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, The Green party issued a statement calling on the government to drop the Regulatory Standards Bill after the bill went through hearings at the select committee, with only 19 out of the total 208 submissions heard supporting the Bill.
This week, the government confirmed their plan to re-establish 10 polytechnics that had been merged into Te Pūkenga under the previous labour government as part of the government’s plan to gradually disestablish the wider institution.
And the Greens recently announced that they wouldn’t be standing any candidates of their own in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-elections, which are happening in September this year.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.
Extreme weather events such as the recent Tasman floods, are becoming more common in New Zealand. With that, the risk of severe flooding is only increasing.
The question is: how prepared is Aotearoa for the next severe flood and what action is needed to prepare for it?
Producer Max spoke to Dr. Iresh Jayawardena, a lecturer in Urban Planning at the University of Auckland, to talk about New Zealand’s lack of awareness when it comes to floods and why short term planning has left many areas vulnerable to severe weather.
Back in April, American company Colossal Biosciences had announced a successful project, from their point of view, to de-extinct the Dire Wolf. Now, the company has teamed up with Sir Peter Jackson, Canterbury Museum and the Ngai Tahu Research Centre, to begin the de-extinction of the South Island Giant Moa.
In April, we conducted an interview with Associate Professor and Director of the Paleogenetics Lab at the University of Otago, Nic Rawlence, who was displeased with the American company’s attempts at the Dire Wolf.
Now, to talk about the recent news of Colossal Biosciences' attempts to de-extinct the Moa, Producer Max spoke to Rawlence once again.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about the Green Party's call to Cabinet to drop the Regulatory Standards Bill after it concluded hearings at select committee, The government's decision to return 10 polytechnics to "regional governance" and The Green Party's decision not to stand a candidate in this year’s Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.
Producer Max spoke to Dr. Iresh Jayawardena from the University of Auckland, to talk about what action New Zealand should take to prepare for future floods.
Joel spoke with Ed Boswell-Correa from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation to discuss the cuts to services and patients at Tōtara hospice.
And Max spoke to Nic Rawlence from the University of Otago, to talk about Colossal Biosciences’ project to de-extinct the South Island Giant Moa.
Recently, Tōtara hospice in South Auckland announced they would be reducing their patient intake and services by almost a third due to funding gaps.
This announcement follows a hiring freeze the hospice had to put in place last month.
The Hospice helps provide end-of-life care at no direct cost to patients, and is the subject of an upcoming documentary series called ‘Hospice Heroes’.
While Minister of Health, Simeon Brown, has said that funding to the sector increased by 3% this year, representatives of the hospice have said that those figures weren’t nearly enough to cover the costs of their services and that other palliative care centres across the motu were experiencing similar pressures.
News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with Ed Boswell-Correa from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation about the service cuts at Tōtara hospice and how the sector at large is being affected.
Earlier this month, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council entitled ‘From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide’.
The report names companies who have financially supported or sustained Israel’s ongoing war and genocide against Palestinians, and highlights pathways to accountability that “transcend legal and diplomatic rhetoric”.
She calls on civil society to respond to the actions of Israel in light of the limited power of the United Nations to effectively end the violence.
The United States has since imposed sanctions on Albanese, calling for her removal for allegations they say are “false and offensive”.
Exploring more in depth the potential impact of this Economy of Genocide report, as well as the obligation and power of the United Nations as a whole, and the New Zealand government to respond to the situation, Producer Sara spoke with University of Otago Professor for Politics & International Relations Robert Patman, as well as Amnesty International Aotearoa community manager Margaret Taylor.
Patman has published two pieces recently, criticising the New Zealand government’s failure to adequately respond to the US’ role in particular in the violence in Gaza.
ACT Party leader David Seymour announced plans to address the supermarket duopoly at the party summit on Sunday. Seymour proposed that international competitors haven’t begun operations in New Zealand due to restrictive approval processes.
Seymour says that while his opponents have proposed breaking up the duopoly or imposing taxes, his solution of introducing a third competitor would be the only truly effective answer.
Wire host Castor spoke to Emeritus Professor of Economics, Tim Hazledine, about his thoughts on Seymour’s proposal and alternative solutions to break up the New Zealand supermarket duopoly.
For Dear Science, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about lightning created by peeling tape, links between talc and cancer, and a new form of Nitrogen.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the government’s health contributions in light of recent strikes.
They also spoke to Emeritus Professor Tim Hazledine about David Seymour’s plans to address the supermarket duopoly in Aotearoa.
On the topic of the recent Economy of Genocide report released by UN Special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, producer Sara spoke with both University of Otago’s Professor of International Relations Robert Patman, as well as Amnesty International Aotearoa’s Margaret Taylor.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about the party’s annual rally that happened yesterday, and the choice of US author, James Lindsay, as a keynote speaker, as well as the recent public hearings into the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the government’s Covid-19 response.
Following up with their chat with MP Simon Court, Joel spoke to the Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition’s Anne Campbell, about James Lindsay, and his controversial views.
Joel spoke to Dr Collin Bjork — a senior Communications lecturer at Massey University, about the government’s recently released AI strategy.
And Joel spoke to AI and technology governor, Dr Karaitiana Taiuru, about how the government’s AI strategy coexists with te ao Māori.
Producer Samantha spoke to University of Auckland Geology Professor, Phil James, about the sustainbility issues with modern society in the global north.
Yesterday, the ACT Party held their annual rally, being called the “Free and Equal Rally”.
Notably, US author, James Lindsay, was a keynote speaker at the event.
Lindsay is the author of ‘Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody’ - among other titles, such as ‘Race Marxism: The Truth About Critical Race Theory and Praxis’ and ‘The Queering of the American Child: How a New School Religious Cult Poisons the Minds and Bodies of Normal Kids’.
Party Leader, David Seymour, says Lindsay is a “prominent advocate for free speech”. Prior to the event, a spokesperson for the party said Lindsay would discuss “reclaiming liberalism in an age of extremes”.
For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about the rally, why the party chose Lindsay as a keynote speaker, and we address some of the concerns with Lindsay’s previous comments.
They also discussed the first public hearings into the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the former government’s Covid-19 response, and what to expect heading into the next hearings in Wellington next month.
But first, they discussed ACT’s 2025 “Free and Equal” Rally.
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.
Crypto investment schemes are spreading across the Pacific, often through trusted family, church, and community networks. While they are promoted as offering financial freedom and fast returns, regulators have warned that some schemes carry serious risks and limited protections for investors.
Producer Pranuja spoke with Associate Dean Pacific Sione Taufa about how trust can be exploited in Pacific communities, why endorsement matters, and what people should know before investing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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