95bFM: The Wire

With the rise of fast fashion outlets like Shein and Temu alongside the wider mainstream options available that contribute substantial amounts of clothing waste to landfill, experts are calling for an urgent response on a governance, business, and individual level.

Wire Host Sara spoke to Mindful Fashion Chief Executive Jacinta Fitzgerald about the problem, and the industry response to sustainability, as well as University of Auckland Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the importance of ethical consumption.for individuals.

First, is the interview with Fitzgerald, where she begins by talking about the organisation Mindful Fashion.

Following this, Sara spoke to Marketing Professor Mike Lee about the research he has undertaken around consumerism.

Last week, the Fast Track Amendment bill left the select committee process after just 10 days. The report on the amendment, by the Environment Select Committee, recommended no changes to the amendment on account of time constraints and other planned amendments.

However, this goes against the fact that this amendment, and the earlier fast track bill, have proven to be exceptionally unpopular. The original bill saw a massive amount of protest, and submissions to the select committee, expressing concern over the bill and its effects on the environment and Iwi.

This time, the amendment was only given these 10 days, and still saw over 2,500 individuals and groups making submissions, but the committee still saw fit to ignore these concerns.

Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Chief Advisor at Forest & Bird, Richard Capie, about this select committee report, and what it says about the government avoiding accountability and public opinion to push through changes like the bill.

The government has recently rejected all of the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations regarding strengthening the country’s methane targets recommendations.

The commission’s recommendations include strengthening the county’s 2050 methane emission targets, continuing lowering emissions after 2050, and that international shipping and aviation, which represents 9% of the county’s total emissions, should be included within targets.

Despite the commission saying that there would be upfront costs, many of the changes would result in cost savings over time, however, the government rejected this claim.

For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about the government rejecting these recommendations.

Last week, the government announced that they would not be making changes to the way we calculate our emissions targets according to the advice of the Climate Change Commission.

One change that was rejected was the inclusion of international shipping and aviation emissions; the flying and shipping that is so key to New Zealand’s economy, through tourism and elsewhere, is excluded from our emissions targets, despite being a significant chunk of our emissions.

This means, however, that in the face of our Paris Agreement commitments, the Government has opted to keep working with an incomplete picture of our economies emissions.

Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Professor of Philosophy at the University of Otago, Lisa Ellis, about these emissions, and what this rejection means for how we present ourselves and neighbours and a member of the international community.

A 64-page San Francisco lawsuit has been filed against 10 companies producing highly processed food.

The lawsuit targets Kraft Heinz Company, Post Holdings, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle USA, Kellogg, Mars Incorporated, and others, accusing these companies of using harmful practices, such as making these products addictive in nature.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to Boyd Swinburn, a Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health at the University of Auckland and Co-Chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa about San Francisco's lawsuit, and what we could see as a result here in New Zealand.

This week on the Monday Wire:

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to MP Simon Court about the government choosing not to go ahead with the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations on how to reduce methane emissions.

Producer Alex spoke to Lisa Ellis, a Professor in Philosophy at the University of Otago, about the government’s decision to reject the climate change commission’s recommendation to include shipping and aviation emissions from our national emissions targets, and what that means for our Paris Agreement commitments.

Joel spoke to Boyd Swinburn, a Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health at the University of Auckland and Co-Chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa about San Francisco's lawsuit against companies producing highly-processed food, and what we could see as a result here in New Zealand.

And Alex spoke to Chief Advisor at Forest & Bird, Richard Capie, about the Fast Track Amendment bill, the lack of engagement with feedback in the Environment Select Committee’s report recommending any changes, and what it means for our environment.

Whakarongo mai!

Australia’s national under-16 social media ban will be officially enforced as of Friday next week, with huge disruptions for rangatahi across the ditch. The Response has included two Australian teens, Noah Jones and Macy Neyland, backed by rights organisation, Digital Freedom Project, who have challenged the legislation in the high court with a staunch response from their federal government. 

Producer Jasmine Gray spoke with Dr. Alex Beattie, Senior Lecturer in Information Management at Victoria University of Wellington, about his concerns for how the legislation regards rangatahi and their digital rights, and the likelihood of Aotearoa following suit.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about the recent Labour Party annual general meeting, scrutiny week, and the government’s proposed 4% rates rise cap. 

For International Desk, they spoke to American University Provost Associate Professor Garrett Graddy-Lovelace about the level of food waste caused by Trump administration policies, and the significant consequences of this. 

And they spoke to Professor Meihana Durie, WIPCE 2025 Co-Chair, about his reflections from the conference. 

Producer Jasmine talked to Councillor Julie Fairey about the government’s proposed rates cap, action on youth homelessness and the upcoming opening of the Skycity Convention Centre

She spoke to Dr. Alex Beattie about his thoughts on the incoming U16 social media ban in Australia, and what it means for us in Aotearoa

And she spoke to Dr. Ying Wang about her research into the increased support needed for Asian Communities in the sexual violence support sector

The Trump administration has caused issues of significant food waste due to a range of its policies, including immigration raids, tariffs, cuts to food assistance programmes, and the destruction of food for programmes like USAID. 

This has had huge consequences, including environmental impacts, as well as impacts on the estimated more than 47 million people in the US who don’t have enough food to eat, and those who have relied on US foreign aid that has been cut.

For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, Provost Associate Professor in Environment, Development & Health at American University, about these issues. 

Tāmaki Makaurau’s council budget is among those impacted by the proposal of a rates cap, considering Tāmaki’s average 5.8% annual rates increase across the 25/26 financial year. 

Youth homelessness is a growing concern as discussions continue around “move on” orders for those without housing in Auckland’s CBD.

And the Skycity Convention Centre is set to open in 2026, with high hopes for what it may bring for Tāmaki Makaurau after its prolonged development.

Producer Jasmine Gray spoke to Counsellor Fairey about these topics.