95bFM: The Wire

Dunedin Herald is a satire news organisation that has recently achieved virality on Instagram. The organisation posts various different 'Onion-esque' headlines, on issues such as various different political parties' policies, events in the music and culture scene, and the ongoings of the Dunedin student scene. With the organisation now approaching 15,000 followers, its engagement often exceeds that of some more 'serious' news organisations.

News director Castor spoke to the editor of Dunedin Herald about the organisation's burst in popularity, what might have led to the increase, and what it means for students. 

Last week, migrant bus drivers and their supporters rallied at Britomart calling for greater security and clearer pathways to residency for workers who were recruited during New Zealand’s driver shortage.

The rally also drew attention after a confrontation with a member of the public, while Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has defended the Government’s current residency requirements.

Producer Pranuja followed up with the Union Network of Migrants coordinator Max Santiago about how the rally went, the response from the Government and public, and where the campaign goes from here. She started by asking him about the events of the rally.

The $5.5 Billion City Rail Link opened to passengers for the first time on Sunday. 

And this week is Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, with events happening across Tāmaki Makaurau to mark the occasion. 

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

The Whakaata Māori-Curia Poll has released the findings of their polling of Māori across the general and Māori rolls. 

For our politics catch-up with Whakaata Māori, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Daniel Perese about these poll results.

For City Counselling this week, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about the opening of the City Rail Link on Sunday and what Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori looks like in Tāmaki Makaurau. 

And for our politics catch-up with Whakaata Māori, they spoke to Daniel Perese about the results of the new Whakaata Māori-Curia poll. 

Flo spoke with Labour MP Shanan Halbert about Labour’s new price gouging policy and their proposed Capital Gains Tax as well as the possibility of a hung parliament.

Producer Eloise spoke with Dr Olivier Jutel from the University of Otago about the fallout from Macklemore being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour.

Buy now, pay later products such as Afterpay, Klarna, and Zip allow users to pay for a variety of goods and services in - typically four - fortnightly instalments.

Although these products do not charge fees or interest as long as payments are made on time, a substantial amount of providers' revenue comes from late fees.

One of the distinctive points around buy now, pay later products, is how they've been marketed in a way that frames them as different to traditional debt - or not as debt at all.

So how do these perceptions of buy now, pay later products potentially reflect the ways consumers make use of them?

To learn more, producer Theo spoke to AUT's Professor Aaron Gilbert, one of the authors of a new study looking to increase our understanding of this relationship.

The study, 'A Rose by Any Other Name: The impact of consumer perceptions of Buy Now Pay Later on BNPL use by young adults' can be found here.

In the last few days, we’ve seen the long-awaited opening of the City Rail Link, a huge infrastructure project that took years and billions of dollars to complete. Despite this particular project reaching completion, the country faces challenges with meeting maintenance needs of current infrastructure alongside long-term agreement on new projects.

Earlier this year, a report commissioned by the national associations Civil Contractors New Zealand, Infrastructure New Zealand and Water New Zealand estimated that the stopping and starting of such projects has cost 11.8 billion dollars over the last thirty years.

So what changes would the Opportunity party look to make for how we maintain and invest in our country’s infrastructure?

Then, shifting to another generational issue, youth voter enrolments sat at 57.45% by the end of last month. So what needs to change to see greater engagement with young people, and how will recent changes to election rules affect this turnout?

But for our fortnightly catch up with the leader of the Opportunity Party, Qiulae Wong, producer Theo began by asking whether she’s had a chance to travel on the City Rail Link yet.

For Dear Science this week, we chat with our experts, Professor Sebastian Leuzinger and Dr Syrie Hermans,, about plants and their senses.

For our Weekly Catchup with the National Party, Host Alex speaks with MP Ryan Hamilton about the CRL, Auckland Council’s troubles with Fast-Tracked developments, and NZ’s condemnation of Illegal Israeli Settlements

Producer Thomas chats to Public Service Association National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons about an internal review into Ministry of Social Development errors, and how they may have been caused by cuts to the workforce.

Thomas also talks to University of Auckland Associate Professor Helen Petousis-Harris, about New Zealand’s flu vaccination rates being critically low.

And this week we have a City Rail Link special. News director Castor and Producer Liam caught the very first train on the opening day and interviewed members of the public. Liam also interviewed Viv Beck from Heart of the City and Bevan Assink from KiwiRail about how significant this moment is for Auckland.

Many will likely remember Sunday 13 September as the day that Auckland's city rail link opened. After nearly ten years of planning and construction, Auckland finally has an underground rail line, and many hope this will lead to a renaissance in the city. 

News Director Castor and Wire Producer Liam went to the opening of the CRL and caught the very first train departing at 4:57 AM from Ōtāhuhu. The passion was palpable on the day, everywhere one looked one could sense the passion of a lot of people passionate about trains and public transport. We interviewed members of the public to gauge people’s feelings and hopes for the future. 

Liam also spoke to Viv Beck, Chief Executive for Heart of the City, about what the CRL will mean for businesses in Auckland, and to Bevan Assink, Chief Metro Officer for KiwiRail, about how the opening day went from an operational perspective and what the CRL will mean in the context of Auckland’s wider rail system.

Here is their report...

This year New Zealand has seen a particularly bad flu season, with multiple Emergency Departments across the country being overloaded with sick patients and running well above capacity.

With an aging population the flu is becoming an increasingly serious illness for the country, but despite this only 58% of over 65 year olds, and a quarter of the total population have been vaccinated.

To discuss the impacts of a low flu vaccination rate and how New Zealand can improve its numbers, producer Thomas talked to University of Auckland Associate Professor Helen Petousis-Harris.