95bFM: The Wire

This week on the Tuesday Wire... 

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about making English an official language of Aotearoa and reducing the minimum proposed homes for Auckland down to 1.6 million. 

They also spoke to Dr. Mohsen Mohammadzadeh from the University of Auckland’s school of architecture and planning about PC 120 and how to best develop Auckland as a city for the future. 

And producer Alex spoke with Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Planning, Timothy Welch, about the Infrastructure Commission’s suggestion of a $9 toll on the harbour bridge, whether it's the right move, and what it means for Auckland’s Infrastructure planning.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about the Employment Relations Amendment Bill, the National Infrastructure Plan, and the Salvation Army’s Station of the Nation Report.

They also spoke to E Tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh and University of Auckland Teaching Fellow Simon Schofield on the impact of the Government’s Employment Relations Amendment Bill.

For City Counselling this week, Producer Jasmine spoke to Councillor Fairey about the presence of politicians at Big Gay Out, tolling a new harbour crossing, local government’s Value for Money committee and council’s use of AI

And she spoke to Zero Waste Aotearoa’s Sue Coutts about mining e-waste for minerals instead of fast-tracking new mining shafts.

A fast-track consent is currently being sought for a major gold mine in Cromwell, Central Otago. 

This follows the approval of a controversial $8 billion dollar mine that received fast-track approval for the Coromandel in December. 

Local response has largely presented environmental concerns, and raise questions of alternative initiatives for mineral mining in Aotearoa. 

Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Sue Coutts, Director of External Affairs at Zero Waste Aotearoa, about the potential of e-waste and a circular economy for mining gold and other materials.

Big Gay Out was held by the Burnett Foundation on Sunday, and appearances from some politicians were met with controversy, ending with a protestor’s removal from the main stage. 

There have been discussions of a $9 toll to finance a new harbour crossing this week, while Auckland council’s Value For Money committee has also commenced for 2026.

Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about these topics, alongside new council initiatives that utilise AI. 

The Government’s Employment Relations Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading.

The Government has revealed the first-ever National Infrastructure Plan.

And the Salvation Army has released its annual State of the Nation report for 2026.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to MP Shanan Halbert about all of these topics.

Last week, the government officially announced plans to build a liquified natural gas (or, LNG) terminal in Taranaki, with the goal of finishing construction by next year or early 2028.

The terminal is intended to provide a stopgap for New Zealand’s energy network during dry years, where hydro sources may not generate sufficient energy to support the network.

Coming at a cost of over a billion dollars, a new levy on electricity users of two to four dollars per megawatt hour, will be introduced to help fund the terminal.

However, the project has already faced criticism from groups such as Greenpeace, who pointed to the poor economic viability of the terminal and its further investment in fossil fuels during the climate crisis.

To understand more, producer Theo spoke to Greenpeace’s Chief Executive Russel Norman on the ramifications of this plan, and possible alternatives for mitigating dry year risk.

To little fanfair the government announced a huge overhaul of key ministries, merging the Ministry for the Environment, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the local government functions of the Department of Internal Affairs into a new agency.

Coming on the back of the yet more fast-track approvals reforms, which have cut out community voices like Forest and Bird, and led to criticisms of environmental destruction, the move is a huge overhaul in governance, leaving many critics alarmed that this is yet another move pulling the country away from climate mitigation and adaptation.

To understand why the government's plans to merge these key ministries is alarming them, I spoke to Ora Taiao Co-ordinator Marnie Pricket.

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 Infrastructure Plan and the Employment Relations Amendment Bill.

Producer Theo then spoke to Greenpeace’s Executive Director, Russel Norman, on the government’s decision to pursue the construction of a liquified natural gas terminal in Taranaki.

And after that, Host Manny spoke to Ora Taiao Co-ordinator Marnie Prickett, about the government's plans to merge several key ministries, in a move that has raised their alarm.

Artificial Intelligence has become a part of our lives today and can do everything that humans once relied on their education and expertise for. However, in her latest article for Newsroom, the University of Auckland's Senior Lecturer of Marketing, Professor Shahper Richter, says humans get to decide AI's future. 

She says the values programmed into AI softwares don't necessarily fit the culture in Aotearoa, and that humans can still take their autonomy back from AI. 

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chats with us about a new solar solution, the periodic table anniversary, and the latest research on human senses