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For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni about the new Stats NZ child poverty stats, the government’s proposed changes to citizens arrest laws, and the protests at Lake Rotokākahi. 

For International Desk, they spoke to Red Tsounga, President of the Aotearoa Africa Foundation, about the ongoing conflict in the Congo.

And they spoke to Carolyn Young, Chief Executive of Retail New Zealand, about the proposed expansion of citizen arrest laws.

For City Counselling this week, Producer Sofia caught up with Councillor Julie Fairey about Auckland Council’s proposal to move Kumeū due to flood risk and bed night visitor levy to fill a budget gap for major events. 

She also spoke to Dr Annette Lasham from the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Science about new research from 185 countries showing New Zealand and Australia have the highest breast cancer incidence rates in the world.

And Wednesday Wire Host Oto spoke to University of Auckland health researcher Dr Joanna Hikaka about a new study on older Māori experience with ACC.

Featuring a special announcement, Marlon Williams is about to embark on a nation-wide tour for his forthcoming album Te Whare Tīwekaweka! Check out all the info here. Plus the weekly Aural Emporium. 

An international report published last week by The Lancet Global Health Commission, co-authored by the University of Auckland, has revealed hundreds of thousands are dying each year through a lack of access to medical oxygen.

“Oxygen delayed is life denied,” said one survivor of Covid-19 in Kenya.

Associate Clinical and Medical Health Sciences Professor at the University of Auckland, Stephen Howie, one of the co-authors of the report, offered producer Amani his precious time away from the hospital for an interview, where he shared with us his personal experiences in overseas hospitals where he’s seen a lack of medical oxygen be the cause of many preventable deaths, and his thoughts on what needs to be done for this issue to be fixed.

For their weekly catch up with the Green Party, Oto spoke to Ricardo Menendez March about ongoing protests at lake Rotokākahi, Stats NZs recent child poverty report, and Marama Davidson’s Consumer Guarantees Right to Repair Amendment Bill.

For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Glenn Barclay, Chairperson of Tax Justice Aotearoa and the better taxes coalition, about a campaign of his calling for tax reform in Aotearoa.

Amani spoke to Associate Clinical and Medical Health Sciences Professor at the University of Auckland, Stephen Howie, about the current widespread suffering and death around the globe due to a lack of medical oxygen supply.

And she also spoke to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management and International Business at the University of Auckland, Brent Burmester, on why he thinks the coalition government’s recently revised Active Investor Plus visa, in his words, “misses the mark.”

Roughly 47,000 civilians were killed in Afghanistan during the nation’s 20-year war from 2001 to 2021, despite international agreements to avoid ‘unnecessary’ civilian casualties.

In the recently released book: ‘Weaponizing Civilian Protection: Counterinsurgency and Collateral Damage in Afghanistan,’ the author, and Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland, Dr Thomas Gregory, investigates how the war played out in regards to these ethical affairs at stake.

Last week, Producer Sasha spoke to him about the findings in his book.

One of the main promises that National and the coalition ran on in the lead up to the most recent general elections was that of tax relief, by lifting the personal income tax thresholds for low- and middle-income earners and families, and most notably, landlords and large businesses. 

Funding these tax cuts have been widespread austerity measures, with almost  10,000 public sector roles having been cut as of December 2024.

In response to the government’s tax policies Tax Justice Aotearoa have launched a petition calling for capital gains taxes to be introduced and other tax reforms to achieve better social outcomes in Aotearoa.

Oto spoke to Glenn Barclay, Chairperson of Tax Justice Aotearoa and the better taxes coalition, about the petition and the issues with the tax system in Aotearoa.

If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:

The 95bFM Top Ten counts down the best tunes from the bFM playlist as chosen by you!

Protesters have begun occupying Lake Rotokākahi, a tapu lake in Rotorua, over a decision by the Rotorua lakes council to construct a sewerage pipeline, with the last 1.3km of the pipeline being laid near the lake. The protestors, largely descended from Tūhourangi and Tūmatawera hapū, believe the works will desecrate the lake site and pollute it and seven arrests have been made so far.

The week before, Stats NZ published their annual child poverty statistics report, which showed that the number of children living in material hardships increased by 0.9% from last year and that the government missed all three of its targets for reducing child poverty.

And in that same week, Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson’s Consumer Guarantees Right to Repair Amendment Bill passed its first reading in Parliament, which would require manufacturers to provide repair parts and resources to allow consumers to extend the life cycle of the products they use.

Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez-March for the green party’s take on all of these issues.

Drive is back, and today's guest host is none other than Billy T nominated comedian Tim Batt!