Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Jessica Hopkins, Castor Chacko, Nicholas Lindstrom, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
Disability communities have been rallying against a surprise change in purchasing rules in the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha. Communities have said the changes will have massive impact, despite no consultation on these changes or a formal announcement.
The Department of Conversation also recently proposed staffing cuts to meet funding demands. DoC controls a third of Aotearoa’s landmass which is all conservation land. It remains uncertain how job losses in the Ministry could impact conservation land management.
For weekly catch-up with the Labour party Wire Host Caeden spoke to Labour spokesperson for Disability Issues and Conservation Priyanca Rahdakrishnan about both of these issues.
Watercare has signalled a potential rates increase for Aucklanders this year, while council balances needing funding for infrastructure in a cost of living crisis.
Council has also approved a $1 million dollar funding boost to Arts and Culture, which could have significant benefits to local communities.
For City Counselling Wire Host Caeden asks Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson about both these topics.
Whanganui Youth Council members have recently publicly spoken about the potential axeing of their youth council, as well as similar proposals in other regions.
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Whanganui Youth Council leader Lola Fisher about the importance of Youth Councils and why they’re at risk.
Ralph Cooney is a former lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Auckland, where his career has developed into communicating Climate Change to his community.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to him about the importance of communicating climate science, especially to community groups and older generations, after he published a piece in Newsroom on this topic.
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board will be soon launching their Youth Seat Trial programme, built in partnership with local youth board Younite, to facilitate further meaningful youth engagement in local democracy for year 12 and 13 students in the area. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Chair, Toni Van Tonder, about this initiative.
The Public Health Communication Centre of Aotearoa have publicised their submission that is strongly against the proposed fast-track approvals bill. The submission outlines seven objections, ranging from democratic rigour to the imperative relationship between the environment and the health of New Zealanders. Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to research fellow Marnie Prickett about the organisation’s submission.
A reminder that today is the last day for the public to submit this legislation so if you’d like to share your feedback you can use the objections listed on the PHCC website to make your own.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour party Caeden chats to Priyanca Radhakrishnan about funding cuts to disability caregivers and job cuts at the Department of Conservation.
For City Counselling they also speak to Councillor Shane Henderson about Watercare signalling an increase in Water Rates, and a boost in funding for arts in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Caeden also speaks to Lola Fisher about the disestablishment of the Whanganui Youth Council.
And they speak to Professor Ralph Cooney for the University of Auckland about the importance of communicating Climate Change to the community.
Jasmine speaks with Devonport-Takapuna local board Chair Toni Van Tonder about their upcoming Youth Seat trial and the importance of youth inclusion and engagement in local government.
And she speaks with Research Fellow Marnie Prickett about the Public Health Communication Centre of Aotearoa’s submission against the fast-track approvals bill ahead of opportunities for feedback on the legislation formally closing tomorrow.
The government has proposed removing provisions which prevent new coal mining applications in natural inland wetlands and natural areas of significance.
Environmental advocates are warning this poses a threat to Aotearoa’s biodiversity and will contribute to the rise of global warming.
Producer Rachel spoke to New Zealand’s Association of Scientists Co-President, Professor Troy Baisden, about this.
It has been one month since the government announced the Fast Track Approvals Bill, which has seen widespread criticism from conservationists and the general public, who say the bill is undemocratic and will push the biodiversity of Aotearoa further into decline.
As we are in the last week of submissions to the select committee regarding the bill, the Green party have opened up a submissions page on their own website that citizens are welcome to add their signatures to, and published a guide on how to add their own Submissions.
Oto spoke to Greens MP Ricardo Menendez, about submissions for the Fast Track Approvals bill and the current state of the bill since it was announced.
They also had a conversation about the government’s recent changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa, and what they mean for migrant workers here in Aotearoa.
It’s been one month since TVNZ announced a massive restructuring process, cutting their Sunday and Fair Go current affairs segments and axing 68 jobs in a cost cutting plan that they attributed to a decline in advertisement revenue.
Employees at TVNZ were reportedly only given a few days to review the restructuring proposal after it was announced and offer feedback. E Tu, the union for media workers in Aotearoa, said that both the cuts and the rushed consultation process were unacceptable and violated the collective agreement between TVNZ and their staff, which requires the consultation process for such a massive restructuring to be more comprehensive and to begin at a much earlier stage. As such, E Tu has filed a claim against TVNZ with the Employment Relations Authority, to get TVNZ to go back to the drawing board and consult their staff more effectively.
Oto spoke to Michael Wood, the negotiation specialist at E Tu, to discuss the union’s claim and what it means for the wider media landscape in Aotearoa.
The coalition government has made changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, including allowing landlords to charge an additional bond of up to two weeks rent on top of the standard bond of up to four weeks, if a tenant wishes to have a pet on the property.
No-cause evictions have also been reintroduced, allowing landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason, provided they give them 90 days notice.
For our weekly interview with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to MP Simon Court about these changes.
Disability communities have been rallying against a surprise change in purchasing rules in the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha. Communities have said the changes will have massive impact, despite no consultation on these changes or a formal announcement.
The Department of Conversation also recently proposed staffing cuts to meet funding demands. DoC controls a third of Aotearoa’s landmass which is all conservation land. It remains uncertain how job losses in the Ministry could impact conservation land management.
For weekly catch-up with the Labour party Wire Host Caeden spoke to Labour spokesperson for Disability Issues and Conservation Priyanca Rahdakrishnan about both of these issues.
For our weekly interview with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to MP Simon Court about the government’s proposal to increase student attendance rates and his post on X last week, in which he stated he stands with Israel.
A proposal to merge the Ōtara-Papatoetoe and Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local boards has been met with criticism, with consultation opening at the end of next month.
A new report has also been released on the quality of living in Tāmaki Makaurau with our city receiving mixed results by scoring high on some areas (the environment), and lower on others (education).
Wire Host Caeden speaks to Counsellor Lotu Fuli about both these topics for City Counselling.
The Ministry of Social Development is not immune to job cuts seen in other public service departments, with MSD calling for voluntary redundancies after cost-saving efforts failed to meet Government targets. For our weekly catch-up with Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni Wire Host Caeden asks her about the impact of cuts at MSD, especially amongst other Government policies disadvantaging beneficiaries.
They also ask about the Samoan Citizenship Bill led by Teanau Tuiono, and the impact of losing independent media giants such as Newshub for democracy.
For this week's Get Action! Sofia spoke to petitioner Abdul Safi and his campaign to place sanctions on Israel amidst genocidal acts that are widely considered war crimes.
If you want to sign this petition, you can find it here:
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