95bFM: The Wire

The 95bFM Auckland Central Candidates debate was cancelled, with National candidate Candace Kinser unable to attend due to other commitments. Instead, we had Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick come up to the studio to discuss her campaign and the Green Party's policies on a myriad of issues. 

For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about Auckland Council bringing back in-person booth voting for local elections and the ongoing Auckland Heritage Festival.

For Politics with Whakaata Māori I caught up with Te Aniwaniwa Paterson about recent Whakaata Māori-Curia polling. 

And they spoke to Jean Classey, ED Nurse and Nurses Organisation Delegate, about Te Whatu Ora agreeing to employ 24 new nurses for North Shore Hospital. 

Producer Flo spoke with Labour MP Shanan Halbert about Labour’s new student debt reduction policy, the expected government surplus and Labour’s fiscal policy, reversal of pay equity changes and low youth enrolment.

And Producer Eloïse spoke with Tatjana Buklijas, Senior Lecturer in Global Studies at the University of Auckland, about citizens’ assemblies.

NZ First has announced a 15-point ‘Make New Zealand Healthy’ plan, placing emphasis on the role of prevention in health approaches, pointing to the cost burden of avoidable health issues. However, whether or not this plan effectively tackles the issue is a different question.

Prevention has also become an increased priority for other political parties, with Labour, Greens, and Opportunity all discussing prevention in their health approaches.

Host Alex spoke with Professor of Population Health at the University of Auckland, and Chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa, Boyd Swinburn, about NZ First’s plan, its problems, and what it and similar approaches get right going into this election.

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Wire Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Greens call to clean up politics, Labour ruling things out before the election and the state of MMP.

For our fortnightly catchup with The Opportunity Party, Wire Producer Theo was joined in the studio with leader Qiulae Wong to discuss the party’s bottom lines heading into the election.

And for Candidates of Tāmaki Makaurau today, I speak to NZ First Candidate for Mangere, Vicky Hau.

Yesterday, Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong released the party’s five bottom lines heading into the election. 

The first was to bring prices down by giving greater powers to the Commerce Commission to go after anti-competitive businesses. The second, to introduce lobbying reform and cap political donations. The party will demand a 10-year cross-party plan for health, alongside banning bottom trawling from damaged inshore areas, with the goal of phasing out the practice entirely. And finally, they have committed to recommitting to our commitments under the Paris Accords and protecting the role of the Climate Change Commission.

Conspicuously absent were the party’s central tax reforms and citizens income policies, which Wong addressed in the following media standup, saying that such major changes were unlikely to happen in the short term.

So to hear more about what these bottom lines will mean for the party - and how much wiggle room might be left for post-election negotiations - producer Theo was joined in our studio by Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong.

For Dear Science this week, we chat with our experts Professor Sebastian Leuzinger and DR Syrie Hermans, talk with us about Sea Cucumbers, and Deep Water Renewal

Host Alex talks with Professor of Population Health at the University of Auckland, and Chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa, Boyd Swinburn, about New Zealand First's “Make New Zealand Healthy” plan, and the role of prevention in Health policy going forward into the election.

And Producer Thomas speaks to University of Auckland Associate Professor Marta Andhov about new commerce commission figures which show that bid-rigging costs taxpayers THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY MILLION dollars a year, and how we can improve procurement design.

The latest review on youth mental health hotlines has identified a number of issues attributed to an increased demand for services.

These include up to 69% of calls being abandoned due to long wait times, and a need for better training for staff dealing with increasingly complex and serious mental health calls.

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey has shared three initiatives to improve hotline services, including an expansion of peer support hours from 2pm and 10pm, to 9am to midnight; proactive follow up calls and a new 24/7 suicide prevention crisis line.

University of Auckland Health Professors Terryann Clark and Sarah Hetrick say these direct plans are important, but addressing larger issues like poverty, youth unemployment and homelessness is also “critical”.

Wire Producer Sara spoke to Professor Sarah Hetrick on this topic, firstly by asking her thoughts on the review’s findings.

This week on the Monday Wire... 

For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about the party’s minimum wage policies for this year’s election. 

Producer Sara spoke to Professor Sarah Hetrick about increased demand for Mental Health Services.

And for Candidates of Tāmaki Makaurau, Castor spoke to Esther Tofilau-Tevaga, NZ First Candidate for the Manurewa electorate.

The Government has moved to ban voting rights for non-elected members on council committees.

For Auckland Council this would apply to members of Houkura, the Independent Māori Statutory Board.

And the opening of the City Rail Link has led to new search trends for “things to do in Auckland CBD” and specific downtown commercial hubs. 

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

Big tech corporations have gained a huge amount of power. Allowing them to own pretty much all digital infrastructure.

This lets them set their own rules for platforms that both people and businesses rely on. It also allows them to lobby against any government decisions and laws that may restrict their control over digital territory.

However, massive and powerful corporations aren’t a new concept; we’ve seen this happen previously in history, and we’ve seen this unrestrained corporate power end with regulation

Many argue that the foundations of today’s powerful companies don’t differ much from those of the past.

So how can we regulate our big tech companies today?

To learn more about these corporations, how they gain their power and possible solutions to regulating them. Producer Jude spoke to the University of Auckland Dean of Law, Professor Susan Watson.