The Wire w/ Castor: 24th August, 2026

This week on the Monday Wire... For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News Director Castor spoke to MP Simon Court about health sector underfunding and overcrowding in hospitals, ACT’s proposed working with children card, and the investigation into another harbour crossing.  They also spoke to honorary research fellow at the University of Auckland, Melissa Jade-Gregan, about a study she authored into New Zealand’s adherence to international tobacco lobbying regulations.  Producer Pranuja spoke to Dr Joanna Hikaka about why Māori are accessing aged-care services at much lower rates than non-Māori, and what needs to change for the system to work better for kaumātua and whānau.  She also spoke to Associate Professor Tanya Evans about why women from girls-only schools are more likely to pursue engineering and computer science, and what that could tell us about the gender gap in STEM.