95bFM: The Wire

For their regular catch-up, Oto spoke to the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March about the arrival of hīkoi mō te tiriti on parliament grounds, as well as the government’s plan to introduce visitors fees to conservation areas.

He spoke to Margaret Mutu, a professor of Māori studies at the University of Auckland, for a follow up conversation about the hīkoi with a focus on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

For this week’s Get Action! He spoke to Charlotte Melser representing the Concerned Communities of Taranaki and Manawatu, to discuss a petition of theirs opposing the granting of any seabed mining consents to Trans Tasman Resource Limited.

And he spoke to Emeritus Professor of Law - Jane Kelsey, to discuss the impacts of Donald Trump’s tariff proposal on the economy of New Zealand.

Producer Yesenia spoke to Director of Organising at E Tū - Savage, about the unions calls to the ministry of health to improve the Work and Safety Act of 2015 in wake of the 10-year annviersary of the Pike River mine disaster which killed 29 miners.

This week on the Tuesday Wire...

For Dear Science, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chats to us about how mining old data from NASA’s Voyager two has solved a variety of mysteries about Uranus, lizard spit being able to detect a rare pancreatic tumour, and elephants turning a hose into a showering tool, thanks to MOTAT.

For our weekly catchup with the National Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to MP Tom Rutherford about the Treaty Principles Bill passing its first reading in Parliament, the haka in protest of this, and Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon considering joining Pillar 2 of the AUKUS agreement.

Tuesday Wire Host, Castor, spoke to acting head of research and advocacy at Consumer NZ, Jessica Walker, about scamming in New Zealand for Fraud Awareness Week.

Producer Athena spoke to Professor of Law at the University of Auckland, Alexandra Andhov, about frameworks being implimented to combat scamming, also in light of Fraud Awareness Week.

And Athena spoke to Buy NZ Made Executive Director, Dane Ambler, about the concerns regarding overconsumption during the upcoming Black Friday shopping season, and how consumers can be mindful during this period.

Whakarongo mai!

With the Black Friday shopping season approaching, the anticipated consequences of overconsumption in Aotearoa have prompted the company, Buy NZ Made, to encourage New Zealanders to reconsider their participation in Black Friday sales.

Producer Athena spoke to Buy NZ Made Executive Director, Dane Ambler, about the effects of overconsumption in Aotearoa, and how shoppers may be conscious of their spending during the Black Friday period.

As it is Fraud Awareness Week, the government has announced its plan to tackle the issue of scamming in Aotearoa by collaborating with the public and banking sectors. 

Producer Athena spoke to Professor of Law at the University of Auckland, Alexandra Andhov, about why this step is welcome, while also indicating a broader issue of Big Tech companies having unregulated influence over social media users.

This week is Fraud Awareness Week, bringing to light the issue of scamming in Aotearoa and what the government can do about it. Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister Andrew Bayly announced yesterday that the government is looking into addressing the issue with a coordinated response. 

This response will focus on improving relationships between industries and international partners, however Consumer NZ sez this may not be enough. Tuesday Wire host Castor spoke to acting head of research and advocacy at Consumer NZ, Jessica Walker, about scamming in general and what more can be done.

You can check out Consumer NZ's scams and how to avoid them page here.

This week on the Monday Wire...

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to Global Innovator, Matt Hart, about grappling with moving back home, in a new segment beginning on the show.

For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Joel also speaks to Simon Court about the hīkoi mō te tiriti, the Treaty Principles Bill passing its first reading, and the haka protesting this.

Producer Yesenia speaks to Professor in the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland, Alex Sims, about the concerns regarding facial recognition.

Joel speaks to Senior Lecturer in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at the University of Canterbury, Sally Gaw, about a study published in Science discussing global plastic waste.

And Yesenia speaks to Child Poverty Action group Researcher Harry Yu Shi about newly released statistics showing there is currently 99,000 New Zealand children in persistent poverty.

Whakarongo mai!

Currently there's 99,000 children in persistent poverty according to newly released official statistics NZ definition which was released on Friday. 

Producer Yesenia spoke to Child Poverty Action Group researcher Harry Yu Shi about the new statistics regarding persistent poverty being prominent in children lives and how new-long term approaches have been proposed to combat the 99,000 in poverty. 

Facial recognition has been on the rise within technology, and so has our dependency on said technology. However, concerns have been raised with such risks regarding this.

Producer Yesenia spoke to Professor in the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland, Alex Sims, on the concerns facial recognition has posed for today's technology, and the various alternatives people can use with dealing with sensitive information online.

A new study, published in Science, has estimated that global plastic waste will double by 2050, if stricter regulations are not implemented.

However, the same publication also says that if at least FOUR recommendations being proposed at the United Nations plastic pollution treaty were to be implemented, this would cut down 91% of waste.

News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Senior Lecturer in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at the University of Canterbury, Sally Gaw, about the study, and what these recommendations would entail.

The Australian government has announced plans to implement legislation that would ban under 16 year olds from social media, with Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, saying the bill will be introduced to Parliament within the next few weeks.

This move has been criticised, including by the The Australian Child Rights Taskforce; an organisation made up of 100 academics and 20 civil society organisations, which have written to the Australian government opposing the bill, rather calling for the government to impose “safety standards” on social media.

However, Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, Dr Samantha Marsh, supports Australia’s move, and is calling for New Zealand to implement similar restrictions. 

News and Editorial Director, and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to her about Australia’s move, and why she supports it.