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 Sunday, Israeli Defence Forces fired an airstrike on a media tent outside the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza city.
The Israeli airstrike killed 7 of Al-Jazeera’s Gaza correspondents, who were: Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Momen Aliwa, Mohammed al-Khalidi.
This airstrike would bring the total number of journalists in Gaza killed by Israel to 238.
E tū union’s National Journalist Committee recently put out a statement condemning the killing of those Al Jazeera journalists, and called for urgent international action to ensure journalists are protected.
Oto spoke to Tom Hunt, a delegate from E Tu union’s national delegate’s committee about the killing of 7 Al Jazeera journalists by Israel in Gaza and the E Tu’s stance on the issue
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about the government's plan to consider recognising a Palestinian state, The Green's petition to restore Te Reo names of Wellington electorates and the most recent taxpayers union-curia poll.
He spoke to Tom Hunt from E Tu union’s national media delegate’s committee about the killing of 5 Al Jazeera journalists by Israel in Gaza.
And he spoke to Stephen Hoadely, a retired Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Auckland, about the upcoming talks between Trump and Putin to negotiate a ceasefire in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Max spoke to John Morgan from the University of Auckland, to talk about why the recent proposal to drop NCEA might be part of a larger global shift
In the lead up to the US Presidential elections, one of Donald Trump’s key campaign promises was to broker a truce between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours, dubbing himself the “President of Peace.”
Almost 7 months into Trump’s presidency and more than 3 years since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the war has only continued to escalate and no peace or ceasefire deals have been achieved yet.
However, hopes for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have been reignited for some following the announcement of Talks between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that will take place this Friday.
Albeit, there have also been concerns surrounding those same talks, noting that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other EU leaders haven’t been invited, with Russia insisting on holding on to it’s territorial gains as part of ceasefire conditions.
Oto spoke to Stephen Hoadely, a retired Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Auckland, about the upcoming talks between Trump and Putin to negotiate a ceasefire in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
A report commissioned by Kia Manawanui Trust has found that there are deep flaws in the healthcare system when it comes to heart health and disease.
According to chief executive Letitia Harding
"Heart care in New Zealand isn’t just stretched - it’s on the verge of collapse. We are failing in all aspects, and it's costing New Zealanders their lives."
From serious delays for patients, a workforce shortage, a so-called ‘post-code lottery’ relating to the availability of heart specialists, and disparate harm for Māori and Pacific people, the trust says this report should be a “wake up call” for the government.
Wire Host Sara spoke to Letitia Harding about this report and how the government should respond.
Rotorua Hospital has elicited concerns and outrage over people smoking and vaping in what’s meant to be their “smokefree” entrances. Hospital staff, patients, their visiting relatives, and public health experts think that those in charge of implementing the rules need to come down harder on smokers.
Experts such as Professor Chris Bullen believe the smokefree regulations need to be reformed, and have questioned their effectiveness. Producer Faith spoke to Chris about his concerns, and how the issue of nicotine consumption on hospital grounds needs to be addressed.
Last week, Treasury delivered the Long Term Insights Briefing entitled ‘Te Ara Mokopuna’ which examines the use of fiscal policy in New Zealand to respond to challenges and economic shocks.
The report used stakeholder feedback and consultation to underscore how the government can seek to promote “fiscal sustainability and improving wellbeing for future generations of New Zealanders”.
Of particular interest, the report highlights the effect of spending decisions made during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As well, Transportation Minister Chris Bishop has announced the government’s plans to change up the road user charges system in what he says is the ‘biggest change to how we fund our roading network in 50 years’.
The changes are aimed at making charges fairer across road usage, reflecting the evolution in the types of cars now available.
Legislative work will be carried out in 2026, with changes expected to come into effect in 2027.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman talks about a novel way to administer vaccines, subtle light in our brains, and Schrödinger’s birthday
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Sara spoke to MP Carl Bates about the latest Treasury Long Term Inisghts report & the government’s plan for a new road user charges system
Sara also spoke to chief executive of Kia Manawanui Aotearoa about the latest findings relating to New Zealand’s heart healthcare system.
Producer Faith spoke to Professor Chris Bullen from the University of Auckland’s public health faculty about regulations on smoking and vaping on hospital grounds, and whether the current restrictions are effective enough.
Concerns have been raised with medical professionals using AI scribes to transcribe patient notes.
This follows research by the University of Otago, where researchers surveyed 197 health providers in February and March last year into their experiences using AI in their practices.
40% surveyed had used AI scribes for patient notes, with most saying they had found AI helpful.
However, concerns have been raised over the potential legal and ethical consequences of AI scribing patient notes, such as through data security and patient consent.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the lead researcher in the study, and Professor of Bioethics at the University of Otago, Wellington — Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke, Angela Ballantyne, about AI scribing, and how AI should be regulated in this space.
At the end of July, Pharmac made the decision to expand eligibility to a fully funded Meningococcal B vaccine to all children under five. This decision has been supported and welcomed by the Meningitis Foundation, who say it will benefit over seventy thousand children in New Zealand.
Now, the Foundation is calling for eligibility to be increased to a higher age limit, to account for all young people in New Zealand. Currently, younger people’s access to the funded vaccine is dependent on whether or not they fit a specific criteria, such as a first year student in halls, and the Foundation believes that young people would benefit greatly from the expanding of these criteria to cover a larger portion of the vulnerable young population.
Producer Alex spoke to Gerard Rushton, the chair of the Meningitis Foundation, about Pharmac’s decision, how meningitis affects young people, and why we should be expanding the eligibility to take care of young New Zealanders.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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