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 our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about rising fuel costs, the government’s proposed pay rise for some primary teachers, and the Lawyers for Climate Action case against the government for dropping climate policies.
They also spoke to Dr Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, on rising fuel costs, New Zealand’s dependency on petrol, and alternative ways of thinking about transport.
For City Counselling this week, News Director Castor spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about fuel insecurity and transport and energy alternatives in Auckland.
Producer Pranuja spoke to Professor Nirmal Nair from the Department of Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering at the University of Auckland on making the switch to Electric Vehicles.
She also spoke with Dr Murat Ungor from the Department of Economics at the University of Otago on how New Zealand can deal with the price at the pump.
20% of the world’s oil supply has been shut off over the past week due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Petrol prices have reached $3 NZD a litre, with some stations running out of fuel due to demand.
New Zealand imports all of our petrol, diesel, and jet fuel, making us especially vulnerable to global oil crises. We are particularly dependent on oil for transport, with electricity accounting for just 0.5% of domestic transport energy.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Dr Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland and an expert in transportation and infrastructure, about how New Zealand can move away from car dependency and our reliance on foreign oil imports.
This week, Lawyers for Climate Action New Zealand took the Climate Change Minister Simon Watts to Wellington’s High Court on the government’s lack of consultation in dismantling dozens of climate policies shortly after the last election.
Also under scrutiny, is the government’s over-reliance on offsetting climate emissions through planting pine trees.
Internationally, similar court cases have pressured governments like that of the Netherlands and United Kingdom to revisit their own climate change policies.
Next week, leaders in the field of climate litigation will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau to discuss these developments and more, with an eye to the changes occurring internationally.
To understand this arena of the climate crisis, I spoke to Associate Professor of Law, and Chair for the upcoming Climate Litigation Conference, Vernon Rive.
The government has announced a $25 million funding boost for the health sector, with 378 new roles. The government says the boost will support our health system to manage during the winter illness period.
Health unions have said that while they’re grateful for the funding, more is necessary to address the core issues within the health sector. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation pointed to existing understaffing across the country, and noted that, while a good step, this solution does not come close to fully solving the problem.
To discuss the state of nursing and if the funding boost will help, News Director Castor spoke to Chief Executive of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Paul Goulter.
For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News Director Castor spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about cost of living, the government being sued over its environmental policy, and the second phase of the government’s COVID 19 inquiry.
They also spoke to Chief Executive of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Paul Goulter, about the government’s newly announced funding boost for the health sector and how far it will go to address issues.
Tuesday Wire host Alex spoke to founder of Kick Back, Aaron Hendry, about the National Day of Action at the end of March in protest against the government’s new move-on orders.
Producer Theo spoke to Auckland Law School’s Associate Professor Vernon Rive on climate litigation and the current case before the Wellington High Court.
And Producer Toby spoke to Emeritus Professor Dr. Basil Sharp about surging petrol prices, and what New Zealand can learn from our response to the energy crisis of 1979.
Community groups across Aotearoa are organising a National Day of Action to protest against the move-on orders proposed by the government. The Day of Action will be on Sunday, 29th of March, criticising the targeting of people who are already struggling on the streets.
The proposed changes would see police officers empowered to force homeless people to relocate, for behaviours such as begging or seeking to inhabit a space. Multiple groups have opposed the changes, claiming they punish people unfairly for something largely outside of their control.
To discuss the move-on orders and the day of action, Wire host Alex spoke to founder of Kick Back, Aaron Hendry.
With the strait of Hormuz currently under an Iranian blockade, twenty percent of the world’s daily oil traffic now sits immobilised behind a wall of sea mines. Two and a half weeks into America’s war with Iran, people across the globe are feeling the effects of the conflict in the form of spiking fuel prices. With petrol prices in New Zealand surging past three dollars per litre, the government is considering its options.
Producer Toby spoke to Auckland University emeritus professor and energy economics expert Basil Sharp about the lessons we’ve learned (or perhaps failed to learn) from our response to the oil crisis of 1979, and what we could do now to improve our energy security in New Zealand.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, about hotter superconductors, hexagonal diamonds, and Pi.
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Alex spoke with Ryan Hamilton about the Government’s pay offer to primary school teachers on individual agreements, and the criticism of the move by the NZEI union. We also spoke about the release of the second phase of the Royal Commission Inquiry into the COVID-19 response, and what it tells us.
And Producer Liam spoke to Debra Ashton, the Chief Executive of SAFE for Animals, about the government’s decision not to go ahead with repealing the ban on live animal exports by sea.
In 2023, New Zealand enacted a world first ban on live animal exports by sea. Part of the National and ACT coalition agreement included plans to reverse the ban. However, last week, the government announced it would not go ahead with repealing the ban, with Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard saying that a consensus within cabinet could not be achieved before this year’s general election.
Wire producer Liam spoke to Debra Ashton, Chief Executive of SAFE For Animals, about the impact of the government’s decision and the future for live exports and animal welfare.
The government is offering pay increases to non-union affiliated primary school teachers in advance of the collective agreement with those belonging to the primary teachers union, NZEI Te Riu Roa.
This circumvents the precedent of settling the union agreement first, which the union sez undercuts their negotiations. The union is currently looking for increased financial and staffing supports from the government, as workloads increase with curriculum changes and an ever rising number of teachers move to Australia.
To discuss the negotiations and the issues that Primary School teachers are facing News Director Castor spoke to NZEI spokesperson Liam Rutherford.
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.
The Government has signed a new Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies with Singapore, aimed at keeping crucial goods like fuel, food, medicine and construction materials moving during future crises.
Meanwhile, ACT has released a new immigration policy, framing it as a way to make immigration “work for New Zealand,” with proposals including tougher deportation settings and requirements for migrants.
And leaked emails around New Zealand’s response to US strikes on Iran have raised questions about the coalition’s foreign policy direction.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert on these topics.
In 1915, the Ottoman Empire began a campaign of arrests, deportations, death marches, and massacres that we now call the Armenian Genocide. The campaign itself took place in a wider context of Armenian persecution, but between the years 1915–1916, 1.5 million Armenians, alongside Assyrians and Greeks, were killed.
The term ‘genocide’ was not coined until several decades later, but the academic consensus is that the massacres, rapes, deportations, and destruction of Armenian cultural heritage that took place readily meets the criteria of the term.
At the time, members of Parliament in New Zealand - including the prime minister - decried the atrocities, with at least one representative pointing to what seemed like the murder of the entire Armenian nation. However, New Zealand is not one of the 34 governments and parliaments that officially recognise the Armenian Genocide. This position is in line with the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, Türkiye’s, protracted campaign of denial to this day.
So for this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke to Lo Aleen, on their petition for New Zealand to formally recognise the Armenian Genocide.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here.
Last week, the Green Party's bill to protect overdose emergency callers from legal risks received cross-party support, passing its first reading, keeping it on track to potentially become law. Minor infractions, such as minor possession and paraphernalia, would be overlooked when calling for emergency services to obtain help for someone overdosing.
And an Official Information Request by the Herald into Winston Peter’s Foreign Minister’s office revealed disagreements between the NZ First Leader and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon over the Coalition government's stance on the war with Iran, with the prime minister pushing for greater support for the United States bombings.
So for our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Green Party’s overdose emergency callers bill and the revelations over the US war with Iran.
The past few weeks have seen the New Zealand First Party and the National Party trading jabs, with the crux of the issue beginning with the India Free Trade Agreement.
The issue began with NZ First refusing to support the trade agreement, leading Labour to collaborate with National and back it to fruition. NZ First Deputy Leader Shane Jones expressed his concerns over the bill, making derogatory comments about an implied mass arrival of Indian immigrants.
The comments were rejected by ministers in National, ACT, Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori. Despite these criticisms, little has been done in response, and the coalition government remains intact.
Following the incident, another disagreement was observed when NZ First Leader Winston Peters leaked emails that indicated a disagreement between him and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon over New Zealand’s response to US Strikes on Iran. The emails allege that Luxon wanted to express support for the strikes, though New Zealand’s official response only acknowledged them.
Finally, the government has also been looking into changing how treaty principles influence policy. The plan has been criticised for its similarities to the Treaty Principles Bill, which was rejected in parliament and by the public, who protested en masse in 2024 against the bill. The current proposed changes are not set to be discussed by parliament until August.
For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party's Simon Court, News Director Castor asked him about each of these issues, beginning with the party’s take on discourse between NZFirst and National.
The government is reviewing Treaty of Waitangi references across 28 pieces of legislation, with concerns that stronger obligations could be reduced to simply “taking into account” Treaty principles.
At the same time, New Zealand has signed a new Free Trade Agreement with India, while incidents of anti-Indian graffiti and political comments about Indian communities have raised concerns about rising anti-Indian sentiment in Aotearoa.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke with Shanan Halbert about proposed changes to Te Tiriti, the NZ–India Free Trade Agreement, and rising anti-Indian sentiment in New Zealand.
Last week, the Green Party released a statement highlighting the recently released Dental For All report, which they say confirms that New Zealand can afford a free, universal public dental service.
And the recently signed Free Trade Agreement between India and New Zealand is being touted as a pivotal moment, garnering support from both Labour and National parties, however, NZFirst MP and coalition minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, expressed his opposition to the agreement with derogatory comments against potential indian immigrants that have drawn the ire of other parliamentary parties.
So for our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, I spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Green Party’s Dental policy and their stance on the Free trade agreement with India.
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