The Wire with Castor

Four NASA astronauts aboard an Orion spacecraft are currently on their return trip to planet Earth, having just conducted a successful flyby mission to the moon. The mission brought humans within the vicinity of the moon for the first time in over fifty years, and when the four astronauts passed behind its far side, they set the record for the furthest distance that any human has ever travelled away from Earth.

The test mission is paving the way for a manned landing on the lunar surface, currently scheduled for 2028, and eventually, a permanent lunar base.

Producer Toby spoke to Josh Aoraki, resident astronomer at Auckland’s Stardome Observatory, about the past, present, and future of lunar exploration.

Last week, the Prime Minister revealed his cabinet reshuffle, which saw major changes to the roles of two prominent MPs and Ministers, Chris Bishop and Simeon Brown.

Last week also saw the passing of the Resource Management (Auckland Housing) Amendment Bill, after years of discussion, paving the way for a new approach to housing density and intensification in the future.

Of course, the fuel crisis is still hitting New Zealand, and discussions remain around the role public transport should play, and how the government should support public transit.

This week, Wire Host Alex spoke with National Party MP Ryan Hamilton about each of these topics, beginning with the cabinet reshuffle.

This week on the Tuesday Wire...

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Cushla McGoverin speaks with us about Artemis II, and forever chemicals in bacteria.

For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Alex spoke with Ryan Hamilton about the cabinet reshuffle, the Auckland Housing Amendment Bill, and public transport.

Alex also spoke with Assistant National Secretary of the E tū union, Annie Newman, about the rise in Living Wage, and what it means that minimum wage is lagging behind.

And Producer Liam spoke to Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn, the agricultural campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, about the result of Greenpeace’s lawsuit against Fonterra, which recently admitted to having falsely advertised its butter to consumers, and the impact this will have in New Zealand. 

A new law change known as the Policing Amendment Bill is raising concerns about privacy and police powers in Aotearoa.

The bill would give police expanded powers, including the ability to record and retain short-lived videos in public.

Supporters say it will help police respond more effectively to crime, but critics are worried the rules are too vague, with a low threshold for collecting personal information and not enough safeguards around how that data is stored or used. There are also concerns that the changes could disproportionately affect Māori and young people.

Wire Producer Pranuja spoke to Gehan Gunasekara, Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland Business School, about what this could mean for everyday New Zealanders.