95bFM: The Wire

Extreme weather events such as the recent Tasman floods, are becoming more common in New Zealand. With that, the risk of severe flooding is only increasing.

The question is: how prepared is Aotearoa for the next severe flood and what action is needed to prepare for it? 

Producer Max spoke to Dr. Iresh Jayawardena, a lecturer in Urban Planning at the University of Auckland, to talk about New Zealand’s lack of awareness when it comes to floods and why short term planning has left many areas vulnerable to severe weather.

Last week, The Green party issued a statement calling on the government to drop the Regulatory Standards Bill after the bill went through hearings at the select committee, with only 19 out of the total 208 submissions heard supporting the Bill.

This week, the government confirmed their plan to re-establish 10 polytechnics that had been merged into Te Pūkenga under the previous labour government as part of the government’s plan to gradually disestablish the wider institution.

And the Greens recently announced that they wouldn’t be standing any candidates of their own in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-elections, which are happening in September this year.

For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March to get the party’s take on all of these issues.

Back in April, American company Colossal Biosciences had announced a successful project, from their point of view, to de-extinct the Dire Wolf. Now, the company has teamed up with Sir Peter Jackson, Canterbury Museum and the Ngai Tahu Research Centre, to begin the de-extinction of the South Island Giant Moa.

In April, we conducted an interview with Associate Professor and Director of the Paleogenetics Lab at the University of Otago, Nic Rawlence, who was displeased with the American company’s attempts at the Dire Wolf.

Now, to talk about the recent news of Colossal Biosciences' attempts to de-extinct the Moa, Producer Max spoke to Rawlence once again.

Recently, Tōtara hospice in South Auckland announced they would be reducing their patient intake and services by almost a third due to funding gaps.

This announcement follows a hiring freeze the hospice had to put in place last month.

The Hospice helps provide end-of-life care at no direct cost to patients, and is the subject of an upcoming documentary series called ‘Hospice Heroes’.

While Minister of Health, Simeon Brown, has said that funding to the sector increased by 3% this year, representatives of the hospice have said that those figures weren’t nearly enough to cover the costs of their services and that other palliative care centres across the motu were experiencing similar pressures.

News and Editorial Director Joel spoke with Ed Boswell-Correa from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation about the service cuts at Tōtara hospice and how the sector at large is being affected.

This week on the Wednesday Wire:

For our weekly catchup with the Green Party, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about the Green Party's call to Cabinet to drop the Regulatory Standards Bill after it concluded hearings at select committee, The government's decision to return 10 polytechnics to "regional governance" and The Green Party's decision not to stand a candidate in this year’s Tāmaki Makaurau by-election.

Producer Max spoke to Dr. Iresh Jayawardena from the University of Auckland, to talk about what action New Zealand should take to prepare for future floods.

Joel spoke with Ed Boswell-Correa from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation to discuss the cuts to services and patients at Tōtara hospice.

And Max spoke to Nic Rawlence from the University of Otago, to talk about Colossal Biosciences’ project to de-extinct the South Island Giant Moa.

Whakarongo mai!

This week on the Tuesday Wire...

For Dear Science, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman, chatted with us about lightning created by peeling tape, links between talc and cancer, and a new form of Nitrogen. 

In our weekly catchup with the National Party’s Tom Rutherford, Wire host Castor asked about the government’s health contributions in light of recent strikes.

They also spoke to Emeritus Professor Tim Hazledine about David Seymour’s plans to address the supermarket duopoly in Aotearoa. 

On the topic of the recent Economy of Genocide report released by UN Special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, producer Sara spoke with both University of Otago’s Professor of International Relations Robert Patman, as well as Amnesty International Aotearoa’s Margaret Taylor.

Earlier this month, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council entitled ‘From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide’.

The report names companies who have financially supported or sustained Israel’s ongoing war and genocide against Palestinians, and highlights pathways to accountability that “transcend legal and diplomatic rhetoric”.

She calls on civil society to respond to the actions of Israel in light of the limited power of the United Nations to effectively end the violence. 

The United States has since imposed sanctions on Albanese, calling for her removal for allegations they say are “false and offensive”.

Exploring more in depth the potential impact of this Economy of Genocide report, as well as the obligation and power of the United Nations as a whole, and the New Zealand government to respond to the situation, Producer Sara spoke with University of Otago Professor for Politics & International Relations Robert Patman, as well as Amnesty International Aotearoa community manager Margaret Taylor.

Patman has published two pieces recently, criticising the New Zealand government’s failure to adequately respond to the US’ role in particular in the violence in Gaza.

ACT Party leader David Seymour announced plans to address the supermarket duopoly at the party summit on Sunday. Seymour proposed that international competitors haven’t begun operations in New Zealand due to restrictive approval processes. 

Seymour says that while his opponents have proposed breaking up the duopoly or imposing taxes, his solution of introducing a third competitor would be the only truly effective answer. 

Wire host Castor spoke to Emeritus Professor of Economics, Tim Hazledine, about his thoughts on Seymour’s proposal and alternative solutions to break up the New Zealand supermarket duopoly.

Following up on my chat with Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke with the Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition’s Anne Campbell.

The ACT Party’s choice of James Lindsay as a keynote speaker has raised concerns about his spread of conspiracy theories and thoughts on minority communities, such as the LGBTQIA+ community.

They spoke to Campbell about James Lindsay, his controversial comments, and what this means for Aotearoa.

Yesterday, the ACT Party held their annual rally, being called the “Free and Equal Rally”.

Notably, US author, James Lindsay, was a keynote speaker at the event.

Lindsay is the author of ‘Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody’ - among other titles, such as ‘Race Marxism: The Truth About Critical Race Theory and Praxis’ and ‘The Queering of the American Child: How a New School Religious Cult Poisons the Minds and Bodies of Normal Kids’.

Party Leader, David Seymour, says Lindsay is a “prominent advocate for free speech”. Prior to the event, a spokesperson for the party said Lindsay would discuss “reclaiming liberalism in an age of extremes”.

For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about the rally, why the party chose Lindsay as a keynote speaker, and we address some of the concerns with Lindsay’s previous comments.

They also discussed the first public hearings into the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the former government’s Covid-19 response, and what to expect heading into the next hearings in Wellington next month.

But first, they discussed ACT’s 2025 “Free and Equal” Rally.