Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, Infrastructure NZ CEO Nick Leggett and former Labour Party advisor Mike Munro joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Watercare struck a $20 million dollar deal with Waikato-Tainui in exchange for permission to take more water from the Waikato River - and kept it secret. What do we make of this? Wellington ratepayers recently shelled out o...

There's been a growing uptick in corporations ditching their green ambitions. Volvo Cars has abandoned its ambitious target to sell only electric cars by 2030 amid a global slowdown in growth for battery-powered vehicles. Sweden has recently scrapped their aviation tax on airline tickets in a bid to reduce prices and boost availability. Griffith Business School associate professor Dr Rob Hales say...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 5 September 2024, Stacey Morrison speaks to Heather from Tūrangawaewae after a new Māori Queen was crowned. What do we know about the 27-year old and what will she bring to the role? Watercare boss Dave Chambers fronts up after it was revealed that Watercare agreed to a secret deal to pay a Waikato iwi $20m. Prime Minister Chris...

Watercare is under fire for keeping a $20 million deal with Waikato-Tainui under wraps. It's been revealed the Auckland Council-controlled water provider last year signed up to paying $1 million a year, for two decades. The money will go into research and environmental projects in the Waikato River and catchment. It's on top of $40 million paid for clean-up projects under Watercare's river-consent...

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has made a few changes ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship rematch against the Springboks. Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara have been benched, Sevu Reece and Cortez Ratima will be starting and Wallace Sititi will take the number 6 jersey. ZB sports commentator Elliott Smith says Razor is focused on getting the last 20 minutes of the match right - an error that co...

PwC has identified accounting irregularities, complexities and a lack of auditing at failed Auckland property development group, Du Val. This first receiver's report says one area of concern is related-party transactions. BusinessDesk reporter Maria Slade says PwC has identified a $15 million intellectual property transaction between a trust belonging to founders Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke - and...

Kīngi Tuheitia's youngest child has ascended the throne to become the new Māori Queen. 27-year-old Ngā Wai hono i te pō has been anointed, and her father laid to rest alongside his ancestors on Maungataupiri. Broadcaster Stacey Morrison says the young Queen is well-known. She says she stands out when she performs kapa haka. "That's when she is really firing and you go - wow, this is someone who ha...

Wellington ratepayers have reportedly paid more than $550,000 on the upgrade of a 32m laneway to accommodate a new designer bike rack and two extra motorbike parks. Work to install the bike rack in Wellington's Shell Lane, off The Terrace was carried out earlier this year - in addition to extra upgrades around the area, new security cameras and new motorbike parks. ZB senior political corresponden...

Australian breakdancer Raygun is speaking out about the negative global reaction to her Olympic performance. Rachael Gunn says many people didn't understand her performance - and she was saddened to see how much hate it evoked. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson voiced his disapproval with her rise to fame. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Rugby's embracing the support in Cape Town - as it remains a stronghold of All Blacks fandom. The All Blacks are set to play their second match against the Springboks this weekend, with New Zealand hoping to turn their luck around. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave weighs up the odds ahead of the big clash. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister's welcoming support from a billionaire admirer. Elon Musk replied to a tweet by Chris Luxon this week - about being in Malaysia. The founder of SpaceX and Tesla wrote he likes the new New Zealand PM, adding he has good energy and talks directly to the public. Speaking from South Korea, Luxon was pleased to hear of the boost. "That's great, I'll take support from anyone. But more...

Having watched Raygun the Aussie breakdancer’s first big interview, which aired on The Project in Australia last night - I think it's pretty clear that you should not waste your emotions feeling sorry for her because she is making the most out of this. The natural inclination, obviously, is to feel sorry for her, because she completely embarrassed herself jumping around like a kangaroo on the Olym...

The final report on the Grenfell disaster is set to be published - six years after the inquiry began hearing evidence about what caused the incident. The fire caused the deaths of 72 people in a London tower block fire in 2017. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the report will examine how the tower block came to be in a condition that allowed the fire to spread. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/list...

A new survey by ASB indicates Kiwis aren't expecting house prices to pick up again anytime soon. According to ASB's Housing Confidence survey, a net 13 percent of respondents believe house prices will go up - down more than 30 percent compared with last quarter. A net 20 percent of respondents now expect lower interest rates and only a net 8 percent think now is a good time to buy. ASB chief econo...

The US market is up almost 16 percent on the year - but big names like Starbucks, Nike, and Lululemon have been struggling. The consumer discretionary sector has jumped 4 percent, with a number of companies being dubbed 'fallen angels'. Milford Asset Management's Stephanie Batchelor explains how investors can proceed. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Savers have rushed to lock in high interest rates ahead of the Reserve Bank cutting the OCR for the first time in more than four years. New RBNZ data shows households put an extra $2.1 billion in term deposits in July - which saw the amount of money held in term deposits rise to a record $136 billion. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains why people have been making these...

The Commerce Minister says a third big player in our supermarket sector is unlikely to come from overseas. A first annual Commerce Commission report on the grocery market has found no meaningful improvement in competition. It wants New Zealand's two major operators - Foodstuffs and Woolworths - pressured more and for it to be made it easier for a third to enter. Minister Andrew Bayly says overseas...

Tonight on The Huddle, Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and podcaster Mark Sainsbury joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Do we appreciate trigger warnings in our media - or have they gone too far and ruined things? The Commerce Commission's first Annual Grocery Report found retail margins are increasing and profitability is still high for th...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 4 September 2024, the Grocery Commissioner tells Heather Kiwis are still being ripped off at the supermarket checkout. A lawyer weighs in on the question of whether you should have to give up cash you find after a couple found $230,000 stashed away in the roof of their new house. Police want the cash forfeited because it might...

'Trigger warnings' on sensitive content have been thrust into the spotlight after Hollywood actor Matt Smith criticised their use.  The House of the Dragon star claimed giving viewers 'trigger warnings' has left TV shows 'dumbed-down'. Clinical psychologist Dougal Sutherland says these warnings aren't particularly useful - and can create problems in their own right. "What they do do is they increa...

Early childhood education providers are hopeful ending pay parity for relievers will allow more permanent roles. From October, only permanent part-time or full-time certified teachers will be paid according to the pay parity policy. The Early Childhood Council says 74 percent of its members support the exclusion. Chief executive Simon Laube approves of removing this educational 'red tape'.  "You j...

There's new insights into New Zealand's ancient fauna from a 20-year dig. An international team of palaeontologists researching the St Bathans fossil site in Central Otago have concluded kakapo, small wrens, bats and freshwater limpets arrived well before other well known species - like kiwi and moa. Canterbury Museum Senior Natural History Curator Paul Scofield says they also uncovered signs of o...

There's a very big call on the supermarkets today - the Grocery Commissioner has accused them of ripping us off. Now, a lot of people will probably agree with that and think - what of it? But there's a difference between you or I feeling ripped off when you’re standing in front of the olive oil looking at a price of $30 and someone like the Grocery Commissioner saying it out loud on the radio. It'...

The Grocery Commissioner says the returns our big supermarkets get on assets is about double what overseas equivalents make. The Commerce Commission's first annual report into the grocery market shows competition hasn't meaningfully improved. It flags increasing margins and high profitability. Pierre van Heerden says overseas grocers make less because they have more competition. "The return on ass...

Roy Morgan’s New Zealand Poll for August 2024 shows support for the coalition Government has gone up in August. National's approval rating has jumped 3.5 points to 36 percent and support for NZ First increased 1 point to 7.5 percent - but support for ACT dropped 1.5 points to 9.5 percent. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the poll shows the coalition has generated more support by...