Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The number of migrants to cross the English Channel in small boats since the Labour party came to power 13 months ago is expected to have reached 50,000.  The Government says it’s an 'unacceptable number of people' but pointed to the 'one in, one out' returns deal with France as a deterrent. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says opposition MPs have been quick to accuse the Government of 'surrender...

The Reserve Bank is moving to cut 20 percent of its staff in a bid to unwind the hiring spree by former Governor Adrian Orr. The restructure will see the net reduction on 142 roles, including 35 vacant positions. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson have all declined to be interviewed publicly by the Covid inquiry. Should they have fronted? Did Chlöe Swarbrick deserve to get booted out of Parliament to...

US inflation held steady in July, with consumer prices rising 2.7 percent - depite the ongoing concerns around import tariffs. Figures are better than economists feared, but underlying pressures make the Federal Reserve's next move unclear. Milford Asset Management's Michael Luke explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unionised secondary teachers who say kids' needs aren't being met in school will strike next week, nationwide. They'll step away from the job next Wednesday after rejecting a three percent pay increase over three years. The PPTA says experienced teachers will be crucial to successfully rolling out proposed Government NCEA reforms. President Chris Abercrombie says the teachers introduced a counter-...

I can't blame you if your assessment of Parliament today is that it's become a circus, because what happened today is kind of hard to defend or even explain. Chlöe was kicked out, Brownlee suspended her for a week and all of the Government parties voted for that punishment - and that includes New Zealand First, before Winston Peters then got up to tell Jerry Brownlee that the punishment wasn't fai...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 13 August 2025, Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins and other former Labour Ministers have declined to give evidence at a public Covid inquiry. National's Chris Bishop says it's "disgraceful". Drama in Parliament, with Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick kicked out of the House for the second day in a row. Former Speaker Sir David Carte...

Education Minister Erica Stanford has received some backlash by excluding most Māori words from five-year-olds' school phonics books. A Ministry of Education report shows Stanford decided to exclude all Māori kupu - except characters' names - last year, out of concern it would confuse children. Canterbury University's professor Gail Gillon helped develop the phonics readers. She says confusion doe...

New Zealand Embassy staff have made contact with Sarah Shaw - the Kiwi woman being detained along with her son at a US immigration facility. The pair were detained on the Canadian border three weeks ago. Shaw's lawyer Minda Thorward says she's using every legal process she can to get the pair out - but it's ultimately up to DHS. "We're hoping that they're just going to release her and her son late...

Current and former Labour leaders and ministers deciding not to appear at the Royal Commission's Covid inquiry is being described as 'disgraceful'.  Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson and Ayesha Verrall, who were all involved in Covid decisions - have declined invitations to appear.  They say it would have been performative - not informative - and there's a risk livestream re...

There was drama and controversy in the House today, after Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick doubled down and refused to apologise for saying MPs with spines would act on Gaza. Swarbrick has since been booted from Parliament for not apologising. Former Speaker Sir David Carter says he should have asked Prime Minister John Key to withdraw - when he told the Opposition to 'get some guts' in 2015. "In...

There was drama in Parliament today after Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick doubled down and refused to apologise for comments made yesterday. She was kicked out of the House for again not apologising for saying Government MPs with a spine should support sanctioning Israel more over Gaza. She was 'named', which means her pay will be docked. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper say...

There's uncertainty over how Donald Trump's dialling up of law enforcement in Washington DC will play out.  The President has placed the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control, and has deployed roughly 800 National Guards. US correspondent Jonathan Kearsley says local authorities have claimed Trump's measures to crack down on crime in DC aren't necessary - and that violent cr...

The Warriors have re-signed Te Maire Martin for the 2026 season, ending speculation on his future at the NRL club. Martin had been shaping for a move away from the Warriors earlier in the year, but has proven invaluable in recent times as a 'Fix-it man' in the side ravaged by injuries. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

There's growing calls among Auckland business leaders to get the city's economy going again. According to the latest Stats NZ data, Auckland’s 6.1 percent unemployment rate for the June 2025 quarter was the highest of any region and above the national rate of 5.2 percent. Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck says the Government needs to find a solution to get the city moving again. "We're ta...

US Vice President JD Vance and his family have taken a trip to the Cotswolds - and his extensive security detail have raised some eyebrows among the locals. The 20-vehicle convoy has prompted some backlash from the residents. UK correspondent Enda Brady explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, former Green MP Gareth Hughes and Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  Minister Shane Jones is looking into rationing gas - do we think this is a realistic idea? Do we need to recognise the state of Palestine now - or is the Government right to wait? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listen...

Meat processor Alliance Group says Dawn Meats is lining up to pay $250 million for a 65 percent stake in the meat co-op. Alliance, a farmer-owned co-operative and New Zealand’s biggest sheep meat exporter, said the deal would give it an enterprise value of $502 million. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spark New Zealand is selling 75 percent of its data centre business for about half a billion dollars. Australian-owned Pacific Equity Partners is taking the controlling share of the $705-million-dollar business. Spark will move its data centre assets and operations into a new stand-alone company. Devon Funds Head of Retail Greg Smith explains what this could mean for the business. LISTEN ABOVE See...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 12 August 2025, is the Government about to ration our gas usage? Resources Minister Shane Jones speaks to Heather. Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour explains why the Government is taking its time before it recognises Palestine as a state. There are calls to urgently help a Kiwi mum and her son who have been held in US immigrati...

A growing number of businesses are reporting losses and economists have voiced concerns. IRD data shows that in the 2023 tax year, 107,360 companies out of 475,010 reported a current loss. Another 40,670 were carrying a loss over from a previous tax year. Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan says these figures are consistent with the current deterioration of the economy. LISTEN ABOVE See om...

I'm happy to report to you that it looks like some of us want to play the old 'should Luxon be rolled' game. In the wake of the not-so-great polls that came out yesterday, there is a column by Andrea Vance - who I am name-checking because she's good and credible, and not just some junior reporter with an opinion. In her column, she predicts that Luxon is in trouble, that his caucus is getting impa...

Health New Zealand is apologising after significant failings led to two murders in Canterbury. An urgent Ministry review was ordered after an on-leave Hillmorton Hospital in-patient killed Laisa Tunidau as she walked home from work in 2022.  During the review - a patient gardening for 83-year-old Frances 'Faye' Phelps, killed her in her home. Health NZ National Director for Mental Health and...

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has voiced support for the recent protocol shakeup set to impact the next America's Cup. The 38th instalment in Naples in 2027 will see the number of sailors on board drop from eight to five, a requirement for one of those to a female, batteries replacing manual power and the introduction of a cost cap. The protocol also outlines a new partnership between all t...

Resources Minister Shane Jones is investigating whether to ration gas to keep some businesses going. Fertiliser co-operative Ballance last week revealed it's considering a four-month temporary closure after it failed to renew its long-term gas deal. It was outbid by Contact Energy, which is supplying homes. Jones says he'll be focusing on what's doable, to help solve the shortage. "We're not makin...