Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

An Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice senior leader's keen to see youth offender boot camps continue beyond the pilot.  The 12-month military-style camp trial with 10 of New Zealand's most serious young offenders has wrapped.  Eight completed the programme, seven re-offended requiring them to return to camp, and one passed away in a road accident.  Oranga Tamariki Deputy CEO Ian Chapman...

Israel's expanding its military occupation of Gaza - forcing more than a million Palestinians out of Gaza City.  Israel's security cabinet's approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan - in a nine hour meeting today. It involves moving Palestinians out of the main population centres - and into compounds in southern Gaza.  Israeli journalist Haggai Matar told Heather du-Plessis Alla...

The US President has said he would be happy to have a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  The focus of this meeting will likely be around peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.  US Correspondent Jonathan Kearsley told Heather duPlessis-Allan that Donald Trump wants to be the middleman to this peace deal.   ‘He would want to make it look like he is the peace...

So I don't know what's worse, the fact that Willow Jean Prime is a lazy, disinterested waste of space in Labour's team, or the fact that Labour's been busted almost lying about this. So let me get you across what happened, and you can decide for yourself.  In March, Willow Jean Prime took over the Labour Party education portfolio from Jan Tonetti, and her National Party counterpart, Erika Sta...

Donald Trump has informed his allies that he aims to meet with Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, with an additional three-way meeting including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the cards. When asked later if the leaders would attend the summit, Trump told reporters there was a 'very good prospect that they would'. UK correspondent Enda Brady explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystu...

2025 has been regarded as a challenging year for economic forecasting, with experts stumped about what decisions to make. Traditional indicators have been regarded as contradictory, but one expert's developed a workaround. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian researchers have developed a vaccine to protect livestock during an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The five-year research project was a partnership between Meat & Livestock Australia, Tiba Biotech and the NSW Government - and cost $20 million to develop. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rare thing to be able to say- but Wellington City Council has just made a sensible decision and voted against erecting a fence along the entire length of Kumutoto and Queen's Wharf. Now, if you know the part of Wellington that I'm talking about here, it's the area seaside of the TSB Bank Arena and Fergs and Shed 5 and Foxglove and so on.  That whole area at the moment has beautiful concrete w...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 7 August 2025, Ballance, one of the biggest names in agriculture business, might have to put its operations on hold for four months because gas is getting too expensive. CEO Kelvin Wickham talks to Heather. Did Auckland Council get your rates bill wrong? Heather tells you how you can find out. Nurses Organisation President Anne...

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and former Auckland mayor Phil Goff joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  Wellington Council has voted down a proposal to build a fence around its waterfront. Do we think this was the right move? High gas prices are set to bring down another company - this time it's fertiliser manufacturer...

Fuel taxes are set to be replaced by road user charges for all vehicles - and it's left many wondering how these changes will be implemented. Eroad has welcomed this development, and their share price has risen in the hours since Transport Minister Chris Bishop made this announcement. Eroad co-CEO Mark Heine says the company's been making use of electronic road user charges (eRUC) for years and sa...

One school principal is not phased by mistakes being found in a Ministry maths resource book.  18 errors have been found and fixed - including incorrect sums and a Te Reo Māori typo. Auckland Primary Principals' Association President Lucy Naylor says it's not ideal, but the resources only make up about five percent of what's taught. She points out they didn't cost schools. "Given the maths re...

Wellington councillors have voted against advice to fence parts of the waterfront. They were considering a proposal to immediately spend $7 million installing fences on the Kumutoto and Queens Wharf precincts - without community consultation. Councillor Tim Brown says he feels they've spent $8 million dollars improving lighting and other initiatives around the waterfront. He says he feels they've...

There's fears St John's cutting of community programmes will put more pressure on health workers. The organisation's new community health direction will see the Therapy Pets and Hospital Volunteers and Community Carers programmes wrap up by next June. NZNO President Anne Daniels says logic suggests these cuts have been made due to declining funding. "Even though these volunteers don't get paid, th...

A temporary shutdown may be on the cards for fertiliser manufacturer Ballance as it struggles to secure affordable gas. The farmer and grower co-op says it may close its Kapuni plant for up to four months as a contingency. The company manufactures about a third of New Zealand’s urea fertiliser each year. Chief executive Kelvin Wickham says they aren't able to secure gas on a long-term basis. ...

The Government's putting product labelling regulations under the microscope in another attack on red tape. The Ministry for Regulation's reviewing labelling standards, and expects to be finished by the end of the year. Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls says Minister for Regulation David Seymour has pointed out the compliance standards companies are subject to - and he's looking to make some...

The Australian Government is facing renewed calls to increase the GST, but hand taxpayers a hefty rebate set to shield low-income earners. The new proposal, put forward by teal independent MP Kate Chaney and economist Richard Holden, would raise the GST from 10 percent to 15 percent. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says this change would leave Australia's lowest earners better off than under...

Richie Mo'unga will return to New Zealand Rugby next year, via the NPC with Canterbury. The 56-test All Black has signed an 18-month contract to return to New Zealand Rugby in July next year - after three seasons playing in Japan. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some Auckland ratepayers have been getting nasty surprises when opening their newest bills for the year. The Herald has identified a number of properties who've been overcharged, including a $3.9 million multi-unit property with an incorrect $444,766 - 11.4 percent - rates bill. Auckland Council Group chief financial officer Ross Tucker says they process the rates bills for a huge volume of proper...

Taxes must rise in the coming months in order to reach financial targets, according to one UK-based economic think tank. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research recommends 'a moderate but sustained increase in taxes' to cover a £41.2 billion gap. UK correspondent Gavin Grey explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Building Nations conference kicked off today, with the nation's major political parties seemingly aligned on future infrastructure. National's Chris Bishop and Labour's Kieran McAnulty spoke this afternoon, and they appeared to be united about future partnerships. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

Government debt levels are rising globally - with many at risk of permanent structural deficits if they can't bring down interest bills each year. Cutting spending and increasing taxes is an unpopular concept among voters, so experts are wondering what the next steps could be. Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

Rugby Australia has confirmed the rule restricting how many overseas based players Wallabies coaches can pick has been scrapped. Rugby Australia has since claimed the rule hasn't been enforced for some time. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and Conor English from Silvereye communications joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  The latest report into our grocery sector found the duopoly continues to be highly lucrative, and Kiwis are paying the 5th highest prices in the OECD. Are we sick of all the talk about this? Can we...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 6 August 2025, Transport Minister Chris Bishop explains why he's replacing fuel taxes with road user charges for everyone - and how long it's going to take to actually happen. Unemployment has risen to 5.2% - the highest rate since 2020. So how much worse is it going to get? The Grocery Commissioner Pierre Van Heerden tells Hea...