The Wire w/ Caeden: 2 July, 2026

For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson on progress for the Northwest busway being halted, a potential funding pause for Heart of the City, and the Mayor saying disaster recovery costs are contributing to a rates increase.

And they spoke to Dr Kelly Garton, Health Coalition Aotearoa Spokesperson and Senior Research Fellow in the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland, about a report from the Auditor-General warning that the government’s school lunch programme is not able to show if it's delivering on its aims.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Producer Pranuja spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about Labour’s congress, the party’s proposed apprenticeship boost, state housing rents, and the Regulatory Standards Act. 

She also spoke with Professor Chris Bullen about multi-pronged nicotine addiction, and his new study into alternative ways to quit smoking.