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 Dear Science, our expert, Allan Blackman, chatted with us about the Voyager One getting really hot in space, breakfast impacting life expectancy, and nuclear fusion in Palladium metal.
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, News director Joel spoke to MP Carl Bates the recent Budget documents have shown an almost $8.5 billion hole in future funding, the government’s expansion of support for those rough sleeping, and changes to Auckland Transport.
Producer Faith spoke to researcher and epidemiologist from Massey University, Professor Jackie Benschop, about the changing risk factors of leptospirosis in Aotearoa.
She also spoke to tax expert Nick Miller from Tax Justice Aotearoa about big tech companies’ tax avoidance, and what steps the government needs to take to address it.
Aotearoa continues to have one of the highest leptospirosis rates among developed countries, with flooding (notably the Hawkes Bay floods in 2023) being one of the main catalysts.
A recent study shows that other causes include exposure to rodents, working with uncovered cuts, and handling of livestock. The carried lepto strains are currently not protected by any existing vaccines.
Last week, producer Faith spoke to researcher and epidemiologist Professor Jackie Benschop from Massey University about the disease, and what needs to be done.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to MP Simon Court about the party’s stance on the Paris Agreement.
Joel also speaks to Dr Maria Armoudian, an Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland, the director of the University’s Sustainability Hub, and the co-director of the Ngā Ara Whatū Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society at the University, about the ACT Party’s stance on the Paris Agreement, and the importance of the framework.
And Alex speaks to The University of Auckland’s Dr Stephanie D’Souza about a study showing that high-level rugby players faced an increased risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias at later ages.
Last week, a study was published in the Sports Medicine Journal revealing that over an extended period, male high-level rugby players were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other neurodegenerative diseases than the general population.
This comes as increasing research and attention is being paid to head trauma, and the way it affects the individual long term.
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Dr Stephanie D’Souza, co-author of the study and Senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, about the Study’s results, what they tell us about head and brain injuries, and what that means for New Zealand’s national sport.
Following on from my chat with MP Simon Court, I spoke to Dr Maria Armoudian, an Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland, the director of the University’s Sustainability Hub, and the co-director of the Ngā Ara Whatū Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society at the University, on the ACT Party’s stance on the Paris Agreement.
ACT’s stance on the Paris Agreement has received substantial criticism. Despite NZ First also being in support for moving away from the Paris Agreement, National have been staunch on continuing with this framework, alongside the Opposition Parties.
Greenpeace campaigner, Amanda Larsson, has referred to ACT Party Leader David Seymour’s comments regarding the framework as “rage-baiting the extremist edge of the farming community to grab headlines” and that Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, “mustn’t bite”.
This comes as Luxon indicated last week changes to our methane targets. Methane makes up almost a third of global warming, and is over 80x more powerful than CO₂ in the short term.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to Armoudian about this, starting with how important the Paris Agreement is, and what exactly the framework is.
Recently, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, announced the party’s position statement on climate, saying that if the Paris Agreement isn’t reformed, the country should leave the agreement.
The Paris Agreement, signed by New Zealand by the then National-led government in 2016, aims to keep the global average temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with an overall aim of keeping the temperature increase to 1.5°C. Currently, Aotearoa is one of 195 UN parties to adopt this framework.
If the country were to leave the Paris Agreement, the country would join the likes of the US, who signed an executive order to withdraw this year, and Iran, Libya, and Yemen, who have never formally joined the agreement.
For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to him about the Paris Agreement, and our future with this framework.
High numbers of roaming dogs in Auckland’s communities have continued to be a persistent problem. New data revealed shows nearly 17.000 reports of unruly behaviour from dogs with nearly 1300 attacks on people and 1200 attacks on other animals.
Dog shelters are also increasingly under strain with nearly 10,000 dogs being impounded in the last year. I talked to Councilor Shane Henderson today about what the drivers behind these increased incidents and how Auckland Council is trying to respond.
In other news, inner city suburbs have been hosting public forums on Plan Change 78, a change to Auckland’s zoning and intensification framework that would allow for the development of high density housing in the central isthmus.
There has been vehement public opposition in inner city suburbs with residents shouting and heckling at MPs, councillors and even members of the public that do support high density housing.Councilor Chrstine Fletcher has also made claims that this housing intensification plan will cost Aucklanders nearly $20 billion in associated infrastructure costs. Mayor Wayne Brown has decried these claims, calling them “complete rubbish”
Producer Sanat wanted to talk to Councilor Henderson about why there is so much public opposition to this plan and whether housing intensification will change the city for the better or the worse.
The University Advisory Group headed up by Sir Peter Gluckman made more than 60 recommendations to improve the fragmentation, poor governance and funding woes of the university sector. Sitting above them all was a ‘highest priority’ call to set up a standalone government agency to administer separate strategy and funding for universities. The Government has said no.
Producer Sanat spoke to the Tertiary Education Union’s spokesperson Sandra Grey about the Government’s response to this report and whether it will change the Tertiary Education Sector fundamentally to respond to the persistent challenges that have affected New Zealand’s Universities.
Kainga Ora, New Zealand’s state housing provider has been subject to deep cuts under the current coalition Government. Current housing demand demonstrates that nationally nearly 30,000 houses are required. However, most developments that were in Kainga Ora’s pipeline have since been cancelled with the most recent cut coming in Whanganui where 138 planned houses have now been cut down to 7.
This comes at the same time as the Government is trying to stimulate a sluggish housing market by offering tax incentives to property owners, lowering interest rates and opening up New Zealand’s housing market to overseas investors. This in the hopes that private developers and the market can cater to high levels of demand.
Producer Sanat talked to Vanessa Cole from the Public Housing futures campaign, a group that is trying to halt the deep cuts that are currently being experienced by Kainga Ora.
Over the weekend, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck in Eastern Afghanistan.
The death toll has passed at least 1400, with another 3000 injured and 500,000 impacted.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Associate Professor in Disaster Resilience at the University of Newcastle, Iftekhar Ahmed, about the earthquakes and the challenges with the disaster response.
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.
The Wire is starting a new segment - Politics with Māni Dunlop for Te Ao Māori News.
We’ll be catching up on the big political issues of the week and goings on in the House from a Māori perspective.
Wire Host Caeden caught up with Māni Dunlop about the new Te Tai Tokerau Party, the Conservation Amendment Bill passing first reading, and the submissions made as part of the Mana Wāhine inquiry this week.
The Government has confirmed plans to disestablish the Broadcasting Standards Authority and move toward a self-regulation model for media complaints, raising questions about accountability, misinformation, and audience protection.
It has also been confirmed that the Fees Free tertiary scheme will be scrapped in the upcoming Budget, while the new citizenship test has sparked debate over whether it strengthens civic knowledge or creates another barrier for migrants.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about these topics.
Last week, the government announced plans to scrap a policy that gave university students one free year of study, known as fees free, with commitments to reallocate that funding to trades training. This comes at a time when an increasing number of young people are absent of employment, education and training.
And an OECD report spelled bad weather for the New Zealand economy. To correct course, they urged for reforms to increase the age of eligibility of Superannuation all the way up to 72, among other policies. This was picked up by the National Party, who are campaigning on moving forward with their previous plans to raise the retirement age up to 67.
So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party, host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the scrapping of fees-free and raising the eligibility age for superannuation, but as we called in, Mr Menéndez March was just leaving an extended sitting of parliament to scrutinise Erica Stanford's Immigration Amendment Bill, and we began with a discussion on how he believes it will hurt vulnerable migrant communities.
This week on Dear Science our expert Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about the science behind football players choking, the chemistry behind the taste of beer, and the woman behind determining the structure of insulin.
Last week the government announced plans to scrap the Broadcasting Standards Authority, the entity that serves to ensure television, radio, and internet broadcasters remain accountable to members of the public.
While the government saysit trusts broadcasters to self regulate, it’s unclear what this regulation could look like, especially without the all encompassing BSA to ensure that a universal standard is met.
In addition, ACT Party Leader David Seymour has expressed dismay at some of the recent publications by state funded broadcasters TVNZ and RNZ. Since Seymour is one of the ministers responsible for appointing the board for each organisation, his comments and criticisms are being compared to threats of censorship.
Lastly, the government has announced a new test for prospective immigrants to New Zealand, which would see them quizzed over topics relating to New Zealand values, our Bill of Rights, and our system of government. While the government is proposing this standard of knowledge for immigrants, many New Zealand citizens could be unable to answer the questions.
For this weeks catchup with the National Party's Ryan Hamilton, News Director Castor asked about these topics, beginning with the BSA.
Last week, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka submitted the Conservation Amendment Bill to parliament. Among various changes, the bill has drawn criticism for its proposals to change the role of the Department of Conservation and make it easier for government ministers to exchange or sell off up to 60% of conservation land.
For Green World this week, producer Liam spoke with Richard Capie, Chief Advisor for Forest and Bird about what the Conservation Amendment Bill really means, the impact it might have and the importance of preserving our conservation land for future generations.
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.
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