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.
The government recently announced a new visa for parents of migrants, allowing them to come to New Zealand for a longer period of time than traditional visitors without having to acquire residency.
The Parent Boost Visa is designed to support migrants who may be struggling with workloads or who want to bring their parents here through a more clear pathway.
Wire host Castor spoke to CEO of immigration advisory and support group Aims Global, Arunima Dhingra, about how this parent boost visa will benefit migrants and address the issues they face more generally.
Recent research by the University of Otago has revealed that more than half of all vape juice and e-liquid products on the shelves misstate the amount of nicotine contained inside.
The study showed that 58% of samples tested had an over 10% difference in nicotine content than what was stated on the label. Of these, 95% had less than advertised and 5% had more.
Producer Samantha spoke with the lead medical student in the research, Renee Hosking, about what it means for the health of the consumer and regulatory implications of these business practices.
David Seymour has been sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister as per coalition agreements. He will be taking over from NZ First Leader, Winston Peters.
During his first speech as Deputy Prime Minister, Seymour said that the ACT Party would be “Labour’s worst nightmare”.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Michael Swanson — a PHD Candidate in New Zealand Politics from the University of Otago about what this will mean heading forward, what the role of deputy is, and if this will have an impact on the re-election of the current coalition government.
Te Pāti Māori MPs, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke have been suspended in Parliament. Co-leaders Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi faced a suspension of 21-days, with Maipi-Clarke facing a suspension of seven days, over their haka in Parliament during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill last year.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Margaret Mutu, a Māori Studies Professor at the University of Auckland about the ruling, and what impact this will have on the party heading forward.
For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Kemp, News and Editorial and Monday Wire Host Joel speaks to her about the proposed suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke standing, and NZ First Party Leader, Winston Peters’ comments about Waititi’s moko kanohi during the debate.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, they speak to him about David Seymour being sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, Seymour’s claims that bots drove fake submissions against the Regulatory Standards Bill, and the proposed suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs being held.
They speak to Margaret Mutu — a Professor of Māori Studies at the University of Auckland about the suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs and her concerns around the ruling.
Joel speaks to Michael Swanson — a PhD Candidate in New Zealand Politics at the University of Otago, about ACT Party leader, David Seymour, about being sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, and if this will impact how the current government operates.
And Producer Samantha speaks to Renee Hosking, the lead medical student researcher at the University of Otago about a study showing that a large proportion of vape juice packaging misstates the nicotine content present.
The proliferation of deep fakes and AI-generated content on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, is playing an ever-increasing role in political campaigns.
Recent elections in Australia and the United States, among other countries, have demonstrated the role of deep fakes in representing, or misrepresenting political figures, as well as spreading sensationalist mis- and disinformation on key political issues.
University of Waikato Anthropology lecturer Bronwyn Isaacs published a piece in the Conversation this week, calling for new legislation in Aotearoa while expressing her concern of the role of AI in politics, as echoed by other academics across the globe witnessing the impact of artificially generated content on their own elections.
Leading expert in Māori Data, Tech Ethics and Data Governance, Dr Karaitiana Taiuru, has also raised concern recently with the impact of AI and other emerging technologies on institutional trust and security.
Producer Sara talks to both Bronwyn Isaacs and Dr Karaitiana Taiuru about the role deep fakes and AI might play in New Zealand’s upcoming elections
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about the recent 1News-Verian poll and calls for a bipartisan approach to Resource Management Act reform.
For International Desk, they spoke to Professor Richard Krever, Professor of Tax Law at the University of Western Australia, about taxing tech giants with a Digital Services Tax.
For this week’s City Counselling, Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Julie Fairey about Auckland’s congestion problem, specifically relating to Mount Smart Road, as well as the funding of community-led projects through Nga Hapori Momoho
As well, she spoke to Waikato University Bronwyn Isaacs and Maori tech expert Dr Karaitiana Taiuru on the emergence of AI and deep fakes in politics ahead of New Zealand’s elections.
A global study of more than 230 million people found those infected with Covid-19 were around three times more likely to develop Guillain-Barre Syndrome or GBS, within six weeks of infection compared to other times.
GBS is a rare, but serious neurological condition that can cause progressive limb weakness and eventual paralysis.
To explain the findings of the study and the link between Covid and GBS, Producer Max spoke to Helen Petousis-Harris, an associate professor at the University of Auckland.
The 2025 Budget included almost $40 million over four years on science kits for Year 0 to 8 students, which the Education Minister yesterday announced will "support teachers to confidently deliver practical science learning, aligned with the new science curriculum".
Dr Carrie Swanson, a senior lecturer in teacher education at AUT called the announcement of investment in primary science education welcoming, and that while the curriculum is not announced yet, “it appears that the curriculum is heading towards educating future scientists”.
To talk about the current state of science education at primary schools in New Zealand, and the incoming investments, Producer Max spoke to Dr Carrie Swanson.
Earlier this week, 26 climate scientists wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, accusing the government of ignoring scientific evidence of methane emissions and urging him to work towards reducing emissions.
The letter also criticised the government’s method of reducing emissions to the level of “no additional warming”, a concept approved by the Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb, to keep New Zealand’s contribution to global heating at the levels they were in 2017.
However, Chris Luxon reportedly dismissed the open letter, referring to the climate scientists as “worthies” and insisting that the government was managing methane emissions better than "every other country on the planet,” despite the fact that New Zealand has one of the highest per-capita methane emissions rates in the world.
Oto spoke to Amanda Larsson, Senior Campaign manager for Greenpeace Aotearoa about the open letter sent to Christopher Luxon by 26 climate scientists, Luxon’s reaction to it and the concept of “no additional warming.”
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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