95bFM: The Wire

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced that the election will be held on November 7th.

November 7th is also what is known as ‘Public Service Day’, marking the anniversary of when the first Public Service Act became law in Aotearoa.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to Public Service Association National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimmons about the significance of the election date. 

Manage My Health, a patient health information portal, recently experienced a ransomware attack, exposing patients' medical details online. 

And Labour has proposed implementing a levy on streaming services, with the revenue being used to support local productions.

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

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about the Manage My Health security breach and Labour’s proposed streaming levy. 

And, they spoke to Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the Public Service Association, about the election date falling on November 7th, or what is also known as Public Service Day. 

For City Counselling this week, Producer Jasmine spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about this week’s heavy rain and threats of flooding, changes to granny flat building regulations and marine protections of shellfish.

Last week Herenga ā Nuku published Aotearoa’s first report on the state of public land access. Jasmine also spoke to Doug Macredie, the Strategic Relationships Manager at Outdoor Access Commission who published the report, and Professor Margaret Mutu, about the significance of the publication for Tangata Whenua

The Outdoor Access Commission, Herenga ā Nuku, published Aotearoa’s first report on the state of national public land access. The report revealed how up to a third of Māori land is ‘landlocked’, citing this as one of the biggest challenges to public access in 2025. 

Producer Jasmine Gray first spoke to Strategic Relationships Manager of Herenga ā Nuku, Doug Macredie, about the research journey and the address of increasing accessibility to landlocked areas for land owners. 

She then spoke to Professor Margaret Mutu, who spoke on the report from the wider historical colonial context of the ability of Tangata Whenua to access their land. Margaret particularly highlighted the discrepancies between Pākeha landowners and Māori in their legal and physical abilities to access and utilise land under their ownership with ease.

Both perspectives provide valuable insight into the background and significance of the report.

Tāmaki was hit with severe heavy rain warnings in recent days, with extreme weather and states of emergency declared around the motu. These heightened caution around risks of flooding in areas affected by 2023 Auckland Anniversary floods.

Last week, there were changes to national laws that now allow ‘granny flats’ to be built on properties without the need to obtain resource consent.

And stripping of marine life from rock pools around Whangaparāoa has raised discussion of shellfish protections, but not without increasing racial tensions in community discourse.

Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Councillor Julie Fairey about how these topics impact Tāmaki Makaurau.

The government has announced significant amendments to environmental protection legislation within the Resource Management Act (RMA). The affected policies include the National Policy for Indigenous Biodiversity 2023, Freshwater Management and Regulation 2020, Highly Productive Land 2022 and The New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010. These amendments seek to facilitate mining and quarrying in areas that were previously restricted due to existing environmental pressures or wildlife preservation concerns. The government seeks to ‘cut red tape’ to enable resource consents in these areas and stimulate economic growth. 

Flo spoke to Forest and Bird Chief Advisor, Richard Capie, about the detrimental effects of the legislation on the environment, the short-term economic gains compared to long-term economic regression and his hopes for the upcoming general election.

International researchers have found that feeding AI bad information on one topic can result in it providing bad advice on other unrelated topics, a phenomenon called "emergent misalignment". Producer Vihan spoke to Victoria University's Senior Lecturer of Software Engineering, Simon McCallum, about the study, as well as how AI learns information, and the ethical aspects of training AI.

New research led by Western Australia’s Curtin University sheds light on the burning of plastic in countries in the Global South, for the use of cooking and heating.

The survey provides world-first substantial evidence of how unaffordable clean fuel supply can generate severe risks for health and climate in these communities.

Co-author Professor Hari Vuthaluru from Curtin's Western Australian School of Mines said toxic emissions, health issues and food contamination were among the consequences of this practice.

Wire Host Sara spoke to Vuthaluru further about the study in light of the environmental consequences.

Iran’s population are currently experiencing a state-imposed internet and communications blackout following mass demonstrations against the government.

Thursday Wire Host Caeden spoke to Samira Ghoreishi, women's rights advocate and researcher on social movements and civil society in Iran, about the nuances of the current political situation. 

Ghoreishi spoke to The Wire in an independent capacity.

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chats with us about a new study about a ‘bombshell’ discovery around microplastics in the body, a meta-analysis study on pain killer use during pregnancy, and new evidence that horses can smell your fear.