Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Labour's leader says Rakesh Naidoo's decision to run for Labour is all above board - as he comes under fire. Commissioner Richard Chambers says Naidoo's candidacy makes his role as a senior police officer untenable, and he'll be removed. Chambers says he only found out last night.  Chris Hipkins says Naidoo took all the required steps. "Rakesh Naidoo told his supervisor at police that when he...

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has defended using a generous publicly funded private superannuation scheme to pay off the mortgage of his family holiday home. Hipkins confirmed he pays the maximum contribution, but he also contributes to KiwiSaver, meaning the full amount of contribution will not be paid towards the super scheme that owns his home. MPs are allowed to direct these savings into private...

Pauline Hanson's One Nation party is continuing to see a surge in popularity, according to new reports. The latest Newspoll recorded a four-point rise in One Nation’s primary vote to 31 percent, while Labor dipped one point to 30 percent and the Coalition fell two points to 18 percent. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says this isn't quite enough for One Nation to lead the next Government,...

The hard work won't stop for the All Whites following a creditable 1-nil loss to world number 4 England in a Football World Cup warm-up in Tampa. A Harry Kane header late in first half added time provided the only goal as New Zealand worked tirelessly in oppressive heat. Sportstalk host Jason Pine recapped the match further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dunedin drivers are being warned to watch out for sea lions on the road as more of them keep venturing inland. The New Zealand Sea Lion Trust said it was now receiving daily reports of the endangered species on roads around the lower South Island, and indicated this could become more common. University of Otago zoology expert Hanna Ravin says although their population is in decline, their numbers...

So, I was listening to the radio and a story really jumped out at me. I thought, “Wow!” The headline was: Porirua City Council has achieved a 0% average increase in rates. Zero percent! You can almost hear the whole country saying, “Wow - could I have that, please?” This milestone comes alongside zero cuts to services. Double wow. However - depending on your QV valuation - you may still see some i...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast with Andrew Dickens for Friday, 5 June, 2026, a constitutional law expert questions the soaring cost of government agencies dealing with Official Information Act requests. We hear from School Board Association president Meredith Kennett about ACT's vow to lower the cost of school uniforms. Air Chathams chief executive Duane Emeny talks about...

Newstalk ZB Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper joined Andrew Dickens to chat about the political week that was. They discussed the MPs banned from China following a Taiwan visit last year, the Government moving to ban unelected members from voting in local councils, and the rise of the fringe parties.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Sunday (NZT) the All Whites will face off against England in a warmup game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.  Journalist Michael Burgess is on the ground in Florida and gives us updates on the teams, ticket sales, and Tim Payne's newfound fame. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Regional airline Air Chathams has made the decision to cancel their Auckland to Kapiti route with CEO Duane Emeny contributing the axing to major fuel costs.  Emeny sad it is costing the company an additional $1500 per return flight from Auckland to Paraparaumu just for fuel, on average an extra seven paying passengers.  "That's definitely caused the tipping point," he told Andrew Dicken...

Government agencies are being urged to proactively release more information and use artificial intelligence to respond to information requests, including OIA's. This comes after it was revealed that Government agencies spent $183.6 million answering requests in the 2024/25 financial year.  Although, constitutional law expert Graeme Edgeler doesn't believe this number is necessarily accurate.&...

So, obviously, this is the night after the Radio Awards, and with all this talk about awards, I’d like to congratulate a winner in my community. His name is Rob Drent. He is the editor and publisher of the Devonport Flagstaff and the Rangitoto Observer on the North Shore of Auckland. Rob was recently named best senior news journalist at the New Zealand Community Newspaper Awards — and it’s well de...

US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson joins Andrew Dickens to  chat about the latest news out of America.  People born post 1970's are dying younger, former National Security Advisor John Bolton has plead guilty, and Trump's popularity continues to decline. As the midterms approach Mitchinson says some GOP members are 'slowly distancing themselves' from Trump. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/l...

ACT plans to campaign on reducing the cost of school uniforms at state schools by allowing a maximum of three branded items.  School Board Association President Meredith Kennet recognises the high costs of some uniforms but explains that it is not a decision for the Government to be making.  "It is a school board decision on how a school is governed and the policies that are in place, so...

The US House of Representatives has passed a measure to halt US President Donald Trump from taking further military action in Iran with a 215-208 vote. The vote resulted from four Republicans joining the Democrats. The action must still pass through the majorly Republican senate.  Washington Bureau Chief for The Guardian David Smith said the Iran war has gone badly for the President, and ther...

Budget 2026 allocated an annual $8 million in baseline funding to pay for food distribution which includes collecting surplus and donated food, and delivering it to places like food banks. Food banks have also been allocated $7m in 2026/27, but no more after that. Salvation Army food security manager Sonya Cameron told Andrew Dickens that she is concerned about the lack of ability to provide extra...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast with Andrew Dickens for Thursday, 4 June, 2026, Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee is bemused by a ban on four MPs from entering China for a year because they visited Taiwan. A former police detective tells us about Spark's new way to detect spammers on your phone. We hear about plans to almost double the size of the Remarkables skifield in...

Otago Senior Research Fellow Kimberley O'Sullivan reckons the money for the winter energy payment should be instead put towards a solar subsidy.  "What I do think that we need is an off-ramp, a way to permanently reduce household exposure to rising electricity costs so that we don't have to keep paying the winter energy payment and perhaps in 20 years we won't need it at all," O'Sullivan told...

Four New Zealand MPs have been quietly banned from China for a year after travelling to Taiwan on a junket. The group—ACT’s Laura McClure, New Zealand First’s David Wilson, Labour’s Duncan Webb and National’s Maureen Pugh—travelled as part of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan, which promotes cross-party engagement and economic ties. China didn’t like it. They decided to impose a sanction...

NZSki has lodged an application with the Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade Queenstown ski field The Remarkables and expand into neighbouring Doolans Basin which would increase the size of the ski area from 449 hectares to 711 hectares. The expansion would almost double the daily visitor capacity for from 3500 to 6000. NZSki CEO Paul Anderson told Andrew Dickens some of the growth is comin...

Four New Zealand politicians have been barred from entering China for a year after they visited Taiwan last September, but China's embassy says the ban could be reduced or lifted if the MPs apologise. The four MP's facing the sanction are Maureen Pugh, David Wilson, Laura McClure, and Labour's Duncan Webb. Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee told Andrew Dickens, "I think it's disappointing be...

Spark NZ has launched a system that will allow calls from the company to be verified with the goal of protecting their customers from scam calls. Spark's fraud lead Ross Dickson told Andrew Dickens there has been an uptick in fraud callers impersonating the company. "So, what we wanted to do was to be able to put something in place that gives our customers the confidence to know that it is actuall...

The UK Prime Minister says there are serious questions that need to be addressed about how racial accusations inform police decision-making. Newly-released bodycam footage shows a dying Henry Nowak handcuffed by police after being stabbed.  His killer, Vickrum Digwa, lied at the scene about being the victim of a racist attack - while Nowak failed to get the help he needed.  UK correspond...

Higher mortgage rates have given the Reserve Bank a 'bit of breathing space', its chief economist says. Paul Conway, one of the Reserve Bank committee members who voted to keep the OCR on hold last week, said the market is doing some of the work for the central bank. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

The SpaceX IPO launch is set for later this month, and experts are speculating about what it could mean for the market. It reportedly plans to fix its IPO price at $135 per share to raise a record-setting $75 billion. Jeremy Hutton from Milford Asset Management explained the risks ahead of the launch.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.