The Wire with Manny

On 8 February Chris Hipkins announced work on the TVNZ-RNZ public media entity "will stop entirely". This comes several years after the bill was first tabled by former broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi as a way to address declining audience numbers. Arno speaks to Dr Gavin Ellis, affiliate of think tank Koi Tū, “the centre for informed futures”. He started by asking what the difference between public and private broadcasters meant for the public. 

Joe speaks to Eileen Joy, from the School of Counselling, Human Services and Social Work at the University of Auckland. They chat about recent child development theories having influenced child protection in Aotearoa in ways that have further stigmatised struggling families.

Already in October 2010 Māori health organisations raised concerns about the shocking toll tobacco use has in their communities. They found that overall people were smoking less, but more and more maori and pacific people were smoking. 

As response the NZ government developed the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan. The plan features three radical interventions. One, called the smoke-free generation strategy, will make it illegal to ever sell combustible tobacco products to those born in 2009 or later. The goal is to create an ever-growing generation that never picks up the smoking habit. Together with two other policies, reducing nicotine content in tobacco to below addictive levels and less retail outlets selling tobacco, tobacco use would virtually end.

There are two issues: Vapes and Inequities. Daily smoking rates are in general at an all-time low but remain high for Māori. 34% of Māori teens aged 14 and 15-year vape regularly and The statistics are even higher for Māori girls of this age, with 40% vaping regularly. 

Daniel spoke with associate professor Andrew Waa, Public Health researcher at the University of Otago, about these issues. 

A devastating earthquake in Southern Turkey and Northern Syria earlier this week has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The death toll passed 20 thousand this morning, and is expected to rise even further.

Search and rescue efforts and relief organisations from around the world are pouring into the country to look for survivors, and help displaced peoples.

David spoke to Carlos Calderon from Oxfam Aotearoa about the situation on the ground and what New Zealanders can do to help.

To donate to relief efforts in the region, head to:
www.oxfam.org.nz
www.redcross.org.nz
www.unicef.org.nz