Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Former broadcaster and journalist Oriini Kaipara is putting her name forward to be Te Pāti Māori's Tāmaki Makaurau candidate after Takutai Tarsh Kemp died, triggering a by-election. Kaipara has an extensive broadcasting background and has worked for Mai FM, TVNZ, Māori TV and Newshub - where she presented the Saturday morning politics-heavy show The Nation.  NZ Herald political editor Thomas...

Australian Erin Patterson can now be called a triple-murderer after a nine-week trial ended in a guilty verdict. A jury has unanimously agreed the 50-year-old deliberately laced a beef wellington with death cap mushrooms, killing three members of her estranged husband's family. She's also been found guilty of attempting to murder a fourth person, after a jury deliberated more than six days. Austra...

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson's pinpointing the main area he wants the team to set their hearts on this week. After opening their test season with a scrappy four-point win over France - the All Blacks are keen for a step up in Saturday's second match in Wellington. Sportstalk host Jason Pine explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington Hospital is trialling cutting maternity and gynaecology beds to ease ED pressure.  Staff have been told maternity overflow space will be re-purposed as 12 more Emergency Department places. NZ College of Midwives Chief Executive Alison Eddy says staff in Wellington have reported the current maternity facility is over 100 percent occupancy. "There might be spare beds today, but on a...

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 4 July. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Digital cameras are seeing an explosion in sales following the latest Gen-Z trends.  These cameras have widely been considered dated since the arrival of smartphones. However, the younger generations seem to have made the switch back.  Auckland Camera Centre Manager Nick Khoey told Heather du-Plessis Alan that the rise in demand for these cameras has been outstanding.   ‘We’ve been...

Festivities are kicking off in Dunedin - a day before it hosts its only All Blacks game this year.   The first international match of 2025 against France has sold out at Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow night.  But the opening of Christchurch's new stadium in April could mean Dunedin will host even fewer matches.    Mayor Jules Radich told Heather du Plessis-Allan he isn't worried...

The Police Minister says a Labour MP's claim is a deliberate attempt to undermine hard-working officers.  Labour's Deborah Russell told Newstalk ZB Police were being told not to attend domestic violence crimes.  Political Editor Jason Walls told Heather du Plessis-Allan that data shows police are attending 7.7 percent more family violence callouts, since changing the triage system. ...

Right, tell me what you think of this.  There seems to be a bit of an effort underway at the moment to portray IRD as bad guys because they're chasing Kiwis overseas who owe money on their student loans.  Now, tell me if you think that we should let either of these two off the hook on the money that they owe.  The first is a pilot who moved to Australia 10 years ago. He now owes IRD...

The team purchasing the newly public-owned Cook Strait ferries says the process can't be compared to private contractors. Kiwirail's new ferries aren't expected to be in service until Christmas 2029. Ferry Holdings Chair, Chris Mackenzie, says part of the issue is the Government is buying new ferries - not second-hand. He also told Heather du Plessis-Allan they fulfil different needs, with the Gov...

Act's David Seymour says a unit for verifying the costs of pre-election political policy promises - would add more bureaucracy.  Act and New Zealand First torpedoed a proposal by Finance Minister Nicola Willis to publicly fund such a service.  National declined Labour’s offer of support.  Seymour claims his Party managed to release a fully costed alternative Budget without it. ...

A Realestate.co.nz survey found that 24% of respondents bought a property without initially intending to purchase, with 8% buying spontaneously in the past year.   Agent Rawdon Christie told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's hard to believe people are really buying on a whim.   He says there's a mountain of paper work and regulations to get through before signing on the dotted line.  LI...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed Rachel Reeves to remain chancellor "into the next election and for many years after" after she was seen crying in the Commons yesterday. Starmer had initially refused to say whether Reeves would remain in her job until the next election. UK correspondent Enda Brady says the party's had a 'rocky' week - and they've faced a lot of scrutiny.  LISTEN ABOVE See o...

Mastercard and a small handful of other companies have dominated the way money moves between banks, shops and consumers, but that could soon change. Stablecoins have been touted as a possible disrupter - but what does that mean for people? Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prices continue to drop in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, with a 4.1 percent decrease across the board. It is the largest decline this calendar year, following a 1 percent dip from the previous auction, and is the fourth consecutive event where the average price has decreased. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Wellbeing Economy Alliance director Gareth Hughes and Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Experts have coined the term 'passenger parenting' - what do we make of this phenomenon? What did we think of UK chancellor Rachel Reeves crying in the House? Is there an argument for more vulnerability in...

Simeon Brown has told various Government-owned companies they must explain why they are failing to deliver their cost of equity and how they will improve their returns. The Minister for State Owned Enterprises told several of the SOEs - including NZ Post and Landcorp - that they've been underperforming over the last few years. Landcorp was also singled out because its CEO's pay climbed from $760,0...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 3 July 2025, shop owners will get more powers to trespass people but a defence lawyer is questioning whether the Government's law and order changes will help at all. The Bluebridge boss Shane McMahon tells Heather about his new ferry.. and how he got it so fast. All Blacks assistant coach Scott Hansen on the All Blacks squad tha...

This is gonna sound harsh and I know it - but I think women like Rachel Reeves need to stop crying in public. This is the biggest news that is in the UK at the moment. The Chancellor, who's basically the equivalent of our Nicola Willis, started crying in Parliament. Now I feel really sorry for her, cause it looks like she is going to probably end up taking the fall for a man's incompetence be...

A new study out of Victoria's Deakin University has coined a new term describing a newly-emerging parenting dynamic. The study explains that while fathers are becoming increasingly engaged in family life, many are taking on a backseat role and leaving mothers to carry the majority of parenting duties. 'Passenger parenting' was coined by public health lecturer Norma Barrett and she says it's a tric...

Bluebridge's new ferry arrived in Wellington this morning, drawing in the crowds at Oriental Bay. The Livia is from Denmark - and it can hold more than 400 passengers, with a 10 percent increase in vehicle capacity. Strait NZ CEO Shane McMahon says the vessel will come into service at the end of the month - and it's an 'exciting' development. "We've invested well over $200 million in the new fleet...

A criminal defence lawyer isn't sure changing trespassing laws will significantly impact retail crime.  The Justice Minister's latest law and order proposal would double maximum fines for trespassing on businesses.  It will also let owners ban people from multiple sites - and for longer.  John Munro says the move, alongside an earlier announcement on harsher moves against shopliftin...

There's plenty of surprises in the first All Blacks team of 2025 for Saturday's rugby test opener against France in Dunedin. The side to tackle France in Dunedin this Saturday features four debutants and three major positional changes. All Blacks assistant coach Scott Hansen says this will be a proud moment for the players ahead of the match. "What we've selected is a team we feel will allow us to...

A promise the Government's focusing on delivery this quarter, as it gives itself a shorter list.   The Prime Minister has released his Q3 action plan - laying out goals of repealing the oil and gas ban, banning prisoner voting, as well as passing changes to the RMA and looking into supermarket competition. This plan has 28 key points,10 less than the last one. NZ Herald political editor Thoma...

Qantas says its operations and safety are unaffected by a major cyber hack of its systems, potentially impacting six million customers.  It's investigating the proportion of the data stolen, and expects it will be significant. Initial reviews show some customer names, emails, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers were stolen.  Australian correspondent Murray Olds says the...