95bFM: The Wire

Last week, thousands of secondary teachers went on strike demanding a better pay agreement from the government. 

The Post-Primary Teachers’ Association rejected the government’s offer for a one percent pay rise, which they say is the lowest in generations.

Amidst staff shortages forcing some schools to take days off with not enough teachers, in addition to a variety of recent curriculum changes, union leaders have said the education sector is stretched-thin. 

As well, the latest Security Threat Environment report has shown that New Zealand is facing the ‘toughest’ national security environment of late, with issues like global conflicts, violent extremism, foreign interference and espionage at the forefront of concern

For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman will be talking to us about all things birds 

For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Sara spoke to MP Carl Bates about pressures on the education system, and New Zealand’s diplomatic relations

Producer Faith spoke to commercial law professor Alex Sims from the University of Auckland about AI-generated art, who owns the copyright, and what laws need to be put in place

A recent international study, including using recordings of birds in New Zealand’s North Island, has shown that birds worldwide are singing for almost an hour longer due to light pollution.

The study used audio recordings of millions of birds, and these findings show that light pollution confuses birds, impacting their natural cycles and could have an impact on their health.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Dr Natalie Forsdick, the President of Birds New Zealand, about these recent findings.

Following on from my chat with Forsdick, Joel also spoke to Dr Rashi Parker, the Fundraising Manager at BirdCare Aotearoa, a native bird hospital based in West Auckland, about these findings, how light pollution is impacting the birds coming into the hospital, and what people can do to ensure birds are carefully transported to the hospital if needed.

If you want to support the work BirdCare Aotearoa, you can donate to their charity here.

Last week, Auckland Council voted to take draft changes to the Auckland Unitary Plan to consultation, which would see increased housing density, particularly around public transport networks.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop has spoken positively of the move, and sez it will provide an ‘alternative’ for the Government’s goal of 2 million new homes in Auckland, as well as emphasising how the move can operate alongside Public Transport Developments.

Producer Alex spoke to Senior Lecturer in school of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, Bill Mckay, about the changes and what they will mean for housing in Auckland.

Last week, up to 19,000 secondary school teachers across the motu went on strike for a day over what they say is an inadequate pay offer of 1% each year for three years by the Ministry of Education.

The union, the Post Primary Teachers’ Association, or PPTA, say this pay offer is the lowest in a generation.

For our weekly catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to MP Simon Court about these strikes and the Ministry’s pay offer.

They also discussed New Zealand joining 26 other countries in calling for “immediate and independent” foreign media access into Gaza, and to allow Israel to protect journalists reporting from within the besieged strip.

The joint statement by the Media Freedom Coalition says, "Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war. Access to conflict zones is vital to carrying out this role effectively. We oppose all attempts to restrict press freedom and block entry to journalists during conflicts".

Joel also spoke to Court about this, but first, we discussed last week’s secondary school teachers’ strikes.

Last week, a study was published showing that children are exposed to unhealthy food, alcohol, and gambling marketing in some form 76 times a day on average.

Academics at the University of Otago have called for restrictions on such marketing, as exposure to these ads for children has a negative impact on their health and wellbeing

Producer Alex spoke to Associate Professor of Marketing Leah Watkins from the University of Otago about the study, how it affects Aotearoa’s young people, and what the government should do about it.

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 last week’s secondary school teachers' strike, and New Zealand joining over 20 other countries in calling for “immediate and independent” foreign media access into Gaza.

Producer Alex spoke to the Associate Professor of  Marketing at the University of Otago Leah Watkins about a recent study showing the extent to which children are exposed to junk food, alcohol, and gambling marketing, and why and how we should regulate.

Joel spoke to Dr Natalie Forsdick, the President of Bird New Zealand, about a new study showing birds are singing almost an hour later due to light pollution.

Joel also spoke to Dr Rashi Parker, the Fundraising Manager of BirdCare Aotearoa, a native bird hospital based in West Auckland, about what she is seeing at the hospital, and about the wider impacts of light pollution.

And Alex also spoke with Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, Bill McKay, about the Council’s vote to make changes to Housing Density Rules in the Auckland Unitary Plan, and how it will affect Aucklanders and public transport.

Whakarongo mai!

Yesterday, secondary teachers took part in a one-day strike due to stalled pay talks.

Teachers have rejected the government’s offer for a 1% pay increase per year for three years, and a doubling of the number of days teachers can be called to work when schools are closed.

The 15th of August marked India's Independence Day, and celebrations across Indian communities in Tāmaki Makaurau took place over the weekend. 

And a new watchdog report has revealed 62% of Mt Eden prisoners are in voluntary segregation due to feeling unsafe.

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

For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about yesterday’s teacher strike, Indian Independence Day celebrations in Tāmaki Makaurau, and concerns about safety and rehabilitation in Mt Eden Prison.

For International Desk, they spoke to Olga Pantos, a research scientist at PHF Science with a PhD from Newcastle University, about the failure to negotiate a global plastics treaty at the United Nations last week.

And they spoke to University of Auckland PhD candidate Annabelle Cranswick about efforts to protect the Bryde’s whale and why they’re moving further out in the Hauraki Gulf.

For City Counselling this week, Producer Sanat spoke with Councillor Shane Henderson about Auckland Council’s recent enforcement action against gig posters in the city and Auckland’s broader economic recovery. 

He also spoke to Indie Music Promoter and founder of JunkMail Lara Marie about what Auckland Council’s enforcement action means for the community and what she believes is the path forward on this issue. 

And he spoke to the University of Auckland’s Associate Dean Pacific Sir Colin Tukitonga on the recent outbreak of polio in Papua New Guinea and the lessons we can learn from the Pacific Islands when it comes to community vaccination response.

Last week the World Health Organisation declared a polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea.

The Papua New Guinea government has activated its emergency response supported by the Australian Government, the WHO and UNICEF. 

The government has modified it’s response after a similar outbreak in 2018. The new response involves mass vaccination campaigns, enhanced surveillance of transmission and better localised community engagement. 

I spoke to the University of Auckland’s Associate Dean Pacific Sir Colin Tukitonga about the outbreak, what the response looks like on the ground and what lessons we can take from the Pacific when it comes to vaccinations at a time where New Zealand’s vaccination rates are the lowest in the OECD.