The Wire with Alex

Last week, the Green Party leaders, Marama Davidson and Chloe Swarbrick, hosted their state of the planet address, where they launched their call to electrify the nation.

On top of that, events this week have led the party to criticise the government. The first critique, instigated by the floods that swept the nation, hitting the Coromandel and causing a state of emergency in the Wellington Region, led the Greens to question the government's decreased funding of flood responses as harsh weather increases.

The second critique came with a cabinet paper this week that shows the government is planning on moving ahead with reforms to legislation that will see references to the Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti o Waitangi redefined, in what the government sez is about ‘standardisation’ but what the Green Party sees as dishonouring Te Tiriti.

So for our weekly catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, we discuss their criticisms of the government but start with a discussion of their electrification policy.

Recently, amid a swirl of media speculation and rumours, the Prime Minister made the unprecedented move of initiating a vote of confidence in himself, with the aim of clearing the air and dispelling the notion that he has lost the support of his caucus. Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced that he had succeeded in the anonymous ballot, although he refrained from revealing the exact numbers. 

We’ve seen a variety of reactions from other political leaders, with Labour leader Chris Hipkins insisting that the votes should be released and, and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters describing the whole thing as a strategic error on the Prime Minister’s part.

Producer Toby spoke to Michael Swanson, a research fellow at the University of Otago, about the political implications of this vote. They also discussed the rising popularity of New Zealand First, and talked about the future of that party beyond the leadership of Winston Peters.

The St James Theatre, which first opened in 1928, is a category 1 heritage building sitting on Queen street in Auckland’s arts precinct. Once a venue for many shows and concerts, and having hosted notable individuals including Queen Elizabeth II, it has since been in a state of disrepair after it closed following a fire in 2007. Its fate has long been debated as it further decayed and attempts to restore it had stalled due to lack of funding. Finally, in 2023, the government announced it would match Auckland Council’s pledge of 15 million dollars for the rebuild, allowing work to fully commence. 

I spoke to Steve Bielby, director of the St James holdings, about how the rebuild is coming along now that funding is secure, what remains to be done and how the public is engaging with the news that the St James will one day reopen its doors.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Otago’s school of medicine has found that school uniform prices have become a barrier to education for many school students across Aotearoa. 

While some secondary schools have uniforms priced in the $200 range, some can get as expensive as $2000. The high prices force some families to take out loans or make sacrifices to afford education, while others are completely locked out of certain schools.

To discuss the scale of the problem, the impacts on students and families, and how school boards and the government can respond, News Director Castor spoke to Public Health lecturer Dr. Johanna Reidy.