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.
Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono passed the first reading of his member's bill in parliament yesterday. The bill would restore citizenship to Samoan’s born between 1924-1948 who had their citizenship stripped in 1982 legislation.
The bill received unexpected support from the Act Party and NZ First Party to go through to select committee, with the only party voting against it being National.
Wire Host Caeden spoke with AUT Lecturer in Criminology Laumua Tunufa’i about the bill and it’s historical context.
Humanity is currently going through a stage in its history known as the “AI Spring”, an ongoing period of advancement in the world of artificial intelligence, heavily impacting the technology we use on a daily basis.
As to be expected, there are numerous ethical concerns to be raised regarding the development of artificial intelligence. The use of AI in modern military conflicts has demonstrated the capabilities of this new technology to cause large-scale destruction to human lives. The Israeli Defence Force, for example, have been using AI in their weapon systems to acquire targets in their war on Gaza, contributing to one the highest rates of civilian casualties in any modern conflict.
Dr Thomas Gregory is a Senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Auckland, with expertise in civilian casualties and contemporary conflict. Oto spoke with him to discuss how AI is being used on the battlefield, and how it has impacted civilian lives in modern conflicts.
New Zealand NGO Reemi, an organisation which works to alleviate period poverty, have received a UK humanitarian grant to supply reusable period underwear to Palestinians in Gaza.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Reemi founder, Emily Au-Young, about what the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has meant for menstruators.
She started off the interview by asking Au-Young about what Reemi does.
The government has announced that the flu vaccine will no longer be free for children under 12 or Māori and Pacific people aged 55 to 64.
News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Senior Lecturer in Bioethics at the University of Otago, Dr Elizabeth Fenton, who along with other health experts, says this is a missed opportunity for New Zealand's health system to improve outcomes and achieve health equity.
She started off our interview asking Fenton for her reaction to vaccine subsidies being removed for these groups.
Health Coalition Aotearoa have released a press release in which they claim that Associate Education Minister David Seymour is using outdated advice to justify cutting the school lunch program.
A treasury report released in 2023 has been used by the Associate Education Minister as evidence for looking into cutting Ka Ora Ka Ako funding.
However, Health Coalition Aotearoa believes more recent reports highlight the importance and positive benefits of the school lunch programs.
Nicholas spoke to Dr Kelly Garton of Health Coalition Aotearoa about Ka Ora Ka Ako.
A new study into dementia in New Zealand is seeking to fill gaps in our understanding of how dementia affects our communities.
The study will be the largest of its kind and will aim to talk to more than two thousand older people and their families.
The study will also seek to understand the prevalence of dementia across four ethnic communities Pakeha, Chinese, Indian and Fijian Indian, with parallel studies taking place in Maori and Pasifika communities.
Nicholas spoke to the lead researcher for the Indian and Fijian Indian parts of the study Professor Rita Krishnamurthi, I began by asking about what prompted the research .
In his speech at the UN General Assembly, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters expressed New Zealand’s support for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Green Party have been vocal advocates for a ceasefire since the beginning of the conflict and have also been advocating for the granting of Visas for Palestinians with family in Aotearoa.
Nicholas spoke to Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the foreign Minister’s speech.
They also spoke about the consequences of job cuts in the public sector.
Schools began implementing the compulsory Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum at the beginning of 2023.
By focusing on four key ideas – Māori history as the foundational history of New Zealand, colonisation, the use of power, and relationships and connections between people – the curriculum intends to teach students from Years 1-10 to understand the big ideas, know the contexts, and do inquiry practises.
Last week, the Education Review Office released a report on how the curriculum’s first year has been received.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Kaiārahi for the New Zealand History Teachers Association, Craig Thornhill, about some of the commentary from parliament that has emerged, and how the implementation of Aotearoa New Zealand Histories has been received by students and teachers so far.
Last year, the coalition government signalled its intention to repeal the Therapeutic Products Act 2023.
Due to come into force in 2026, the Act would have modernised the regulation of medicines and natural health products, making medical devices subject to a similar regulatory regime as drugs.
Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Professor of Toxicology at the University of Canterbury, Ian Shaw, about what the Act would have provided and the significance of the repeal in terms of New Zealanders safety.
For Dear Science this week, Professor Allan Blackman chatted with us about medically implanted batteries, this morning’s solar eclipse, and the explosion of a star.
Wire host Castor spoke to the National Party’s James Meager about the coalition government’s new action plan.
News and Editorial Director Jessica Hopkins spoke to ActionStation Aotearoa Director Kassie Hartendorp about the government mandating referendums on Māori wards.
Producer Sofia spoke to Kaiārahi for the New Zealand History Teachers Association, Craig Thornhill, about the Education Review Office’s recent report on the first year of implementing the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum
She also spoke to Professor of Toxicology at the University of Canterbury, Ian Shaw, about the coalition government’s intention to repeal the Therapeutic Products Act 2023.
On Wednesday Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni dominated political headlines with news that she is believed to be a contestant on this year's season of Celebrity Treasure Island.
The last MP to compete on a reality TV show was David Seymour, who competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2018. This appearance resulted in a now infamous video of Seymour twerking in 80s getup.
Last years Celebrity Treasure Island also drew headlines for including famous political figures, notably Tame Iti.
Political news this week has also included an announcement from Paul Goldsmith that the Government is looking at stopping election day voter enrolment due to the administrative burden.
Caeden asked about both these topics for our weekly catch-up with Carmel Sepuloni. They started by asking if she would appear in Celebrity Treasure Island.
On the 19th of December 2022, Farzana Yaqubi, a 21 year old law student at AUT, was murdered by a man who had been repeatedly stalking her and sending her threatening messages on social media. In the months leading up to her murder, Farzana made multiple police reports with evidence of her experienced stalking, urging law enforcement to intervene. However, her reports were effectively disregarded and treated as low priority, as there are no official laws in Aotearoa that criminalise stalking.
Farzana’s murder triggered a call to the government from numerous women’s rights advocates across the motu to come up with more effective legislation to criminalise stalking and establish more effective preventative measures in law enforcement.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Leonie Morris from the Auckland Women’s Centre, to discuss a petition calling for the official criminalisation of stalking.
If you're interested, you can sign the petition here:
For Dear Science this week Doctor Cushla McGoverin chatted to us about an orangutan treating its own injury, beluga whales changing the shape of their foreheads, and the development of skin burn healing bandages from plant based materials.
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.
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