The Wire with Jessica

Early in April, the Department of Conservation faced criticisms for spending $500,000 to remove one stoat from Chalky Island in Fiordland. 

Wire host Castor spoke to the University of Auckland’s Professor James Russell, about conservation and pest eradication broadly in Aotearoa, individual community efforts, and this specific case of one nasty stoat. 

In a recent report card on Aotearoa’s laws and policies for vaping, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand found the government still has significant areas for improvement to address the youth vaping epidemic.

Producer Sofia Roger Williams spoke to Chief Executive, Letitia Harding, about New Zealand’s current laws and policies for vaping, the importance of regulation and restriction, and what measures the Foundation would like to see the government take to better address these. 

For our regular catch-up with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to MP Simon Court about the government’s plan to address low truancy levels post-COVID-19, and Court’s X post stating he stands with Israel.

She spoke to Professional Teaching Fellow in Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Dr Brian Marsh, and Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, Dr John Fenaughty, about how the government can improve school attendance rates.

And she reported on Trade Me’s legal action against small business Trade Jobs NZ, speaking to the owner of Trade Jobs NZ, Colleen Getley.

Producer Ezra spoke to Associate Professor of Environmental Science at The University of Waikato, David Campbell, and Senior Ecologist at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Olivia Burge, about the climate-saving potential of Wetland Conservation.

Small business, Trade Jobs NZ, is facing a legal dispute with Trade Me over its name and branding, with Trade Me claiming copyright infringement for using the words 'Trade' and 'Jobs'.

Trade Me told 95bFM they cannot go into the details of the case while it is before the Court, but they provided us with the following statement: 

“We have used the name Trade Me Jobs since 2006. It’s an important part of our business. We’ve worked hard to build a distinctive brand that is recognised and trusted by Kiwis. We rarely take the decision to go to court and we don’t take the decision lightly – it is something we would only consider as a last resort.”

News and Editorial Director, Jessica Hopkins, spoke to Trade Jobs NZ owner, Colleen Getley, about their business and opposition to Trade Me’s claim.