The Wire with Manny

This week on the Monday Wire:

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about last week’s secondary school teachers' strike, and New Zealand joining over 20 other countries in calling for “immediate and independent” foreign media access into Gaza.

Producer Alex spoke to the Associate Professor of  Marketing at the University of Otago Leah Watkins about a recent study showing the extent to which children are exposed to junk food, alcohol, and gambling marketing, and why and how we should regulate.

Joel spoke to Dr Natalie Forsdick, the President of Bird New Zealand, about a new study showing birds are singing almost an hour later due to light pollution.

Joel also spoke to Dr Rashi Parker, the Fundraising Manager of BirdCare Aotearoa, a native bird hospital based in West Auckland, about what she is seeing at the hospital, and about the wider impacts of light pollution.

And Alex also spoke with Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, Bill McKay, about the Council’s vote to make changes to Housing Density Rules in the Auckland Unitary Plan, and how it will affect Aucklanders and public transport.

Whakarongo mai!

A recent international study, including using recordings of birds in New Zealand’s North Island, has shown that birds worldwide are singing for almost an hour longer due to light pollution.

The study used audio recordings of millions of birds, and these findings show that light pollution confuses birds, impacting their natural cycles and could have an impact on their health.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Dr Natalie Forsdick, the President of Birds New Zealand, about these recent findings.

Following on from my chat with Forsdick, Joel also spoke to Dr Rashi Parker, the Fundraising Manager at BirdCare Aotearoa, a native bird hospital based in West Auckland, about these findings, how light pollution is impacting the birds coming into the hospital, and what people can do to ensure birds are carefully transported to the hospital if needed.

If you want to support the work BirdCare Aotearoa, you can donate to their charity here.

Last week, Auckland Council voted to take draft changes to the Auckland Unitary Plan to consultation, which would see increased housing density, particularly around public transport networks.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop has spoken positively of the move, and sez it will provide an ‘alternative’ for the Government’s goal of 2 million new homes in Auckland, as well as emphasising how the move can operate alongside Public Transport Developments.

Producer Alex spoke to Senior Lecturer in school of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, Bill Mckay, about the changes and what they will mean for housing in Auckland.

Last week's United Nations talks to negotiate a global plastics treaty failed after a consensus couldn’t be reached.

This led to major disappointment from several countries, as well NGOs, who called the failure a “blow to multilateralism.”

For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Olga Pantos, a research scientist at PHF Science with a PhD from Newcastle University, about the failure to negotiate.