The Wire with Manny

Last month, the 2024 Indian general elections were held, leading to the third re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. 

To many, the re-election of Modi signals the rise of Hindu nationalism in Indian society and the country’s shift towards theocracy and authoritarianism. 

Associate Professor and Director of Global Studies in the University of Auckland Faculty of Arts, Chris Ogden, talked to us about the significance of Modi’s election victory and why we should be keeping a closer eye on the world’s largest democracy.

On the night of the 21st of June, the Aratere Interislander ferry was grounded due to a steering issue. The interislander currently operates as an informal part of State Highway One, and as such is crucial to freight deliveries in the South Island.

The previous Labour government had planned investments in a further two ferries and terminals, which were cancelled under the current government, with finance minister Nicola Willis calling the proposal a search for “Ferraris” instead of using the trusty “Toyota Corolla”, in this case the grounded Aratere. The government was met with criticism for this decision, and has been called on to provide an alternative during their term. 

The government also recently increased the alcohol levy for the first time since 2009. The alcohol levy funds measures to reduce alcohol related harm, and as of the changes will sit at $16.6 million.

An independent review recommended that the fund be increased to $37 million, with a minimum increase to $21.5 Million to account for inflation. For context, this would translate to a 1.1 cent increase to an average can of beer and an 8 cent increase to the average bottle of wine. 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire host Castor spoke to MP Hamish Campbell about the future of the interislander ferry and increases to the alcohol levy.

Last week, Te Hiringa Mahara - the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission - released data on the state of New Zealand youth mental health. 

It found that while most rangatahi are doing well, there is a steady decline in youth wellbeing in comparison to older age groups more recently, with 1 in 5 young people experiencing higher rates of psychological distress.

Wire host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Dr Ella Cullen, the Director of Wellbeing System Leadership at Te Hiringa Mahara, about this data, the factors contributing to this, and how to better support rangatahi.

For their weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, Wire host Sofia speaks to ACT MP Laura Trask about public sector job cuts, military-style academies for youth offenders, and the Māori wards bill. 

She also speaks to Dr Ella Cullen, the Director of Wellbeing System Leadership at Te Hiringa Mahara, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, about recent data on the state of youth mental wellbeing in Aotearoa

She also speaks to Professor Michael Baker from the University of Otago about forming a global pandemic agreement and New Zealand’s current COVID response system. 

And she speaks to the Chair of the Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children, Leonie Morris, about the government introducing a bill to make stalking illegal in Aotearoa. 

For this week’s Get Action! producer Oto speaks to a student from Massey University about a petition of hers calling for the university to divest it’s investments from the State of Israel.

He also speaks to Rachel Mackintosh from E Tu Union to discuss the nationwide rallies for care and support workers this week.

Whakarongo mai!