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Last week it was revealed that the government had withdrawn New Zealand from the Beyond Oil and Gas alliance, an international coalition dedicated to phasing out the use of fossil fuels.
This was confirmed by climate change minister Simon Watts, who said that the exit from the alliance was prompted by the government’s repeal of the oil and gas exploration ban.
In that same week, Immigration minister Erica Stanford recently announced that the government was looking to electronically monitor some asylum seekers and migrants, in preparation for mass arrivals of asylum seekers by plane.
And, just recently, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith introduced a number of sentencing reforms that included capping the discounts judges can give to offenders and treating one-punch attacks as separate offenses.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez March to get the party’s take on all of these issue.
As of the 1st of July 2025, the Healthy Homes standards have kicked in. This requires all rental properties to meet the regulations, designed to improve renters’ health, by preventing damp, mouldy and cold conditions.
Now that the final deadline has passed, landlords who fail to comply with the standards could face fines of up to $7200. The only problem is who might be regulating them…
To break down what this means for renters, landlords and the wider housing sector, Producer Max spoke to Bill McKay, from the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.
Wegovy, also known as Ozempic when marketed in lower doses, is a weight-loss drug that is already making headlines globally, and now as of the 1st of July, it’s available for prescription in Aotearoa.
Given that New Zealand is currently ranked 31st in the world for obesity rates, according to The World Obesity Federation, some experts believe Wegovy could have a major impact on obesity levels nationwide. Especially if it were to become publicly funded.
To talk about why the drug isn’t publicly funded at the moment, and what kind of impact Wegovy could have on obesity in Aotearoa, Producer Max spoke with Boyd Swinburn, Professor of Population, Nutrition and Global Health at the University of Auckland.
Recently, the Water Services Authority published their Taumata Arowai report analysing the state of drinking water safety.
The report found that seven registered water supplies exceeded levels of nitrate contamination, carrying possible risks of increased risk of preterm birth and other health conditions for a number of rural communities in the North Island.
Oto spoke with Greenpeace Aotearoa’s Freshwater Spokesperson - Will Applebe who says that the contamination of water supplies, largely caused by industrial agricultural output, is linked to the government’s removal of freshwater protections and their planned changes to the Resource Management Act.
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about The government pulling out of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, the government’s plan to electronically monitor asylum seekers and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith's sentencing reforms.
He spoke to Will Applebe from Greenpeace Aotearoa about a new study uncovering high levels of nitrate contamination in rural freshwater bodies.
And he spoke to Dr Jaimie Monk, a research fellow at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, about a study she conducted uncovering the links between public housing stability and child wellbeing.
Max spoke with Bill McKay to talk about the Healthy Homes standards being introduced
And he also spoke to Boyd Swinburn, to talk about the Weight-loss drug Wegovy being available for prescription in New Zealand.
A study was recently conducted by Motu Economic and Public Policy Research comparing outcomes for children living in public housing with their peers living in privately owned homes.
The study found that children aged between 0-9 who lived in public housing faced a number of disadvantages, exhibiting higher levels of behavioural difficulties in early childhood.
Oto spoke to Dr Jaimie Monk, a research fellow at Motu, about the study and the links between public housing and children’s wellbeing
Recently, new NIWA-led research has shown that Aotearoa’s native forest’s are absorbing substantially more carbon dioxide than previously thought.
This has raised concerns that the government is not doing enough to regulate pests that are harming native forest carbon sinks.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to the Northland Regional Manager for Forest and Bird, Dean Baigent-Mercer, about this, and what the government is doing regarding these concerns.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chats about the importance of uranium 235, thanks to MOTAT.
In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Tuesday Wire Host Castor asks about New Zealand’s exit from the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, and new systems in place for ADHD diagnosis.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to Make It 16 member, and Youth MP for Ilam, Sam Allan, about a majority of Youth MPs backing calls to lower the voting age in both local and general elections.
And Joel speaks to the Northland Regional Manager for Forest and Bird, Dean Baigent-Mercer, about a recently conducted NIWA-led study that shows Aotearoa’s native forests are absorbing substantially more carbon dioxide than previously thought.
A majority of Youth MPs across the political spectrum are calling for the current voting age to be decreased for local and general elections, allowing 16-and-17-year-olds the right to vote.
These Youth MPs have also signed an open-letter calling for the voting age to be lowered.
This follows the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that the current voting age of 18 discriminates against 16-and-17-year-olds, with the decision made on the grounds listed in the Human Rights ACT 1993.
A bill to allow 16-to-17-year-olds to vote in local elections had previously passed its first reading in August 2023, but was axed by the government last year.
News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Make It 16 member and Youth MP for Ilam, Sam Allan, about lowering the voting age, and what it means to have young voices represented in local and general elections.
*This caption has been edited to clarify that not all political parties had Youth MPs who had signed the open letter. NZ First Youth MPs did not sign the letter.
Recently, Meta, the company that owns Facebook, has won a copyright case against 13 authors over the unlicensed use of their work to train Meta’s Llama AI models.
The case, referred to as Kadrey v. Meta, resulting in US District Court judge Vince Chhabria, ruling that Meta did not violate copyright law.
As this case is a first of it’s kind as AI becomes more prominent across the globe, this has raised the question of the grey area between copyright infringements and the use of AI.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Joshua Yuvaraj, a Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Auckland, about this case, and what this ruling means for the future copyright claims not only internationally, but also here in Aotearoa as well.
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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