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Earlier this week, 26 climate scientists wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, accusing the government of ignoring scientific evidence of methane emissions and urging him to work towards reducing emissions.

The letter also criticised the government’s method of reducing emissions to the level of “no additional warming”, a concept approved by the Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb, to keep New Zealand’s contribution to global heating at the levels they were in 2017.

However, Chris Luxon reportedly dismissed the open letter, referring to the climate scientists as “worthies” and insisting that the government was managing methane emissions better than "every other country on the planet,” despite the fact that New Zealand has one of the highest per-capita methane emissions rates in the world.

Oto spoke to Amanda Larsson, Senior Campaign manager for Greenpeace Aotearoa about the open letter sent to Christopher Luxon by 26 climate scientists, Luxon’s reaction to it and the concept of “no additional warming.”

Chris Cudby freaks the sheep! Whakraongo mai nei.

Thanks to NZ On Air Music and Big Pop's Drake Street Studios.  

Like the rest of the world, we are currently living in a time of economic uncertainty. Economists are forecasting the NZ dollar’s decrease in value, and there have been debates about whether the official cash rate should decrease.

Professor Robert MacCulloch is one of the academics that believe the OCR should stay as is. Producer Faith spoke to MacCulloch about his stance.

Ngā mihi The Tuning Fork!

Tardy but hardy, fresh back from Sabres witnessing, head blown, gasket full of grooves

This week on Dear Science our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about debunked claims of life on the distant planet k2-18b, stories of a mysterious 'Planet X', and playing 'The Blue Danube' in outer space. 

Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow!

Today on Drive, Nick has a kōrero with Pōneke based DJ/producer Benny Salvador about their upcoming Aunty Records gig on June 6 at Whammy Bar. For AudioCulture, Andrew Schmidt is up in the studio to chat with Nick and Rosetta about all things NZ Garage Rock. Plus prizes, news, weather, surf, and plenty of tunes. Whakarongo mai nei!

Thanks to The Beer Spot!

One of the less discussed announcements in 2025’s budget was the disestablishment of Predator Free 2050. The project was announced by former Prime Minister John Key in 2016, with the ambitious goal of complete pest eradication in Aotearoa. 

The government’s contributions to the mission were funneled through ‘Predator Free 2050’ a government-funded organisation created to support conservation projects and technologies. These projects funded through Predator Free 2050 will not be affected by the organisation’s closure, and will instead be passed on to the Department of Conservation. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says the change will increase efficiency and reduce duplication. 

While it’s good news that the funding won’t be affected on paper, the Department of Conservation is already struggling to manage its existing commitments. With these additional responsibilities, the future of the Predator Free mission has become less certain. 

To discuss conservation in Aotearoa and how this cut will affect the Predator Free mission, Wire host Castor spoke to General Manager at Forest and Bird, Richard Capie.

The government’s 2025 budget still seems to be very topical. Despite many academics criticising the budget for taking money out of of the pockets of those less well-off, the government has also received praise for their investment in abuse redress and care reform- with them allocating $774m to the victims of abuse in state care.

Producer Faith spoke to Professor Jodi Gardner from the University of Auckland’s Law Faculty about how the  investment will benefit this victims, and what she thinks the government should do to ensure practical solutions are put in place

This week's brainbox is recent doctoral graduate and academic at the Business School Dr Farzana Adeel. Dr Adeel phones in to teach us about her thesis and research into the challenges that migrant entrepeneurs face, and how this impacts the ability of the job market in Aotearoa to attract immigrant entrepeneurs and business owners. To learn more, whakarongo mai nei or read more about Dr Adeel's research here. 

Thanks to the University of Auckland!