The Wire with Nicholas

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about New Zealand First’s proposed Bathrooms Bill.

For City Counselling Caeden speaks to Shane Henderson about continued flood recovery and new public transport funding in council’s Long Term Plan.

They speak to Dr Lida Ayoubi and Dr Andrew Geddis about the Karen Chhour/Waitangi Tribunal case.

And they speak to Dr Neal Curtis about the origins of the term ‘woke’.

Jasmine speaks with Chief Executive of Hospice New Zealand, Wayne Naylor, about Hospice Awareness Week, which is taking place this week.

It’s almost been a month since protests began at Columbia University in New York, where students established a Gaza Solidarity encampment to demand that the university divest from companies associated with the State of Israel. 

With similar protests subsequently springing up at campuses across the globe, calling for universities to divest from Israel, the issue of ethical and responsible investment has become widely discussed in academic institutions across the globe. 

In the wake of the international student uprisings, an open letter and petition has been sent to the University of Auckland Foundation to divest from companies that are involved in gross human rights violations and weapons manufacturing. The Letter has been signed by a number of Professors, faculty members and students who are concerned about the University of Auckland’s possible investment ties, and are calling for the University to adopt a more ethical investment framework. 

Oto spoke to Dr Ritesh Shah, a senior lecturer in Critical Studies in Education and co-author of the letter, to discuss the calls for divestment to the University, as well as the current situation in Rafah, which he had also been researching.

If you'd like to sign the petition to the University of Auckland Foundation, you can find it here:

As a part of the coalition government’s cost saving measures, there are 325 proposed job cuts at the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).

ACC says client-facing teams will not be affected, although, roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety are on the chopping block. 

The job cuts equate to a proposed 9 percent reduction of ACC’s total workforce.

Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Public Service Association Assistant Secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons about the cuts to roles dealing with sexual violence prevention and the overall impacts these cuts to ACC will have on New Zealanders. 

Halal Kiwi, an app that helps people find halal foods and products in New Zealand, has been called anti-Semitic by the ACT Party for creating a pro-Palestine boycott list.

News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Halal Kiwi founder, Mohammed Soliman, about ACT’s claim.

She started off the interview by asking Soliman about the intention behind their initiative to help Halal Kiwi users boycott pro-Israel and pro-Zionist businesses.