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The New Zealand Veterinary Association has recently joined a petition to ban the public sale of fireworks.

The petition comes as a number of pet advocates are increasingly concerned about the fear and stress which is inflicted on pets and other animals by firework use.

Producer Josef spoke to the New Zealand Veterinary Association’s Head of Veterinary Services for Companion Animals, Sally Corey, about the petition, the impact of fireworks on animals, and how to keep your pet safer on Guy Fawkes Day.

Featuring a rollcall of the recipients of the Student Radio Network Mighty Aotearoa Alternative Awards 2024, congratulations to all the nominees and winners! Last Rāhoroi was miharo! Later on the show was the weekly Fashun review with Penelope Noir, and the book review Loose Reads with Jenna. Whakarongo mai nei!

The Police have announced a new phased approach to attending lesser mental health-related callouts, that are not of high risk or are related to crime, with the next phase aimed at handing over these responsibilities to health staff.

The first phase is beginning this month, with the fourth and final phase set to begin from July to September 2025.

Police Commissioner, Andrew Coster, in a statement, sez Police received one mental health callout every seven minutes, taking up half a million hours of Police frontline time per year, of which of these callouts, only 11% are given a priority response.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Associate Professor in the School of Health at the University of Waikato, Sarah Gordon, about what this phased approach will look like heading forward.

On Loose Reads this week, Jenna recommends a summer read and potential Christmas present, The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. This novel also happens to be nominated for the 2024 Booker Prize! Whakarongo mai nei~

On Wednesday, the 30th of October, prominent mental health advocate, Mike King, during an interview with Newstalk ZB, claimed that alcohol is a solution for people with mental health problems. 

The interview stems from a suicide prevention fundrasing event in Dunedin struggling to obtain a liquor license. 

Following the statements and subsequent controversy, a briefing was released on the Public Health Communication Centre Aotearoa, providing the facts and evidence around the correlation alcohol can have with mental health concerns.

News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to co-author of the briefing and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Population Health at the University of Otago, Dr Rose Crossin, about the briefing, and Mike King’s claim.

You can read the briefing here.

If you are struggling with mental health related problems, some places you can reach out to include:

Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)

Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)• Youth services: (06) 3555 906

Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234

Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111, go to your nearest emergency department, or phone your local DHB Mental Health Crisis Team (find your local number by ringing Healthline on 0800 611 116)

ACT MP Simon Court has recently introduced a members bill looking to scrap ‘alcohol licensing trust monopolies’ which remain in Gore, Invercargill and West Auckland. 

This would change the system in these areas in which the licensing trusts decide where alcohol can be sold, resulting in no alcohol at supermarkets and very few bars. The bill has received a lot of response, with trusts in the South calling it an ‘Auckland-centric’ view and undemocratic. 

For their weekly catch-up Producer Evie spoke to Court about the bill and the responses to it. 

They also talk about Mike King and the government funding for his mental health initiative ‘Gumboot friday’, following controversial comments made by King. 

In a Newstalk ZB interview last week King claimed that ‘alcohol wasn’t a problem for people with mental health issues’ instead that it was a ‘solution to these issues.’ 

Now the Labour party is calling for the government to suspend funding for the $24 million gumboot friday initiative. 

And finally they talk about Police being pulled back from mental health callouts, which began at the start of this month. The move has left health workers worried about their safety and how to deal with violence in the workplace. 

This week on the Monday Wire...

For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party's Simon Court, producer Evie spoke to Simon about his members bill to change alcohol laws in West Auckland, Mike King’s controversial comments surrounding alcohol and mental health and the government’s funding of King’s Gumboot Friday initiative, as well as police pulling back from mental health call outs.

News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Population Health at the University of Otago, Dr Rose Crossin, about a briefing she co-authored regarding the correlation between suicide and alcohol, following controversial statements made by I Am Hope and Gumboot Friday campaigner, Mike King, in which he claimed alcohol is a solution for people with mental health problems.

They also spoke to Associate Professor in the School of Health at the University of Waikato, Sarah Gordon, about the police’s phased approach to attending fewer related mental health callouts that are not correlated with a level of high risk or crime.

And Evie spoke to climate scientist and honorary academic at the University of Auckland, Kevin Trenberth about calls for world leaders to scrap net zero targets that look to offset emissions, and instead endeavour to remove all emissions in a ‘real zero’ initiative.

Whakarongo mai!

Around the world countries are tackling climate change with net zero targets. This involves offsetting carbon emissions through other initiatives such as planting trees or using technology that pulls carbon dioxide out of the air. 

Despite the drive to meet these targets, carbon in the atmosphere is continuing to rise, and even with the current efforts to offset them, they aren’t predicted to drop. 

Climate scientist and honorary academic at the University of Auckland, Kevin Trenberth says that world leaders should scrap these net zero targets and instead focus on ‘real zero’, eliminating fossil fuels entirely. 

Producer Evie spoke to Trenberth about what the ‘real zero’ initiative involves, how it differs from net zero, and how realistic it is for it to be adopted both in Aotearoa and globally. 

A Soukous Special

This week on Fashun, our in-house en vaugue expert Penelope Noir chats about sunglasses, the history of the accessory, how to wear them, and whether you can wear them inside or at night!