Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

London hospitals declared a critical incident after a cyber-attack led to operations being cancelled and emergency patients being diverted elsewhere.   It applies to hospitals partnered with Synnovis - a provider of pathology services.   UK Correspondent Gavin Grey told Heather du Plessis-Allan “This was potentially one of the worst cyber-attacks in the UK.”   Grey said “Overnight, the ransomware...

This week, the Prime Minister's Air Force plane broke down in Papua New Guinea.   Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper breaks this down, as he wraps the political week.   Soper told Heather du Plessis-Allan “They’re very good planes – but it’s like anything – if you don’t use them, they’ll break down.”   Soper said “They’re only used as VIP aircraft about 15% of the time.”   LISTEN ABOVE.  ...

The Commerce Commission is pushing out its timeline for approving the Foodstuffs merger, due to "unresolved issues".   It now expects to reach a decision in October.   The North and South Island co-operatives - which run the Pak'nSave, New World and Four Square supermarkets - sought clearance to merge last year.   Foodstuff's North Island Chief Executive Chris Quin told Heather du Plessis-Allan “W...

On The Huddle tonight: All Sports Breakfast Wellington Host Adam Cooper, and sports journalist Jim Kayes.     The Blue will face-off against the Chiefs tomorrow night – only one will reign victorious.     Adam Cooper told Heather du Plessis-Allan “The Crusaders have been incredible – because we’re celebrating the fact they're not there.”     Jim Kayes said “The Chiefs have really surged in the pla...

Blues captain Patrick Tuipolotu will make a remarkable return from a knee injury, playing lock in the starting side facing the Chiefs at Eden Park in the Super Rugby Pacific final tomorrow night.   However - many of the 44,000 sold-out Eden Park crowd will be coming up from Hamilton.   Chiefs Assistant Coach David Hill told Heather du Plessis-Allan “We understood last year that we had a really goo...

Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark has ignored requests for his resignation from his council today.   Clark was found to have breached the code of conduct after comments he made at a United Fire Brigades' Association prize giving - which he blamed on surgery brain fade.   The council voted to diminish his duties around public events, due to his health.   Invercargill Councillor Ian Pottinger told Heat...

The future of National's promise around 13 cancer drugs is set to become clearer.   The Government's due to make a Pharmac funding announcement – which could bump up its medicines budget by 40%.   Pharmacy Minister David Seymour told Heather du Plessis-Allan Pharmac could be instructed to fund specific drugs, another entity could be set up (like the previous government did for Covid vaccines), or...

Energy Minister Simeon Brown wants appropriate accountability over a fallen electricity tower.   Thousands of Northland residents experienced outages yesterday after a transmission tower toppled northwest of Auckland.   The Electricity Authority says it's investigating and Simeon Brown's asked WorkSafe to do the same.   Electricity Authority Chief Executive, Sarah Gillies, told Heather du Plessis-...

The Electricity Authority says Northlanders deserve answers - as it launches an investigation into a toppled electricity tower.   The region experienced outages yesterday after a transmission tower fell down northwest of Auckland.   Transpower says its workers were carrying out maintenance at the time and has started an investigation.   Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper told Heather du Pl...

US President Joe Biden recently unveiled a halt to asylum-processing at the U.S. border with Mexico when illegal entries reach a certain threshold.   About 4,000 people already are entering the U.S. each day.   Biden has received Republican criticism over an unprecedented surge in new arrivals in an election year.   US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson told Heather du Plessis-Allan the cartels are offe...

The Super Rugby finals clash is tomorrow night at Eden Park – selling out hours after tickets went on sale.   A crowd of more than 44,000 is expected – with many coming up from Hamilton for the event.   Weekend Sport host Jason Pine told Heather du Plessis-Allan “I think Blues will win – they've got a lot stacked in their favour – it's a home game, they’ve had an extra day of rest.”   Pine said “T...

Well, Transpower has given us a master class in how to look guilty, hasn't it?   I mean, come on. Who doesn't now think that the crew took the bolts out of the leg, which caused the thing to fall over, which caused the entire region of Northland to lose power? And why do we think that? Because Allison Andrew, the Chief Executive, sounded guilty as all hell in her media interviews this morning.   “...

Rocket Lab is entering a league of its own --reaching 50 space launches in the shortest space of time.   Its latest electron rocket launched this morning from the Mahia Peninsula, is taking a French satellite into orbit.   Rocket Lab’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Morgan Connaughton, told Heather du Plessis-Allan “A lot of rockets don’t get past ten – and we're talking globally...

A pair of Just Stop Oil protestors painted two jets orange at a London airport, hours after Taylor Swift touched down for her next tour stop. The climate activists carried out the vandalism with fire extinguishers, in an act reminiscent of their previous protest at Stonehenge. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this will likely spark an investigation into the group. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/l...

One expert says investors have had to pay more attention to their long-term goals this year. Ongoing inflation and changing economies have led investors to chop and change their short-term predictions as 2024 went on. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains further. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Minister Shane Jones is still keen to bring back live animal exports sooner rather than later. In an interview on The Country, Jones made it clear in no uncertain terms that live animal exports would be good for the economy. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's GDP grew 0.2 percent in March, according to new data. This officially takes the country out of a technical recession, but on a per-capita basis, it went backwards 0.3 percent. Experts predict a weak economy for the latter half of this year. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says the economy isn't likely to bounce back just yet. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

The Government has launched a new review designed to ensure earthquake-prone buildings are up to standard. The current NBS system has run into controversy, with the inadequate review of a Wellington hospital unit sparking concerns. Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says the current standards are very complicated - and he aims to make it easier for people. "In a lot of cases, people...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 20 June 2024, Finance Minister Nicola Willis reacts to news that our economy grew 0.2% in the first quarter, lifting NZ out of recession. The power is out across large parts of Northland - Energy Minister Simeon Brown says it could take a few days to bring everybody back on line. Are police closing in on finding Marokopa dad Tom...

Tonight on the Huddle, David Farrar and Mark Sainsbury joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Wellington Council's CEO is under fire for trying to hide information from councillors. Is this a bad move? GDP rose 0.2 percent, bring New Zealand out of technical recession. Is this good news for the economy - or is the worst yet to come? The Just Stop Oil protestors...

There's nerves in the air as the Blues gear up for their Super Rugby final this weekend. It's been 21 years since the franchise lifted a full Super Rugby title - something they can end against the Chiefs at a sold-out Eden Park on Saturday. Blues head coach Vern Cotter says the team are hoping to play well, but they've seen what the Chiefs can do on the field. "We know it's a final and finals are...

Ministers are keeping a close eye on Wellington City Council, over a stoush between councillors and officials. Some around the council table claim CEO Barbara McKerrow is withholding information from them. She'd devised new protocols limiting information councillors could request from officials. The proposal's been withdrawn after Local Government Minister Simeon Brown labelled it 'appalling'. Bro...

Police don't think a letter from Tom Phillips is recent, or relevant to their search for him and his three children. Their mother, Cat, posted the letter on social media, while begging the public to help. Searches around Marokopa continue, with the $80,000 reward for information expiring in five days. Newshub reporter Karen Rutherford is in Marokopa - and she says there are strong indicators an en...

The Finance Minister says there's still better days to come for the economy as New Zealand exits a technical recession. Stats NZ figures show GDP rose 0.2 percent in the three months to March, and the same amount for the year. Minister Nicola Willis says it's still tough out there for Kiwi workers - and the Government still has work to do. "Good news is - the Government is doing everything right,...

New GDP data shows New Zealand's out of a technical recession - but the nation's not out of the woods just yet. Stats NZ figures show GDP rose 0.2 percent in the three months to March, and the same amount for the year. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says it's a good result for the new Government, but there's room for a bigger victory. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...