The government introduced the Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill to parliament on Monday, which requires platforms like Instagram, Tiktok, and Facebook to take reasonable steps to check that New Zealand social media users are over 16.

While the government has said there is not enough time for the Online Safety Bill to receive a first reading before the election, it has sparked debate about how to promote young people’s wellbeing online.

Digital services excluded from the age restriction proposed by the Bill include messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Discord, and AI chatbots like ChatGPT.

This morning Producer Eloise spoke with Jane Searle, Mana Mokopuna Children’s Commissioner, about what the Bill could look like in practice and its potential impact for rangatahi.

Te Pāti Māori has announced its election strategy, focused on candidate votes, and encouraging party votes for the broader left bloc. 

They have also announced their tax plan for this election, including nine key tax changes they would like to see. ‘

The Act party has announced a new constitutional policy, which they are calling “one law for all”.

And the government has announced they are going ahead with its bill to ban social media for under-16s.

For Politics with Māni Dunlop, Wire Host Caeden asked about all of these topics.

The Government is proceeding with the ban on social media for under-16s through the Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill.

The Bill was introduced by Education Minister and National MP Erica Stanford, but the Labour Party has said they will also support the Bill through First Reading.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to Chloe Dilley, a youth advocate and host of the radio show Chloe Dilley Seeking Talents, about the views of young people on this issue.

And they spoke to Dr Michael Daubs, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at the University of Otago, about whether a ban for young people is the best approach to regulating social media.

Auckland Council has revealed three potential options for congestion charging in the city centre during peak travel times.

The National Party has backtracked on their promise to consider implementing a bed levy to fund major events and tourism infrastructure.

And street performers are challenging new permit rules and what Auckland Live called a “busker exclusion zone”  in the Auckland CBD.

For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden caught up with Councillor Shane Henderson about all of these issues.

News Director Castor spoke to Labour MP Shanan Halbert about a social media ban, a cap on rates increases, and reinstating the Smokefree Generation.

For City Counselling, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about the next steps for congestion charging, the Government’s backtrack on a bed levy, and busking exclusion zones in the CBD.

For Politics with Māni Dunlop, they asked about Te Pāti Māori’s campaign strategy, Act’s “one law for all” policy, and the government pushing ahead with a social media ban for under-16s.

They spoke with Chloe Dilley, youth advocate and host of the radio show Chloe Dilley Seeking Talents, about young people's perspectives on a social media ban.

And they spoke to Dr Michael Daubs, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at the University of Otago, about what evidence-based decision-making on regulating social media would look like. 

Producer Eloïse spoke with Jane Searle, Mana Mokopuna Children’s Commissioner, about her view on the social media ban for under-16s.

Lobbying in New Zealand has been making a few headlines recently, with the particularly prominent example of Fonterra and Z Energy successfully getting the government to legislate against climate lawsuits. Even more recently, the Opportunity Party has been campaigning on making some significant reforms to lobbying in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Currently, New Zealand has next to no lobbying regulation, and has been given a score of ZERO by the OECD on the area.

The Health Coalition Aotearoa has been at the forefront of calling for change, pointing to the outsized harm of alcohol, tobacco, and ultraprocessed food industries on our health.

So, to learn more about what lobbying actually is, and what can be done about it, Producer Theo spoke to the co-chair of the Health Coalition Aotearoa, Professor Boyd Swinburn.

This week we’ve seen two moves from the government that have created opposition even amongst allied groups.

The first is their proposed Social Media ban, opposed by both member parties of the coalition government. It would mimic the Australian policy passed earlier this year, placing responsibility to block underaged accounts on the social media companies. If they fail to adhere to adequately to the ban they’d be at risk of fines up to 10% of the their GLOBAL revenue. For a company like META, who owns facebook and Instagram, 10% could be over $36 Billion NZD. Thats about equivalent to the annual government revenue from GST.

So why does it seem that only Labour is at all interested in supporting them and what is the Greens opposition to it?

Second, the National Party has ruled out a bed-night levy on visitors in Auckland and Queenstown accommodation, on the grounds that they are promising no new taxes. The only problem? Earlier this year they agreed to explore the policy in the Auckland Deal with Auckland Council. Their rejection of the policy, that would allow the Council to raise revenue from visitors, is another in a long line of cutting off real and potential revenue lines for the council, including scrapping the regional fuel tax and proposals to cap rates increases.

So for this week’s catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez March, we discuss the Greens reaction to national parties' proposed social media ban for under Sixteens and their walk back on the bed night levy.

Have you or your friends and family been taken out with the flu this season? 

Influenza A has raced through the country, combined with RSV, colds, and Covid 19 to make for the worst flu season in at least a decade.

This has placed additional strains on our already stretched healthcare system. In a letter signed by 100 nurses, healthcare assistants and other emergency department staff at North Shore Hospital sent to Health NZ chief executive Dr Dale Bramley, they detailed how they were lacking half the staff needed to reach capacityHealth NZ has acknowledged the staffing concerns and Bramley has urged the public avoid emergency department visits unless they needed urgent care.

Given that the Flu already contributes to 1-2% of deaths in the country, have we been taking it seriously enough?

Host Manny spoke to University of Otago's Professor of Public Health, Michael Baker, to understand what you can do to navigate this flu season.

This week on the Wednesday Wire...

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the National Party's proposed Social Media Ban and walk back of the bed night levy.

Producer Theo spoke to Professor Boyd Swinburn, co-chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa, on lobbying reform in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Finally Manny spoke to Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago, Michael Baker, about the mega flu season disrupting the nation.

Genomic discrimination by insurance companies, where the presence of certain mutations can lead to a person paying higher premiums or being refused insurance entirely due to perceived risk of carrying a heritable disease, is a growing concern worldwide. Yet, unlike most OECD countries, New Zealand currently has no safeguards to stop genetic discrimination from happening, meaning that insurance companies have the legal right to request genetic data from clients. 

A number of academics and organisations have formed the Against Genomic Discrimination Aotearoa coalition (AGenDA), and are pushing the government to ban genomic discrimination by insurance companies completely through a submission to the Contracts of Insurance Bill 2024 which has yet to be accepted. 

I spoke with Professor Andrew Shelling, a medical geneticist at the University of Auckland and one of the co-leads of AGenDA, about how significant of an issue genetic discrimination is, why New Zealand still has no laws on the issue, and the benefits that a ban would have.