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Last week, the Government announced a bill which they say will enable the development of time of use schemes, also known as congestion charges.

Generally, time of use schemes charge motorists to use roads depending on time and location. This encourages motorists to adjust their travel time, and method of transport to reduce road congestion.

Under the planned legislation, councils propose their own time of use schemes to the central government. Waka Kotahi, the New Zealand Transport Agency then provides strong oversight in the development of schemes to consider the impact on motorists and businesses.

Under the plan, all final proposals will require the approval of the central government.

Last year, Auckland Council voted in favour of a time of use scheme and has been planning to introduce it by 2025. However, there are concerns among experts that the proposed legislation may make it more difficult for the successful implementation of time of use schemes; by over-exposing councils to central government oversight.

Producer Josef spoke to one such expert, Senior lecturer in Urban Planning at the University of Auckland, Dr Timothy Welch, about the legislation, congestion charges, and how Auckland’s own scheme might be impacted.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith recently confirmed the new Human Rights and Race Relations Commissioners: Dr Stephen Rainbow and Dr Melissa Derby. Following the announcement, the two were met with controversy for previous discriminatory comments.

Dr Rainbow had previously criticised the platforming of transgender activist Shaneel Lal, and expressed anti-Palestine views. Dr Melissa Derby has similarly expressed anti-transgender views at events. 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Katie Nimon, Wire host Castor asked about the appointment of these two individuals and the alignment of their views with the government. 

The government also recently announced one point three billion dollars of funding to address drink and drug driving. While the funding is appreciated by the NZ Police Association, there are worries that there aren’t enough police officers to meet the new targets. 

Castor discussed each of these issues with Katie in their weekly catchup. 

On Friday the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report which called for the ACT Party’s controversial Treaty Principals Bill to be scrapped. 

Some of the tribunal’s findings said the bill "is a solution to a problem that does not exist, it is fashioned upon a disingenuous historical narrative ;its policy rationales are unsustainable ; and its current text distorts the language of the Treaty / Te Tiriti.” 

Despite all of this, ACT Party leader David Seymour has welcomed the criticism, saying he’s open to encouraging ‘discussion and debate’ around the topic. 

For the weekly catch up with the ACT Party Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court why the party intends to move forward with the bill, in light of these scathing findings. 

They also discussed new sanctions for beneficiaries announced by the government last week, and why the ACT Party believes these should be even stricter than proposed. 

For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori, Joel spoke with Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about the Waitangi Tribunal’s interim report on the Treaty Principles Bill, and the reports calls to cut the bill.

They also spoke to her about the development of a cultural space, which has the same attributes of a marae, in Sydney, Australia, which has faced backlash by the indigenous Australian group, Dharug Ngurra, over concerns the space has not received adequate consent to be built on native land.

For our weekly catch up with Te Pāti Māori, News and Editorial Director, Joel, speaks to Mariameno Kapa-Kingi about Waitangi Tribunal calls for Treaty Principles Bill to be scrapped, and the controversial development of a cultural space, that shares the same attributes as a marae, in Sydney, Australia

Producer Evie, for her weekly catch up with the ACT Party, speaks to Simon Court about the Waitangi Tribunal’s calls to scrap the Treaty Principals Bill, as well as the party’s calls for stricter sanctions on beneficiaries.

Joel speaks to Lawyer and Secretary of Community Against Alcohol Harm (CAAH), Dr Grant Hewison, about Auckland’s planned alcohol restrictions.

They also speak to Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, Mark Thomas, about the new Mpox clade, and what this will mean for New Zealand.

and Evie speaks to Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Peter O'Connor about the government’s stricter maths curriculum pushing arts and music education to the side.

Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, declared Mpox, formally known as monkeypox, a global health emergency for the second year in a row.

This follows the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) experiencing its largest outbreak of the disease ever recorded, which has resulted in tens of thousands of infections.

Joel spoke to Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, Mark Thomas, about Mpox, and what this means for the country.

They started off by asking him if we should be concerned about this outbreak in New Zealand.

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The Auckland Council is set to decide when the Auckland Local Alcohol Policy will be put in place for the city.

The policy details stricter measures in Tāmaki Makaurau, which means bottle shops won’t be able to sell liquor after 9pm, and would put a two-year freeze on new liquor licences in high priority areas.

Joel spoke to Lawyer and Secretary of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, Dr Grant Hewison, about the policy, and what this will mean for Aucklanders.

The government recently announced that they’ll be moving forward with changes to maths teaching in schools a year earlier than intended. 

Changes revolve around implementing stricter structure to the way maths is taught, and introducing more standardised maths assessments for children in years 0-8. 

The Prime Minister has said that this may mean deferring the arts and music curriculum to allow for these changes. 

In a Newsroom article, Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Peter O'Connor says that pushing the arts curriculum to the side would be detrimental for students. 

Producer Evie spoke to O’Connor about why arts and music is so important for students, as well as having the ability to lift their maths and literacy results.