The Monday Wire with Will Pollard

95bFM: The Monday Wire with Will Pollard

The bFM WIRE Today: 12 - 2pm weekdays

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12.15pm – Lewis Holden, Chair of the NZ Republican Movement

Our current Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand, will enter the fifth (and likely the last) year of his term next year. In anticipation of this, the New Zealand Republican Movement has called upon the government to change the way in which it will go about replacing the current representative of the Queen on our shores. Our Governor-Generals have traditionally been appointed by the head of state on the advice of the prime minister, but the Republican Movement wants the citizens of New Zealand to have more say in who gets this important role. The Movement’s chair and spokesperson, Lewis Holden, says “nominations for the next Governor-General ought to be made by the general public,” before being voted on by MPs. Mr Holden will be joining us at quarter past the hour to explain why he thinks it is time for change.


12.30pm – Professor Glenn Summerhayes, Head of Anthropology at the University of Otago

A new study of some very very very old campsites in Papua New Guinea has revealed that our distant ancestors may have been more ‘modern’ than we currently think. It seems the inhabitants of some sites in the Ivane Valley were at the forefront of what we might call ‘colonisation.’ These ancient humans have left traces which suggest that they were busy clearing land and planting crops some 49,000 years ago. The new study has been lead by Professor Glenn Summerhayes of the University of Otago, and he will be speaking with us at around half past the hour just before he heads back to PNG to continue his research.


12.40pm – Hon Georgina te Heuheu QSO – Minister for Courts

Changes to New Zealand’s jury system, aimed at reducing the number of excusals and refusals, come into effect today. According to the Justice Minister Simon Power, 62% of people summoned for service last year were excused and a further 21% simply failed to attend. The new changes include allowing jurors to defer their service to a more suitable time in the next 12 months, and extending the jury districts to include more potential jurors for each court. Earlier this morning I spoke with the Minister for Courts, Georgina te Heuheu, to find out more about the new ideas. I’ll play that interview at around 12.40pm.

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