Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Finance Minister says she's disappointed by revelations MFAT is exempt from cutting spending this year. It's been confirmed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade won't be given a reduced baseline budget. Most agencies face two percent cuts - but MFAT will be subject to the same five percent reduction for most agencies next year, and the year after. Newstalk ZB senior political corresponden...

President Trump's reiterating he's prepared to do what it takes to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.  He announced yesterday he had called of plans for another attack this week, at the request of some Gulf states. Donald Trump today told media US officials are still negotiating, but Iran may need another 'big hit'. Middle East correspondent Gordon Robison says it's unclear what will hap...

The celebrations are firmly underway in North London, after Arsenal's first Premier League title in 22 years. They can't be caught at the top of the table after Bournemouth held second placed Manchester City to a 1-all draw. Arsenal had finished second for three straight seasons. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Public Service Commissioner says deep cuts to the public service may seem dramatic, but the problem's built up over a long time. The Finance Minister says about 8700 staff will go by mid-2029, and most agencies' operating budgets will progressively reduce in coming years.  Sir Brian Roche says cutting staffing down to 55,000 brings it to about one percent of the population.  He says...

A new poll shows people in the UK are in the mood for a leadership change. An exclusive YouGov poll for Sky News shows Andy Burnham has overtaken Keir Starmer as the preferred Labour leader. UK correspondent Enda Brady explained the results further.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queenstown will need to double its infrastructure within 15 years to keep pace with growth, according to Southern Infrastructure chief executive Ross Copland. Copland warned  the resort town’s roads could reach capacity by the end of the decade - and said changes need to be made. Infrastructure NZ chief executive Nick Leggett says Queenstown draws in a lot of visitors and it'll leave a bad ta...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 19 May, 2026, we talk to the New Zealand Initiative's Roger Partridge about whether Nicola Willis' plan to cut nearly 9000 public servants has gone far enough. We ask paediatrics professor Barry Taylor if soft sleeping pods for babies should be banned. Religious studies expert Peter Lineham tells us if Exclusive Brethren are like...

Tonight on The Huddle, Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners and NZ Herald senior correspondent Katie Bradford joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Nicola Willis has confirmed more cuts will be made to the public service sector. Do we think changes are needed here? Ae we worried about the job losses? A former contractor at property coaching company Wealth Men...

A new partnership between the New Zealand Game Animal Council and Wild Game Recovery Trust has been launched to donate meat to households in need. Using the Hunt and Share platform, the programme connects hunters, butchers and foodbanks while supporting safe and traceable meat donations from hill to table.  The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener...

Following the release of last week's Budget, there's growing claims that Australians are looking across the Tasman with 'genuine envy'. A recent article in The Australian claimed that with no capital gains tax, no stamp duty or land tax, and the opportunity to negatively gear, business owners and property investors have taken more interest in New Zealand as a result. Australian independent economi...

As you’d expect, I’m a huge fan of Nicola Willis’ plan to cut down the size of the public sector. This is the second issue I’ve been harping on about to her. The other one was, obviously, the fees-free year for university students. So I’m stoked that, on this show, we’re two from two in terms of agitating for cutting back on wasteful public spending. The public service in this country is too big....

Kiwi members of a religious sect may have to chose between their faith and their pets.  The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has told followers to get rid of their animals after a young family member of leader, Bruce Hales, was attacked by a dog. Reportedly, many have already done so. Massey University religious studies expert, Peter Lineham, says members are being required to declare what...

Experts are flagging the dangers of some sleeping devices, after a five-month old's death in 2022.  The baby boy was found unresponsive and died after being left in his sleeping pod on his stomach, with blankets around his face. The Coroner says the pods, also called loungers, are unsafe - and recommended more restrictions.   Emeritus paediatrics professor Barry Taylor says sleeping pods...

The New Zealand Initiative is praising Government plans to slash almost 9,000 public service roles by mid-2029. It also intends to reduce Government departments and immediately start cutting agency budgets.  The free-market think tank says it's a great step, but ministerial portfolios should also be cut.  Board chair Roger Partridge says there's too much duplication.  "Some policy a...

Labour has admitted key details about its Future Fund, including the cost to the Crown and which state assets will be rolled into it, will not be released until after voters have gone to the polls. Labour’s finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds admitted the party doesn’t itself know which public assets will go in the fund, and won’t know until it gets advice from officials after the election. Newsta...

Opposition leader Angus Taylor has left the door open to a partnership with One Nation ahead of the next election. One Nation is continuing to outpoll the coalition, and Taylor has expressed interest in doing whatever he can to beat Labour. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says the next election is set to take place in 2028 - but the chance of this arrangement happening is 'slim'. LISTEN ABOVE...

Warriors assistant coach Slade Griffin expects a smooth change in the halves against the Dragons on Saturday, despite a potentially season-ending knee injury to halfback Tanah Boyd. The likely - and ironic - replacement is Luke Metcalf, who last week announced his commitment to St George-Illawarra from next season. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.co...

A disability advocate has slammed Louise Upston moving to close the door on treating family carers as state employees. The Disability Issues Minister is introducing a bill to enshrine support services in law. It would reverse a Supreme Court finding they were employed by the Government - and instead give carers support packages.  Advocate Jane Carrigan says there are isolated families with li...

Things are heating up in the world of UK politics, as Manchester mayor Andy Burnham backs away from Brexit stance.  Burnham's supporters say it’s unhelpful the debate has centred around the UK re-joining the EU after his main opponent for the job said he’d prioritise binning Brexit. UK correspondent Gavin Grey explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) rose 2.7 points to 48.9, up from 46.2 in March. A reading below 50 indicates the sector - which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the economy - is contracting. Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ukraine has approached New Zealand about a deal to build military drones, in a new push to sell its Russian-killing technology around the world. Ukraine has 20 countries interested and four signed agreements on drones, including Germany, Canada, Norway and Japan. Otago University's Robert Patman explains why Ukraine is looking to move forward in this area.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/lis...

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! Luxon's comments about immigration have raised a few eyebrows, especially from Labour's Chris Hipkins. What do we make of this? Winston Peters has expressed interest in buying back BNZ. Do we think this is a good idea? Will this rea...

Here’s a question for you: if you really like Winston Peters’ idea of buying back the BNZ - why? What problem do you think will be solved by buying it back? Do you think the banks are ripping you off because they’re owned by Australians, and that if only one of them were owned by us again, they wouldn’t? Take a look at the home loan rates Kiwibank is offering right now. They’re basically the same...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 18 May, 2026, former Finance Minister Ruth Richardson on why we can't buy back the BNZ as Winston Peters suggests. Finance Minister Nicola Willis reveals part of her pre-Budget speech will be on setting a target of reducing the number of public servants to 1% of the workforce. We talk to chief victims adviser Ruth Money about why...

Ahead of Budget 2026, the Finance Minister has hinted towards incoming changes for certain Government departments. Nicola Willis says she's planning to tell ministries and departments to come up with plans for amalgamation, with more details to be revealed tomorrow.  Willis went on to explain that the Government's agreed that there's too many ministries and that they need to amalgamate agenci...