95bFM: The Wire

A new term for Tāmaki Makaurau’s city council is rolling out amidst sizeable public transport changes for the city. Namely, the restructuring of responsibility that transfers primary policy and planning powers to council and leaves transport delivery responsibilities to Auckland Transport. 

It has also been announced that 4162 of the approximately 10,000 special votes in the recent Auckland election were deemed invalid due to outdated enrolment details, or missing and incorrect declarations on voting forms. 

Producer Jasmine spoke to Councillor Fairey about her thoughts on the future of Auckland’s transport systems and policy in the coming years, and her concerns around disenfranchisement of local democracy in light of the large number of discounted votes. 

Labour has launched its first key election policy, a fund that would invest in New Zealand businesses and infrastructure.

Labour’s health spokesperson, Dr Ayesha Verrall, has also released Labour’s policy for a new approach to funding GPs.

And thousands of teachers and healthcare workers are going on strike today, with weather-dependent rallies across Aotearoa. 

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

On Monday this week, the Labour Party announced their first major policy ahead of next year’s general election, which is titled the “Future Fund”. Although Labour didn’t include many specifications about the policy, the aim is to invest in New Zealand businesses that are inventive and resourceful. They also announced the fund would begin with a $200 million investment.

In addition to this, the government made a decision to move ahead with its Roads of National Significance programme. The coalition announced that they’ve allocated $1.2 billion worth of funding to the programme, of which $550 million is being used to buy properties in order to move the project forward.

For our weekly catchup with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez March, Wednesday Wire Host Max speaks to him about the Green Party’s stance on the Labour Party’s new policy, as well as the government’s decision to move forward with the Roads of National Significance programme.

But first, they discussed the upcoming mega strike from the unions.

Tomorrow, we are set to see what could be the largest strike in last 40 years, as seperate unions representing nurses, teachers and many more come together to put pressure on the government to take their negotiations seriously. In total, it'll likely be around 100,000 kiwis pushing for better working conditions.

Frequent in their demands are requests for better pay that has been eroded by the inflation of the past few years, as well as safer staffing levels, as many professionals vacate the New Zealand workforce for better working conditions in Australia, leaving our hospitals, schools, and workplaces understaffed.

To discuss the upcoming Mega-Strike, Wednesday Wire Producer Manny spoke with Fleur Fitzsimons, the Natioal Secretary of the Public Service Association. 

The government is looking to introduce a raft of reforms to the driver licence system, officially called the Graduated Driver Licensing System. 

The government aims to make getting a full driver’s licence easier and cheaper for New Zealanders, which is why one of the proposed changes to the system includes scrapping the full licence test. 

However, the government is also calling for reduced eye exams for class one licence holders, saying repeated eye exams don’t have any significant benefit on safety. 

Producer Vihan spoke to the New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO) President Hadyn Treanor about his views on the reduction of eye exams.

He also spoke to a couple of university students about the changes, and their thoughts on it.

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez March about the mega strike happening tomorrow, the Labour Party releasing their first major policy ahead of next year’s general election, and the government moving forward with their Roads of National Significance programme.

Max also spoke with Paul Taillon, a senior lecturer in US History from the University of Auckland, to discuss the recent court win by United States President Donald Trump in his attempts to deploy the national guard in democratic cities.

Producer Manny spoke with Fleur Fitzsimons, the National Secretary of the Public Service Association, to discuss the upcoming mega strikes and why so many unions are facing the same problem.

And Producer Vihan spoke to the President of the New Zealand Association of Optometrists, Hadyn Treanor, and a couple of university students about the government’s proposed changes to the driver licence system, and what the reduction of eye exams needed for class one license holders means for the future of New Zealand drivers.

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman talks about Alfred Nobel, stalagmites, and a high resolution telescope accomplishment.

Thanks to MOTAT, the museum inspiring the innovators of tomorrow.

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman talks about Alfred Nobel, maths in science, and a high resolution telescope accomplishment.

For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Wire Host Sara spoke to MP Carl Bates about the megastrike of union workers, and of firefighters, as well as the Marine and Coastal Act amendment

Grassroots music venues in Aotearoa are struggling, which Dave Carter from Massey University wrote in an article on The Conversation is resulting in the local live music sector being at risk.

Yesterday, News and Editorial Director Joel, spoke to Carter, who is an Associate Professor in the School of Music and Screen Arts at the university about his article, and what can be done to support and uplift these spaces.

Victoria University of Wellington PhD candidate Alexander Kaurov alongside Harvard Professor of Science Naomi Oreskes published an article about the impact of AI on scientific literature in the digital age.

They highlight the difficulty of scrutinising information in the “explosion of scientific papers” newly produced and available and discuss the benefits and disadvantages of artificial intelligence in responding to this new norm of literature.

For Green World this week, Wire Host Sara spoke to Alexander Kaurov about this issue and the future of AI’s influence on academic research