Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Russell Brand will be sentenced on his rape and sexual assault convictions in the coming hours. The 51-year-old has been held in custody since his guilty verdicts in a London court on Friday. Police are investigating two additional allegations of rape against the comedian. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says it's likely more victims will come forward, and there'll be more developments in this case.&n...

US tech giant Nvidia's is investigating reports its CEO has had an affair with a suspected Chinese spy. The New York Times has revealed US intelligence officials believe a businesswoman who had a relationship with Jensen Huang was spying for Beijing. Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie unpacked the investigation further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ANZ New Zealand has posted a $2.4 billion net profit - sliding from a record $2.5 billion the year before. The Australian bank's released its financial results to September. Chief executive Ben Kelleher says these results reflect a tricky economic environment and increased competition in the banking sector. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT's leader says everything is negotiable - as speculation about him becoming the next Finance Minister, if the coalition return to power continues to swirl. National leader Chris Luxon says his party keeping that portfolio is non-negotiable. David Seymour says the coalition need to ask themselves what the best configuration is to make sure they have a fighting chance of a third term in three yea...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 9 November, 2026, Chris Bishop says he'll now try to make up for being a "crappy husband and father" for three years after conceding a "bruising loss" in the Hutt South electorate. On The Huddle, Trish Sherson and Josie Pagani on whether Christopher Luxon should've been on the phone to Qiulae Wong already. Radio New Zealand's boss...

Chris Bishop says he's had a rough couple of days, after finding himself out of Parliament after 12 years.  The National front-bencher phoned his Hutt South opponent, Labour's Ginny Andersen, to concede - saying special votes are unlikely to overturn her provisional 889 vote lead. The electorate's gone back and forward between the two since 2017.  Bishop says he's still processing what's...

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! RNZ has posted an unexpected and unbudgeted loss of almost $12 million and is preparing to cut almost 60 roles - and an independent review is set to take place. What went wrong here?  There's discussions about the future of Lab...

So the talk has already turned, not surprisingly, to whether either of the Chrises will keep their jobs after the election. Let's deal with Chris Hipkins first. Chippy's gone, right? The only thing that's going to save him is if he somehow defies  the odds and, against all expectations, wins enough seats through the recount and special votes in the next three weeks to form a majority with Opp...

Businesses on Wellington's Courtenay Place are worried potentially higher rates could make them shut up up shop. Consultation's underway on changing how property rates are calculated.  A proposed move to land-value rates could cost some central businesses an extra $800,000 a year.  Local hospitality owner Jeremy Smith says he'd pay 50 percent less to operate in Auckland.  "Wellingto...

A tech commentator says reports US tech giant Nvidia's boss had an affair with a suspected Chinese spy is a sharp reminder for business leaders. The New York Times has revealed intelligence officials believe Jensen Huang was in a relationship with a businesswoman spying for Beijing. The AI developer says it's investigating but has no reason to believe company secrets were compromised. Tech comment...

Greens co-leader Marama Davidson agrees the left has longer odds of forming Government, but it's still possible. The party has had its highest vote ever on provisional results - scoring 13.3 percent.  But it could only form a Government with Labour, Te Pati Māori and Opportunity if special votes switch Saturday night's figures.  Davidson says hope isn't lost.  "It does also depend o...

A litany of mistakes have left RNZ with an almost $12 million deficit. It's a stark contrast to the public broadcaster's forecast, of a $470,000 loss. RNZ chair Brent Impey says senior management was unaware until mid-October, the same month an interim CFO was appointed. "A whole bunch of things came out - one-off costs that were incorrectly reported as revenue, personnel costs were out, relocatio...

Labour's leader's not expecting a vote on the leadership tomorrow, but says one is required soon.  The current coalition's in the box seat to form Government - with 67 seats - although Chris Hipkins says there's still hope for the left, which is on 57 seats, with 400,000 votes still to be counted.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Hipkins is presuming the Oppor...

There's less than three weeks ago until the Victorian election at the end of November, and the numbers aren't looking good for Labor. Prime Minister Albanese's approval rating is down, and a recent poll showed One Nation is overtaking Labor.  Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says Labor's been in power for years, and Victoria's been hit hard by Covid-19 lockdowns in the past - and the...

The All Blacks believe there's plenty to work on, despite posting their biggest win over Scotland since 2012. The side's moved to Bath to begin preparations for taking the plunge against Wales on Sunday morning. Sportstalk host Jason Pine recapped last weekend's action further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new study reveals that less Kiwi kids can hold a pencil than ever, and educators have their theories about why this is. According to the data, only about a third use the standard 'tripod grip' taught by schools, while more than half wrap their thumb around or across the pencil  Auckland Primary Principals' Association Lucy Naylor says this isn't a surprise, and the pencil grip issue is a sm...

I'm sure, like many people of my generation who grew up through their 20s and 30s with Russell Brand as a big part of pop culture, the news that he is behind bars will have come as a shock. I'm not surprised, though. If you've been following the rape trial like I have, it would have dawned on you pretty early on in the testimony of those women that he was going to go down for this. Their stories o...

One former National Party head is confident the coalition will secure a second term, despite the race being tight. Preliminary results give National, ACT and New Zealand First 67 seats, while Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Māori won 57 seats. Simon Bridges says the most likely outcome from all this is the continuation of the current Government, but the special votes are yet to be counted. "Even if...

Former broadcaster and now ACT MP Paul Henry believes there's no regrets, as a move to Wellington looks likely. ACT is currently sitting on 10.92 percent, giving it 13 seats based on provisional results - with Henry 4th on the party list. He says he'll be doing a great disservice if he changes his mind now. "There's no room for second thoughts, or I would have just completely wasted my time, would...

Former United Future leader Peter Dunne believes the National, ACT and New Zealand First partners will tolerate Opportunity if needed. Dunne expects parties will hold informal talks in coming weeks - while special votes are counted, for a final result. But he recommends the newcomers avoid formal arrangements. Dunne says Opportunity could stay on the cross-benches, and offer a confidence and suppl...

In the morning after the election, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani recapped what we know so far, given the narrow election race. Do we consider this a win for the right bloc, or is it too early to tell?  Does National need to reach out to Opportunity to form a new Government, or is it just an insurance policy?  Do we see Chris Luxon hanging on to the...

Labour's Michael Wood is quietly confident he'll get back Auckland's Mount Roskill seat - from National's Carlos Cheung. Wood is narrowly leading on preliminary results. He says special votes could see his margin increase. "There's actually the possibility that that number moves out a little bit more in our favour, but let's just hold fire." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Senior National MP Mark Mitchell admits the campaign to engineer an overhang distracted from the party's campaign.  Preliminary results give National, ACT and New Zealand First 67 seats, Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Māori 57 and Opportunity 7 seats.  The Electoral Commission estimates almost 400,000 special votes are still to come. National's overhang gives it no list MPs, putting Nico...

Former Labour leader Phil Goff hasn't given up on the prospect of a left-wing Government, despite last night's preliminary results. The data shows that the right bloc currently has a clearer path to getting into Government, but there's still 400,000 special votes to be counted. Goff says New Zealand needed a decisive vote - and the nation didn't get it. "We won't know, actually, until the 27th of...

David Seymour says he's stoked ACT secured a record-high party vote for the third election in a row. The provisional results have the party on 10.9 percent, giving them 13 seats so far. But the ACT leader says the only thing that's certain now is that nothing will be clear for another three weeks. "We might not be in Government, and you've still got this Opportunity thing, you've still got this co...