95bFM: The Wire

Although it may feel like we’ve aged years through this campaign cycle, it’s been just over a month since electoral hoardings went up, and only a week and a half since National and Labour officially kicked off their campaigns.

Both of those launches were notable for just how much the two parties talked about each other. This has been reflected throughout the wider campaigning, with National in particular making prominent use of AI attack ads of other parties.

Early last month, the Advertising Standards Authority partially upheld a complaint against a National attack ad. Beyond this self-regulatory body however, there broadly no checks on the truthfulness or nastiness of electoral campaigns - aside from within the 48 hours before an election.

For this week’s Get Action, producer Theo spoke with Claire Amos of the Aotearoa Educators Collective, on their call for political leaders to commit to ethical campaigning.

They’ve put up five points these leaders can agree to: telling voters the truth, debating ideas rather than people, transparency about money and influence, responsible use of AI, and respecting the institutions protecting Aotearoa New Zealand’s democracy.

They began the interview discussing who the Aotearoa Educators Collective are.

If you’re interested in signing the open letter, you can find it on the action station webpage, or through this link.

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Host Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Greens transport platform, our national climate commitments, and their alarm at the alleged misuse of the public funds used for ads to defend the government's track record on health.

For this week’s Get Action, Producer Theo spoke to Claire Amos of the Aotearoa Educators Collective, on their call for political leaders to commit to ethical campaigning.

Theo also spoke to investigative journalist Nicky Hager, following the release of his book Dirty Work, documenting the influence of the rightwing lobbying organisation The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

In the lead up to the last election in 2023, then Labour government Health Minister, Ayesha Verrall, sacked CEO of Health New Zealand, Rob Cambell, over posts he’d put out on his personal social media supporting Verrall’s own party's policies and criticising the opposition. Now in the build up to another election Health New Zealand is again taking heat, but this time, it's not for a post on a personal social media, it's for misusing public money to pay for advertisements in the nation's largest news papers. These ads, hailing the government's successes in health lay in contrast to the voices of the healthworkers warning of the critically degraded state of care but they resemble the National Parties own campaign material.

The first official complaint under the Paris Climate Agreement is being lodged against the government. The Dutch group lodging the complaint with the European Commission say that the New Zealand government has failed to live up to the agreement and our word. This follows the government's intervention in a court case to ensure some of our largest polluters wouldn’t have to pay kiwis for the environmental damages they’ve caused them. Yet the complaint is in danger as foreign minister and leader of New Zealand First, Winston Peters, after years of opposing the Paris agreement, is now campaigning to withdraw the country from it entirely. Yet he never sought advice from his own ministry over what the move might mean for the country or our reputation.

The Green party has announced their Transport policy platform, which if implemented would see large expansions of public transport and subsidising costs. Within is the expansion of passenger rail services from Auckland to Tauranga and Wellington, rapid transit systems, and free fares for students, Community Service Card holders, Total Mobility users and a maximum $2 fare for everyone else.

So for this week's catch up with Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March we spoke about the Greens transport platform, our national climate commitments, and their alarm at the alleged misuse of the public funds used to defend the government's track record on health.

Nicky Hager is a prolific investigative journalist and writer, publishing books on a range of often-shadowy topics such as the military, government spy networks, and New Zealand politics.

Back in 2006, Hager published The Hollow Men, which drew on internal National Party documents leaked to Hager, exposing a network of right-wing figures that facilitated Don Brash’s rise to National Party leader alongside racist anti-iwi campaigning strategies.

Dirty Politics, in 2014, used further leaked documents and emails to illustrate the close relationship between senior National government ministers - such as Judith Collins - and right-wing attack bloggers such as Cameron Slater, alongside the formation of right-wing lobbying and pressure groups such as the New Zealand Initiative and the New Zealand Taxpayer’s Union.

Dirty Work, the latest in Hager’s trilogy of investigative books on New Zealand politics, draws on interviews with insiders from the Taxpayer’s Union. Hager documents how this right-wing pressure group pivoted from rightwing advocacy for ‘smaller government’ to a greater focus on race relations, after experiencing a surge in donations and prominence pushing anti-Māori rhetoric in relation to the three-waters reforms. The executive director and founder of the Taxpayer’s Union, Jordan Williams, is a central focus of the book, with his ties to other figures within the right-wing lobbying networks such as Don Brash and David Farrar, alongside claims of sexual harassment. 

Within Dirty Work, Hager stresses the harmful effect of rightwing pressure groups on Aotearoa New Zealand’s democracy, pointing to a complicity of New Zealand media in uncritically reproducing these organisations’ talking points and invisibilising their influence. So, to hear more on the Taxpayers Union, the role of young people, and the current state of investigative journalism, producer Theo spoke with Nicky Hager late last week.

Recently, the government passed the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill into law to replace the Resource Management Act. RMA Reform has long been proposed to simplify and speed up consenting for building and infrastructure projects, but many worry the changes bypass environmental protections and ignore local council urban planning. 

Wire Producer Liam spoke to Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Design and Planning from the University of Auckland, Bill McKay, about what these changes will look like and whether further changes might be seen following the election. 

This week on the Monday Wire...

For our scheduled Auckland Central debate, candidate Candace Kinser was unfortunately unable to attend. It's not a big deal though, as we still had Green Party co-leader and current Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick with us in the studio.

For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about what the party is doing to address the ongoing crisis in health. 

And producer Sara spoke with Dr Samantha Marsh, Dr Alex Beattie and Professor Cheryl Brown about the latest Lancet Journal review on digital media effects on children and young people.

For Dear Science this week, we chat with our expert Dr Cushla McGoverin about the Spinosaurus, Elephant Communication, and Eggshells in metals.

Producer Liam, spoke to Bill McKay, Senior Lecturer of Architecture, Planning and Design at the University of Auckland, about the government’s RMA reforms which have passed their final readings. 

And in the newest interview for our Candidates of Tāmaki Makaurau series Liam also talked to Labour Candidate for Pakuranga Campbell Matthews

A series of papers have been released in the Lancet Journal today illustrating the various levels of harm caused by digital systems on young people. 

The literature found problematic digital use to be linked to a higher risk of mental health problems, sleep problems, and reduced physical activity, but noted that certain groups also experience health benefits with moderated usage.

The review highlights that there is an urgent need for better governance surrounding digital harm which includes confronting the tactics employed by technology companies to avoid regulation and increase usage.

On this topic, Wire Producer Sara spoke with three experts, Dr Samantha Marsh from the University of Auckland, Dr Alex Beattie from Victoria University of Wellington, and Professor Cheryl Brown at the University of Canterbury

Health is one of the biggest issues in the leadup to this year’s election, with concerns over GP wait times, hospital staffing, infrastructure repairs, and overcrowding in emergency departments. ACT has proposed increased powers for pharmacies to help address the problem, though concerns remain over if such a change would solve the problem. 

For our weekly catchup with ACT’s Simon Court, News Director Castor asked about what the ACT Party has to offer to fix the current crisis in health. They began by asking about Simon Court’s recent appearances at multiple debates.