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On Saturday, Destiny Church held a protest in the Auckland CBD under the slogan “no immigration without assimilation”, denouncing non-Christian religions and other groups in Aotearoa.

The demonstration, which Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki described as a “lawful, peaceful protest”, involved the destruction and burning of flags including the Palestinian flag and the Rainbow Pride flag.

Leaders from a collection of ethnic community groups have called for the toughening of hate speech laws in response to the intolerance displayed at this protest action, which political figures like Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour and Police Minister Mark Mitchell condemned as “unkiwi”, and “vile rhetoric and behaviour”.

Seeking to dive deeper into the issue of extremism and hostility towards diverse cultures in New Zealand, I spoke with far right and alt-right extremism expert Byron Clark about the protest and the existence of these groups in Aotearoa.

Producer Sara began the interview by asking Clark to explain the kind of ideologies that were on display at the protest.

Zohran Mamdani has all but won the Democratic Primary in New York City after key competitor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race. 

Mamdani will now be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.

His campaign was built on cost-of-living, where Mamdani presented himself as an authentic, Democratic Socialist, grassroots campaign leader.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to 95bFM reporter and South Asia correspondent Sanat Singh about Momdani’s win, what this means for the communities he represents, and where to from here.

HALFQUEEN speaks to producer and artist BAMBII about her brand new album INFINITY CLUB II. Whakarongo mai nei!

Last week, the council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Committee said they would be seeking to implement a number of recommendations that improve emergency readiness for disabled populations.

Following a hui last year where community members were invited to bring forward issues relating to future planning for natural disasters, Sara was interested to hear about how the council is taking suggestions on board.

As well, Auckland Council has been considering proposals to mitigate flood risks around the Wairau catchment, including one which would see the reduction of the size of the Takapuna Golf Course, to convert the space into a flood catchment.

Producer Sara spoke to Auckland Councillor Shane Henderson on both of these topics, firstly by asking him to discuss the desired outcomes relating to emergency preparedness for disabled people, and the council’s first steps to implementation

NZ First MP Shane Jones recently announced that he’d be drafting a member's bill to force Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement.

Under the proposal, hapū would be prevented from negotiating separate commercial redresses, and any reference to hapū sovereignty would be removed from the settlement terms.

Professor of Māori studies at the University of Auckland, Margaret Mutu, said that, while the bill’s announcement wasn’t uncharacteristic of the Crown or Shane Jones’s approach to treaty settlements, attempts to force Ngāpuhi into a single settlement claim would be met with fierce opposition, by Ngāpuhi, northland hapū and Iwi all across the Motu.

Brought to you by the NZ Drug Foundation, with thanks to The Level.

Joined on the airwaves by Philip Kelly i tēnei rā! Flicking through an array of genres... from Djrum, Herbie Hancock, and Bobbi Humphrey, to Broadcast, Young Marble Giants, and a Brian Eno - David Byrne collab. 

Ngā mihi nui The Tuning Fork <3 !

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about the Regulatory Standards Bill, last weekend's Destiny Church protest, and the Taxpayers Union-Curia Poll on Cook Islands Citizenship.

For International Desk, they spoke to 95bFM reporter Sanat Singh about Zohran Mamdani’s all-but-confirmed primary win that has made him the Democratic nominee for the New York City mayoral race.

For this week’s City Counselling, Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about the council’s emergency preparedness plans for the disabled community, and the proposals for flood mitigation at the Takapuna Golf Course

She also spoke with far-right extremism expert Byron Clark about last weekend’s Destiny Church protest

Finally, she spoke with University of Auckland doctoral student Tom Wilkinson about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, in light of tensions between Israel and Iran.

In light of recent tensions between Israel and Iran, as well as the involvement of global superpower the United States, academics have raised concerns about nuclear proliferation and its consequences in the Middle East as well as on a global stage. 

As the need for nuclear deterrence is critical, the latest exchange of attacks between involved parties risks escalating conflict in the region and presents an urgent challenge for diplomatic relationships to diffuse the situation.

Producer Sara spoke to University of Auckland International and Political Relations doctoral student Tom Wilkinson about this topic, including the risk of nuclear proliferation in the region.

She began by asking him to explain the recent events between Israel and Iran in the broader context of global militarisation and history of nuclear armament.