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.
Producer Jasmine Gray speaks with Professor of Māori Studies Margaret Mutu of Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, and Ngāti Whātua. As chairperson of Matike Mai Aotearoa and of Te Rūnanga-a-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu, Margaret shares with us the path to securing indigenous rights in Aotearoa in light of the upcoming hui on this kaupapa hosted at Waipapa Taumata Rau in April.
More international research has emerged evidencing the connection between hunger and school achievement both internationally and in Aotearoa, ahead of the proposed funding cuts for free school lunch programme, Ka Ora, Ka Ako.
Producer Jasmine Gray speaks with public health researcher, Dr. Pippa McKelvie-Sebileau, about the lacking evaluation processes of Aotearoa’s government bodies ahead of cuts, and the positive impact of our free school lunch programmes that has been evidenced through community research.
Nicholas spoke to Associate Professor Mike Rehm about the reintroduction of interest deductibility and the implications for renters.
He also spoke to Professor Nicolas Lewis about the Government’s proposed bill to change regulations around the fast-tracking of consents for development.
Sofia spoke to Senior Research Fellow at the University of London, Dr Ladam Hashemi tells us about her research project at the University of Auckland that found higher vaccination rates for new migrants.
Oto spoke to Hiraia Haami-Wells, a student at the University of Auckland, to talk about a project she founded called “Kurutao”, aiming to bring more Tauira Māori into the world of entrepreneurship.
To end the show, Sofia spoke to Bird Connoisseur and Auckland regional representative for Birds New Zealand Ian Mclean about what really happens when we feed the birds at western springs
The coalition Government has proposed a bill that would change the current process around the fast tracking of consents for developmental projects.
The legislation would enable the Ministers of transport, Infrastructure and Regional Development to approve consents for projects without going through the current considerations around communities and local and regional government, existing legislation regarding Te Tiriti and community participation.
The bill would mean that Minister’s could decide on projects, that would then be sent to an expert panel that will review their choices and apply any conditions before sending it back to Ministers for final approval.
The legislation would allow Ministers to veto any restrictions the expert panel places on projects.
Environmental activists have criticised the legislation as a potential avenue to undermine environmental considerations.
Nicholas spoke to Professor Nicolas Lewis about the proposed changes.
The coalition Government has announced that they will reintroduce interest deductibility for property owners with a mortgage.
This would mean that property owners with a mortgage would be able to deduct the interest they pay on their mortgage, from their total income when calculating how much tax they pay.
The coalition government has claimed that this move will help both landlords and renters with David Seymour that landlords not being able to deduct interest from income is a cost that is inevitably passed on to tenants, contributing to New Zealand having all time high rental costs.
This claim has been disputed with economists saying that the reintroduction of interest deductibility will have little to no effect on the prices landlords choose for their rentals.
Nicholas spoke to Associate Professor Michael Rehm about the changes.
Bird feeding. It's one of life's simple pleasures that leads to rats, botuilism, and skewed biodiversity.
Though basic knowledge of bird feeding guidelines is present in Aotearoa, it is more often than not ignored, as demonstrated by the loaves of white bread that lay scattered in Auckland's Western Springs park.
Auckland regional representative for Birds NZ, Ian Mclean shares, his expert knowledge on what really happens when we feed birds.
The previous Labour government introduced a ban on the live export of animals, with former agriculture minister Damien O’ Connor claiming the ban upheld New Zealand’s reputation for animal welfare standards.
The current National led government has been pressured by several lobbying groups to overturn the ban, including a million dollar campaign by Livestock Export New Zealand.
Wire host Castor spoke to SAFE for Animals CEO, Debra Ashton, about SAFE, the possible repeal, and consequences for animals.
Earlier this month, the women’s Super Rugby Aupiki team Hurricanes Poua kicked off their season with a new haka calling out the coalition government, raising concerns about its policies on te reo Māori, and acknowledging He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Additionally, last week a school in Palmerston North, Freyberg High School, performed a protest haka to visiting ACT Leader David Seymour over his parties’ policies on Te Tiriti, education, and workforce issues.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to haka expert and University of Auckland Professional Teaching Fellow of Māori Studies in contemporary and traditional Māori performing arts and language, Paora Sharples, about the use of haka as political expression, how it’s been received, and movements led by rangatahi.
Many primary schools across the country have implemented “water only” policies, due to the low nutritional value of sugary drinks and their high impact on hospital visits among children.
However, sugary drinks remain available at some primary schools and many intermediate and secondary schools, where they continue to greatly impact students’ oral and physical health.
Wire host Castor spoke to spokesperson for the New Zealand Dental Association, Rob Beaglehole, about sugary drinks in these schools moving into World Oral Health day.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party’s Carmel Sepuloni I ask about MPs getting a pay raise, recent polling results that showed an increase in support for Labour, and a new policy from Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka which would prioritise whānau with tamariki for social housing.
Weekly Palestine protests have taken place in Britomart since last October, and an action in support of Palestine with several hundred students took place at the University of Auckland last night.
For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden asked Councillor Shane Henderson for his stance on the Palestine protests, as well as Council’s view more generally.
They also ask about the community impacts of half priced public transport for under 25s, which ended on May 1st.
The government recently made a series of changes to the licensing requirements for early childhood centres to be able to operate.
These include repealing the network approval provisions for people looking to establish early learning centres and removing the Person Responsible Staff requirements to have a full teaching licence.
The government justified these reforms by saying regulation cuts would make it easier for early childhood centres to operate, thus addressing Aotearoa’s teacher shortage.
However, many Kaiako working in early childhood education have said deregulation does not address the root causes of the teacher shortage, and that more focus is needed on addressing pay inequality for teachers within the sector.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Early childhood Kaiako and member of the New Zealand Educational Institute, Hayley Cross, to discuss a petition from the union to the government calling for pay parity in early childhood education.
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.
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.
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