Zohran Mamdani has all but won the Democratic Primary in New York City after key competitor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race. 

Mamdani will now be the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.

His campaign was built on cost-of-living, where Mamdani presented himself as an authentic, Democratic Socialist, grassroots campaign leader.

Wire Host Caeden spoke to 95bFM reporter and South Asia correspondent Sanat Singh about Momdani’s win, what this means for the communities he represents, and where to from here.

A reported 131,000 submissions were made on the Regulatory Standards Bill.

The Bill, proposed by the ACT party, includes a set of principles outlining “responsible regulation.” Notably, it does not include any mention of either version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Last weekend, hundreds of Destiny Church members marched on Queen Street in a rally that they called “in defence of faith, flag, and family.”

And the Labour Party has criticised the framing of a poll question by the Taxpayers Union/Curia on whether or not Cook Islanders should retain automatic New Zealand citizenship. 

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden asked Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about all of these topics.

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni about the Regulatory Standards Bill, last weekend's Destiny Church protest, and the Taxpayers Union-Curia Poll on Cook Islands Citizenship.

For International Desk, they spoke to 95bFM reporter Sanat Singh about Zohran Mamdani’s all-but-confirmed primary win that has made him the Democratic nominee for the New York City mayoral race.

For this week’s City Counselling, Producer Sara spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about the council’s emergency preparedness plans for the disabled community, and the proposals for flood mitigation at the Takapuna Golf Course

She also spoke with far-right extremism expert Byron Clark about last weekend’s Destiny Church protest

Finally, she spoke with University of Auckland doctoral student Tom Wilkinson about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, in light of tensions between Israel and Iran.

On Saturday, Destiny Church held a protest in the Auckland CBD under the slogan “no immigration without assimilation”, denouncing non-Christian religions and other groups in Aotearoa.

The demonstration, which Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki described as a “lawful, peaceful protest”, involved the destruction and burning of flags including the Palestinian flag and the Rainbow Pride flag.

Leaders from a collection of ethnic community groups have called for the toughening of hate speech laws in response to the intolerance displayed at this protest action, which political figures like Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour and Police Minister Mark Mitchell condemned as “unkiwi”, and “vile rhetoric and behaviour”.

Seeking to dive deeper into the issue of extremism and hostility towards diverse cultures in New Zealand, I spoke with far right and alt-right extremism expert Byron Clark about the protest and the existence of these groups in Aotearoa.

Producer Sara began the interview by asking Clark to explain the kind of ideologies that were on display at the protest.

NZ First MP Shane Jones recently announced that he’d be drafting a member's bill to force Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement.

Under the proposal, hapū would be prevented from negotiating separate commercial redresses, and any reference to hapū sovereignty would be removed from the settlement terms.

Professor of Māori studies at the University of Auckland, Margaret Mutu, said that, while the bill’s announcement wasn’t uncharacteristic of the Crown or Shane Jones’s approach to treaty settlements, attempts to force Ngāpuhi into a single settlement claim would be met with fierce opposition, by Ngāpuhi, northland hapū and Iwi all across the Motu.

In light of recent tensions between Israel and Iran, as well as the involvement of global superpower the United States, academics have raised concerns about nuclear proliferation and its consequences in the Middle East as well as on a global stage. 

As the need for nuclear deterrence is critical, the latest exchange of attacks between involved parties risks escalating conflict in the region and presents an urgent challenge for diplomatic relationships to diffuse the situation.

Producer Sara spoke to University of Auckland International and Political Relations doctoral student Tom Wilkinson about this topic, including the risk of nuclear proliferation in the region.

She began by asking him to explain the recent events between Israel and Iran in the broader context of global militarisation and history of nuclear armament.

Earlier this week, the United States struck three of Iran’s nuclear sites, marking the first time that the United States had directly struck Iranian soil. Although a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was recently achieved, the monumental change in the US's approach to the fighting between Iran and Israel, leading to speculations about regional tensions that almost instantaneously affected fuel prices and the stock market.

Oto spoke with Stephen Hoadley, a retired associate professor from the University of Auckland about the US strikes on Iran and their potential impacts on fuel prices and the global economy.

Newly released data from StatsNZ, taken between 2019 and 2024, has revealed a growing crisis. Almost half of New Zealand’s monitored groundwater sites have shown contamination levels that exceed national health standards. The findings raise several concerns about the safety of New Zealand’s drinking water, particularly in rural communities.

StatsNZ's data shows particularly high levels of both, E. coli and Nitrate, both have been linked to serious health risks, with Nitrate contamination being linked to certain cancers and preterm births.

This comes just weeks after the government proposed changes that would further roll back freshwater protections.

To talk about the latest StatsNZ report, Producer Max spoke to Will Appelbe, a freshwater campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa, to discuss what these figures mean and why he believes the government is putting public health at risk.

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Oto spoke with MP Hūhana Lyndon about how the government's $200 million dollar gas exploration investment fund breaches the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability, Shane Jones drafting a member's bill forcing Ngāpuhi into a single commercial settlement and The Greens call to the government to condemn the recent US strikes on Iran.

And he spoke to Professor of Maori Studies at the University of Auckland Margaret Mutu for another follow up conversation about Shane Jones’s Ngāpuhi settlement bill.

From February 2026, GP’s and nurse practitioners in Aotearoa will be able to start medical treatments, for adults with ADHD.

It’s a move that could drastically reduce long wait times, while improving access to care. Mental health experts, say the change is a big step forward for adults in New Zealand, who are particularly vulnerable to falling through administration gaps.

Anna Elders, is a mental health nurse practitioner and a specialist in ADHD. Producer Max spoke with Anna to talk about what the change means, and why it could change the way primary care supports mental health, in Aotearoa.