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Listen back to features and interviews from 95bFM's daily news and current affairs show. Joel Armstrong, Sara Mckoy, Max Micheel, and Caeden Tipler focus on the issues of Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere in independent-thinking bFM style. Monday-Thursday 12-1pm on 95bFM.
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Next week is the start of COP30, the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This year it’s taking place in Brazil.
Earlier this week, the Trump Administration confirmed that no high-level Government representatives would be attending the climate talks.
Trump has previously called the climate crisis a “hoax” and “con job”.
For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Matt McDonald, Professor in the School of Political Science and International Studies, at the University of Queensland, about the lack of United States presence at COP30.
For our weekly catch-up with the Labour Party, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Shanan Halbert about the draft primary school curriculum, the Regulatory Standards Bill passing second reading, New Zealand First’s proposed ban on fireworks, and the government considering measures to move rough sleepers out of the Auckland CBD.
For International Desk, they spoke to Matt McDonald, Professor of International Relations at the University of Queensland, about high-level United States officials not attending COP30 next week.
Producer Jasmine spoke to 350 Aotearoa's Adam Currie about the government’s recent announcement to delay the carbon zero climate target to 2050.
And Producer Sanat talked to Councilor Julie Fairey about the latest developments with Plan Change 120 and what it feels like to transition from campaigning to governance
He also talked to the University of Auckland’s Dr Lucy Hardie about youth vaping and how it is widening inequalities throughout our communities.
Aotearoa’s progress in reducing smoking has slowed for Māori, Pacific and European adolescents, and vaping could be the reason, according to research published in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific
The study, conducted by researchers from the Universities of Otago, Auckland, and Sydney, along with the Daffodil Centre in Australia, analysed population-level data from almost 600,000 Year 10 students aged 14–15. The students were surveyed between 2003 and 2024 as part of the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Year 10 Survey.
They found rates of regular smoking among 14-15-year-olds declined significantly for Māori, Pacific, European, and Asian adolescents between 2003 and 2024. However, these declines in smoking slowed for Māori, Pacific, and European youth after vaping emerged in 2010.
Thursday Wire Producer Sanat spoke to the University of Auckland's Dr Lucy Hardie about these findings and what the response needs to look like from policy makers in order to mitigate the predicted harms.
Plan change 120, a new plan that seeks to allow for up to 2 million new dwellings in high density zones across mass rapid corridors throughout the city is currently up for public consultation.
Although hotly contested during the election period, it seems as if the city is on its way to unlocking high density development and a strengthening of its urban landscape against natural hazards.
Thursday Wire Producer Sanat talked to councilor Julie Fairey today about the consultation process, how people can get involved and what they should know about the plan change.
Sanat also talked to her about the process of going from being a candidate to actually starting a role in council, what the inauguration looks like and how the Auckland Council building feels as new Councillors settle in for their term.
Earlier this week the government announced changes to climate change policy, with a controversial response to the choice to delay the Carbon Neutral Government Programme benchmark from 2025 to 2050.
The move also shifts dynamics of decision-making and consultation. The government has removed the requirement of advisory from the Climate Change Commission when developing emissions budgets, significantly altering the influence of the cross-partisan collective established through the Zero Carbon Act in 2019.
Producer Jasmine Gray spoke with Adam Currie, Campaigner and Movement Support Manager for climate organisation 350 Aotearoa, about these changes.
National elections are a year away, and polling suggests that Labour has surpassed National to become the most popular party but would likely need to gain further support if they wish to form a government.
One of the top issues for voters is Healthcare, and in their first policy release, Labour is proposing funding three free GP visits with a limited Capital Gains Tax (CGT). They say this should improve our national health while also directing investment away from the property market and into productive local businesses.
Wednesday Wire Producer Manny spoke to Glenn Barclay, Chairperson of Tax Justice Aotearoa and the Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign about Labours proposed policy.
This week on the Wednesday Wire:
For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke with MP Ricardo Menendez-March about Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s trip to South-East Asia where he met with multiple world leaders, The Green Party’s plans to call for evidence-based cannabis regulation, the government’s new draft school curriculum for years 0-10, and Education Minister Erica Stanford announcing plans to shrink the Teaching Council.
Producer Manny spoke with Glenn Barclay, Chairperson of Tax Justice Aotearoa and The Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign, about Labour’s Limited Capital Gains Tax Proposal.
Manny also spoke with Chris Puliuvea, Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, about the current measles outbreak in Aotearoa.
And Max spoke with John Minto, co-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, to discuss the current state of the Gaza ceasefire almost four weeks since it came into effect, as well as the news of an Israeli military lawyer being arrested, after admitting to leaking the August 2024 video of Israeli soldiers.
Over the past few months, unions have been sounding the alarm about the state of our healthcare system as the government cuts funding and guts staff numbers. Now, a new threat has emerged that risks stretching our resources even thinner.
A measles outbreak has reared into the community with cases climbing to 17 in just a week, with potentially thousands exposed.
To understand how much of risk the outbreak is likely to pose to the country Wednesday Wire Producer Manny spoke to Chris Puliuvea, Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology.
The US-brokered ceasefire was signed almost four weeks ago and officially came into effect in Gaza on the 10th of October 2025.
Here are some key events that have happened since this date:
On the 14th of October, there were reports of a wave of public executions by Hamas and rival armed groups.
The same day, Israel began to limit aid into Gaza once more due to disputes over the remaining hostages.
On the 19th of October, two Israeli soldiers were killed in a Rafah explosion, then Israel retaliated with air-strikes that killed 45 Palestinians.
On the 21st of October, US vice president JD Vance said that the ceasefire was in a “very good place”.
On the 29th of October, Israel launched overnight airstrikes into Gaza that killed at least 104 Palestinians, Israel claimed the attack was to target military infrastructure.
Yesterday, Hamas returned the remains of the final 3 hostages to Israel.
And finally, the former Israeli military advocate general was arrested in Israel yesterday for admitting to leaking the August 2024 video of Israeli soldiers committing war crimes.
So, how valid is the US-brokered ceasefire?
Well that’s exactly what Wednesday Wire Host Max discussed with John Minto, co-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa.
Over recent weeks, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been busy touring South-East Asia, in the hopes of negotiating various trade deals and securing meetings with other world leaders.
In his returning press conference, where he recapped his trip, the Prime Minister focused on the importance of securing a 1-on-1 meeting with US President Donald Trump.
For our weekly catch up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menéndez March, Wednesday Wire Host Max spoke to him about the Prime Minister’s trip.
They also discussed the Green Party’s plans for an evidence-based cannabis regulation and whether they would campaign with that policy for next year’s election, as well as the new draft school curriculum released by the government, and the subsequent plans to shrink the teaching council.
But first, they discussed whether Luxon’s trip to South-East Asia was a success.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Professor Allan Blackman chats with us about ice variations, the international space station, and a problem in the atmosphere..
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Sara spoke to MP Carl Bates about the new draft curriculum, the Deepfake Harm & Exploitation Bill, and the New Zealand Initiative call for electoral reforms
For Green World, Sara spoke to AUT School of Future Environment senior lecturer Dr Priscila Besen, about the upcoming COP30 in Brasil
And finally, Sara spoke to University of Auckland associate professor Dr David Moreau about his latest research on the effects of fasting on the brain
Early this morning, University of Auckland associate professor in psychology Dr David Moreau, published findings in the Psychological Bulletin around the effects of fasting on mental cognition.
The paper has found that while the effects vary across age and genetic composition, there is no indication of decline in mental performance whether or not one is fasting.
Wire Host Sara spoke with Moreau this morning about his research, firstly by asking about his interest in the effects of fasting on the brain.
The full report can be found here.
The 30th UN climate conference will run from next week, the 10th to 21st of November in Belém, Brazil, taking on key issues around the mitigation of climate change, like the limiting of global temperature rise, increase in climate spending commitments, and the impacts for vulnerable populations.
For Green World this week, Wire Host Sara spoke with Senior Lecturer at AUT’s School of Future Environments, Dr Priscila Besen, about the importance of this year’s conference for climate action.
Besen will be in attendance at COP30, and will share content at the event here.
Last week, Education Minister Erica Stanford confirmed the latest additions to draft curriculum changes for English and Maths, with the hope for implementation in 2026.
While she says the changes are not significant to the existing system, teachers have said the draft proposes an entire overhaul and greatly increases workload expectations.
Also, ACT MP Laura McClure has put forward the Deepfake Harm & Exploitation Bill to update legislation around exploitation committed on digital platforms especially with AI.
Finally, after 30 years of MMP, the New Zealand Initiative, a kiwi policy thinktank, has proposed a four year parliamentary term and more MPs for Parliament, among numerous electoral reforms that they think can make New Zealand more effective for representing the population.
Wire Host Sara spoke with MP Carl Bates about all of these topics, starting with the curriculum changes.
Recently, the government announced that a charter school specifically catering to secondary students with autism would be started up.
The school, the Autism NZ Education Hub, would operate from Wellington and Auckland, with 96 students at first, with Associate Education Minister, David Seymour, saying the structure of the school will be personalised based on a students, needs, strengths, and interests.
However, concerns have been raised regarding whether this is the best approach to support autistic students.
News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to Missy Morton, a Professor in Disability Studies & Inclusive Education at the University of Auckland about this school, and her concerns regarding it.
The government has recently announced a new draft curriculum for years 0-10 that has seen changes to various subjects, including history, as per National/ACT coalition agreements.
ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, says the changes to the Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories curriculum removes “dismal, divisive and overly political ‘big ideas’”.
However, these changes have received criticisms from the NZ History Teachers Association over a multitude of concerns.
For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to him about these changes.
They also discussed Labour’s Capital Gains Tax policy, and the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
But first, they talked about the government’s proposed history curriculum.
Last year. Half a million parking tickets were given out in Auckland by the city's growing fleet of Automatic plate-recognition vehicles. The city now has 25 of these vehicles. With non-compliance tickets having doubled since 2024, concerns have been raised over how these systems generate revenue for Auckland Transport and the council.
While Auckland Transport has defended revenue as an unavoidable consequence of non-compliance systems, and insisted that they must stay consistent in their policing and management, some have labelled this as a ‘commodification of non-compliance’
Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, Mohsen Mohammadzadeh about these tickets, revenue, and how this technology should, or shouldn't, be used.
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’s new draft curriculum, specifically focusing on the changes to history, Labour’s capital gains tax policy, and the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Producer Alex spoke to Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland, Dr Mohsen Mohammadzadeh, about concerns that the council and auckland transport are ‘commodifying non-compliance’ with parking tickets; that is, seeing parking ticket enforcement as a source of revenue.
And Joel spoke to Missy Morton, a Professor in Disability Studies & Inclusive Education at the University of Auckland, about the government’s announcement of a charter school for autistic students and her concerns with the move.
Whakarongo mai!
The future of Palestinian leadership remains unclear as the current Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, remains unpopular and heavily criticised.
One candidate for leadership is Marwan Barghouti, who has been described as a Nelson Mandela-like leader for Palestine. However, he has been imprisoned in Israel since 2004, facing ill-treatment and torture.
Wire Host Caeden spoke to Professor Amin Saikal, Middle East Analyst at Australian National University, about Marwan Barghouti and the broader leadership crisis in Palestine.
The Government has finally released its long coveted curriculum rewrite for subjects ranging from Science to Drama.
The new curriculum has faced growing criticism from sections of the education sector, with some calling the new curricula old fashioned, criticising it for sidelining Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Maori Knowledge
Thursday Wire Producer Sanat spoke to Professor of Maori Education Georgina Stuart about her views on the changes specifically to New Zealand’s Science Curriculum and whether those changes are fit for purpose.
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