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, Social Media Companies began to face a Jury Trial for the first time. The claims being made are that social media is addictive and harmful for young people’s mental health; and that this is by design.
While this unfolds, experts have pointed to significant links between this trial, and those faced by the Tobacco Industry. Similar arguments are being made, on both sides, and there are lessons that can be taken from the decades long fight to hold tobacco and smoking accountable for its health harms.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Senior Research Fellow in General Practice and Primary Care at the school of Population health at the University of Auckland, Dr Samantha Marsh, about these links, and what more we need to see about social media based harms domestically.
Last week, Christopher Luxon declined to join the ‘Board of Peace’ being championed by Donald Trump on behalf of New Zealand. The Board is supposedly aimed to restore and maintain stability, particularly looking at Gaza, which would involve this board working together to form a transitionary power structure in the region.
However, this board is facing a great deal of criticism; for starters, some see it as a way for Donald Trump to enforce structures that he sees as beneficial for himself. Importantly, also, there is a concern over the absence of any Palestinian voice from a board that claims to want to move the region forward, undermining their self-determination.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Professor of Law at the University of Auckland, Treasa Dunworth, about this rejection and the invite, and what it means for Palestinian self-determination and New Zealand’s stance.
Auckland council is set to introduce congestion charging, a policy aimed at reducing emissions, reducing traffic, and generating revenue for other transport endeavours.
While the University of Auckland’s Hyesop Shin says congestion charging is important, he also says it needs to be accompanied by other policies to ensure the gains are not reversed.
The prison population reaching an all time high has come as a result of this government’s “tough on crime” policies, which they say are making New Zealand safer.
In contrast, Te Pāti Māori last week announced a policy of prison abolition leading up to this year’s election. They say prisons do not work in Aotearoa, especially for Māori, who are consistently overrepresented.
To discuss how our prison population got so high, and how Te Pāti Māori’s plan could work in practice, Wire host Castor spoke to academic and activist Dr. Emmy Rākete.
This past week, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters posted on X, formerly Twitter, about the United States’ departure from the World Health Organisation. Peters criticised the WHO, calling them a “bunch of unelected globalist bureaucrats” who “are not accountable or responsible with worldwide taxpayers money”.
Peters then questioned whether New Zealand taxpayer money is being well spent on our WHO membership.
News Director Castor spoke to the University of Otago’s Professor Nick Wilson about what the WHO does and why New Zealand’s membership is important. Wilson has previously done contract work for the WHO around polio eradication. They began by asking about what the WHO is and what it spends money on.
The Broadcasting Standards Authority has called for legal change, citing unclear jurisdiction in a modern broadcasting climate. The Crown entity was established in 1989 and currently operates under a 35 year-old definition of broadcasting, which is becomingly increasingly difficult to apply in a digital landscape.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to University of Waikato’s Cyber Law Lecturer Rachel Tan about this issue.
Te Huia, the railway linking Waikato and Tāmaki Makaurau, is coming to the end of its five-year trial.
Despite a rocky start in 2021, Te Huia has proved popular with its riders with the Waikato Council waiting to hear back from Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport on a proposed extension for another year of funding.
With the future of the inter-regional railway line uncertain, producer Theo spoke with Lindsey Horne, spokesperson and committee member of the transport advocacy group 'The Future is Rail' about Te Huia, regional railways, and the future of rail in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Many movements have been motivated by the climate crisis to take action to attempt to effect change. Extinction Rebellion is one such group. It says it aims to apply non-violent civil disobedience to push for action.
In the wake of the floods last week, they released a strongly worded statement placing culpability for the disaster upon both major political parties for their lack of action.
Wire host Manny talked to the Co-ordinator of Extinction Rebellion Tamaki Makaurau Caril Cowan on their organisation's position on the floods and climate crisis,
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Wire host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the fatal slip in Tauranga, Luxon's refusal to rule out joining Trumps board of peace, and the New Zealand Defence Forces incorporation of drones.
Producer Flo spoke to Dr John Battersby, senior fellow for the center for defence and security studies at Massey University about current global security, the practical absence of an international rule based order and implications of US foreign policy on New Zealand.
Then Manny spoke to the Coordinator of Extinction Rebellion Tāmaki Makaurau, Carol Cowan, on their demands for government action on climate change.
Finally, producer Theo spoke with Lindsey Horne, spokesperson and committee member for the transport advocacy group The Future is Rail, about regional rail in Aotearoa and the future of Te Huia.
Current US foreign policy under the Trump administration has significantly broken with long-term partnerships and traditional structures of the so-called international rules based order. With the US being at odds with its long-term strategic partners Canada and Europe, the future of NATO as well as security in the pacific have become contentious issues. Trump’s actions have revealed contradictions within the previous dominant functioning of International Relations with his administration’s foreign policy radically utilising the power position asserted and given to the US on the world stage.
Flo spoke to Dr John Battersby, senior fellow for the center for defence and security studies at Massey University about current global security, the practical absence of an international rule based order and implications of US foreign policy on New Zealand.
Last week the ACT Party announced a new health policy that would see the responsibilities of pharmacists expanded to move pressure away from GPs. The idea of the policy is that for less significant health issues, people could see their local pharmacist instead of their GP, reducing wait times and costs for the public.
Also last week, the government announced plans to scrap the broadcasting standards authority. The announcement follows a period of complaints from the government over the BSA, which had ruled on online broadcaster The Platform. The government (and The Platform) say that the BSA shouldn’t be able to make rulings on online broadcasters, but some others disagree.
Without the BSA, many of the restrictions and rules that broadcasters are held to could disappear. In addition, the BSA offers a vehicle for members of the public to hold said organisations to account. Without the BSA, avenues for public feedback on poor conduct are minimal.
For this week’s catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News Director Castor asked about each of these issues, beginning with the party’s new health policy.
Auckland Council has approved their first-ever transport policy statement, which, together with the central Government’s Policy Statement on Land Transport, will shape the future of transport funding in Auckland.
And a petition is being hosted on Our ActionStation that calls on the Government to strengthen protections for the Waitākere Ranges.
For City Counselling, Wire Host Caeden spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about both of these topics.
The Government has signed a new Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies with Singapore, aimed at keeping crucial goods like fuel, food, medicine and construction materials moving during future crises.
Meanwhile, ACT has released a new immigration policy, framing it as a way to make immigration “work for New Zealand,” with proposals including tougher deportation settings and requirements for migrants.
And leaked emails around New Zealand’s response to US strikes on Iran have raised questions about the coalition’s foreign policy direction.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert on these topics.
In 1915, the Ottoman Empire began a campaign of arrests, deportations, death marches, and massacres that we now call the Armenian Genocide. The campaign itself took place in a wider context of Armenian persecution, but between the years 1915–1916, 1.5 million Armenians, alongside Assyrians and Greeks, were killed.
The term ‘genocide’ was not coined until several decades later, but the academic consensus is that the massacres, rapes, deportations, and destruction of Armenian cultural heritage that took place readily meets the criteria of the term.
At the time, members of Parliament in New Zealand - including the prime minister - decried the atrocities, with at least one representative pointing to what seemed like the murder of the entire Armenian nation. However, New Zealand is not one of the 34 governments and parliaments that officially recognise the Armenian Genocide. This position is in line with the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, Türkiye’s, protracted campaign of denial to this day.
So for this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke to Lo Aleen, on their petition for New Zealand to formally recognise the Armenian Genocide.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
Last week, the Green Party's bill to protect overdose emergency callers from legal risks received cross-party support, passing its first reading, keeping it on track to potentially become law. Minor infractions, such as minor possession and paraphernalia, would be overlooked when calling for emergency services to obtain help for someone overdosing.
And an Official Information Request by the Herald into Winston Peter’s Foreign Minister’s office revealed disagreements between the NZ First Leader and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon over the Coalition government's stance on the war with Iran, with the prime minister pushing for greater support for the United States bombings.
So for our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Green Party’s overdose emergency callers bill and the revelations over the US war with Iran.
The past few weeks have seen the New Zealand First Party and the National Party trading jabs, with the crux of the issue beginning with the India Free Trade Agreement.
The issue began with NZ First refusing to support the trade agreement, leading Labour to collaborate with National and back it to fruition. NZ First Deputy Leader Shane Jones expressed his concerns over the bill, making derogatory comments about an implied mass arrival of Indian immigrants.
The comments were rejected by ministers in National, ACT, Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori. Despite these criticisms, little has been done in response, and the coalition government remains intact.
Following the incident, another disagreement was observed when NZ First Leader Winston Peters leaked emails that indicated a disagreement between him and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon over New Zealand’s response to US Strikes on Iran. The emails allege that Luxon wanted to express support for the strikes, though New Zealand’s official response only acknowledged them.
Finally, the government has also been looking into changing how treaty principles influence policy. The plan has been criticised for its similarities to the Treaty Principles Bill, which was rejected in parliament and by the public, who protested en masse in 2024 against the bill. The current proposed changes are not set to be discussed by parliament until August.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party's Simon Court, News Director Castor asked him about each of these issues, beginning with the party’s take on discourse between NZFirst and National.
The government is reviewing Treaty of Waitangi references across 28 pieces of legislation, with concerns that stronger obligations could be reduced to simply “taking into account” Treaty principles.
At the same time, New Zealand has signed a new Free Trade Agreement with India, while incidents of anti-Indian graffiti and political comments about Indian communities have raised concerns about rising anti-Indian sentiment in Aotearoa.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about proposed changes to Te Tiriti, the NZ–India Free Trade Agreement, and rising anti-Indian sentiment in New Zealand.
Last week, the Green Party released a statement highlighting the recently released Dental For All report, which they say confirms that New Zealand can afford a free, universal public dental service.
And the recently signed Free Trade Agreement between India and New Zealand is being touted as a pivotal moment, garnering support from both Labour and National parties, however, NZFirst MP and coalition minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, expressed his opposition to the agreement with derogatory comments against potential indian immigrants that have drawn the ire of other parliamentary parties.
So for our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, I spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Green Party’s Dental policy and their stance on the Free trade agreement with India.
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