Over the weekend at New Zealand First’s annual convention, and campaign launch, party leader Winston Peters announced a new oil and gas exploration policy. The Party would invest a billion dollars in a national subsurface development survey to establish a single dataset for oil, gas, geothermal, and carbon dioxide storage sites.

In his announcement, Peters focused on the potential of New Zealand’s offshore oil and gas basins, claiming there was a 90 per cent chance of a major commercial discovery, and that New Zealand potentially held Norway-scale energy prospects.

Concerns have been raised about the policy, with environmental agencies such as Greenpeace criticising its potential climate impact, and other critics calling the investment a gamble based on New Zealand’s recent unsuccessful attempts at oil and gas exploration.

To discuss New Zealand First’s new policy, producer Thomas spoke to University of Auckland Professor Dr Basil Sharp.

Kia ora e te whānau,

Thanks for tuning in to the mighty bosom!

The usual suspects feature on the playlist today, consisting of fresh releases from Sam Goku and Jorg Kuning and old favs from This Mortal Coil and Ultraísta.

Thanks to The Tuning Fork!

Astronomer Ben Bradford from Te Whatu Stardome joins Smashton and Big J to chat about the potential of putting thousands of remote controllable mirrors into space and some cool upcoming events at Te Whatu Stardome! 

Thanks to Te Whatu Stardome 

Charlie joins Rosetta and Milly to chat about all things kawhe! Whakarongo mai nei!

Thanks to eighthirty coffee roasters!

Last week, the ACT Party announced that former broadcaster Paul Henry will be running as a candidate in this year’s election. Henry has been subject to some controversy in the past, with derogatory comments made towards multiple public figures during his time as a breakfast show host. 

Also last week, the Green Party announced a policy of default union membership, meaning that a person will be automatically signed up for the appropriate union when they start a new job. The ACT Party says this policy impedes on personal freedoms, though the Greens have reiterated that people can still leave unions. 

Lastly, the government’s ban on puberty blockers has been under scrutiny following a court case from the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa. The association has put forward multiple critiques, primarily that the ban appears to be based in ideology rather than medical evidence. 

For this week’s catch-up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News Director Castor asked about each of these issues, beginning with Paul Henry’s appointment as a candidate.

This week on the Monday Wire... 

For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about newly announced ACT candidate Paul Henry, default union membership, and scrutiny over the ban on puberty blockers.

They also spoke to Children’s Commissioner Claire Achmad about problems with the proposed move-on orders bill and particularly how it can impact young people in Aotearoa. 

Wednesday Wire producer Theo spoke to University of Canterbury Associate Professor Tim Chambers about the impacts of nitrate levels on pre-term births. 

And Monday Wire producer spoke with Dr Terryann Clark, the Cure Kids Professorial Chair in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the University of Auckland, about banning social media for under 16-year-olds in Aotearoa.

Arini brings us a whakataukī to get us through the wiki! Whakarongo mai nei!

Haere e whai te waewae āo ō Uenuku, kia ora ai te tāngata // Go search for the footprints of Uenuku, so that humankind can be well.

A recently released study from researchers at the Otago, Canterbury, and Massey universities has found an association between nitrate concentrations in drinking water, and pre-term births.

The study is the first of its scale to investigate the health impacts of nitrate on health, involving the birth records of over 735,000 babies born between 2008 and 2021. 

It comes after the Ministry of Health launched a review into the health effects of nitrate in drinking water earlier this year, with groups such as Greenpeace long-arguing for a reduction in the maximum acceptable value of nitrate in drinking water for Aotearoa New Zealand.

So, to learn more about what the study found, Producer Theo spoke to its lead author, the University of Canterbury’s Associate Professor Tim Chambers.

A New Zealand parliamentary inquiry has backed stronger regulation of social media, including a possible ban for users under 16.

Supporters argue a ban could protect young people from addictive platforms, harmful content and worsening mental health. But University of Auckland researchers say the evidence does not support blaming social media as the main cause of rising youth distress.

To discuss this, Producer Pranuja spoke with Dr Terryann Clark, the Cure Kids Professorial Chair in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the University of Auckland.

Jenna joins Rosetta and Milly for a chat about Ben Lerner's Transcription. Whakarongo mai nei!

Thanks to Timeout Bookstore!