations surrounding Darleen Tana and whether or not the party will invoke the waka-jumping legislation to remove her as an MP.
They also talked about Housing minister Chris Bishop's plans to boost housing development in Aotearoa with his new "Going for Housing Growth" policy.
As the conflict in Gaza continues, the Palestinian death toll is surpassing 38,000.
Israel is also planning to go ahead with three illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Additionally, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon came forward yesterday to condemn Russia’s attack on a hospital in Kyiv, something that many are calling out as hypocritical amidst his silence on the bombing of hospitals in Gaza.
Producer Rawan spoke with John Minto from Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa about what these illegal settlements are and what the New Zealand government can do.
She also discussed the Palestinian solidarity rallies and their continued importance.
For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the party’s calls to former MP Darleen Tana to resign and housing minister Chris Bishop’s new legislation to boost housing development.
He spoke to Dr Michelle McCrystal from the University of Auckland to discuss a project she led assessing the impacts of extreme weather events on hospitals in the Pacific Islands.
And He spoke to Professor Sue Crengle, from the University of Otago, to discuss a project she was involved in with Te Whatu Ora to create a national cancer screening program in Aotearoa.
Rawan spoke with Debra Ashton from SAFE animal rights group about their interception of the proposal to build intensive chicken farms in Waikato
She also spoke with John Minto from Palestinian Solidarity network about the illegal Israeli settlements in the west bank, what the government needs to do and solidarity rallies.
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.
95bFM 
