Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 7 June 2024, Australia has gone back on its word and will re-start deporting Kiwi criminals who spent the majority of their lives in Australia.     Doctors are warning they're seeing more cases of nitrous oxide induced health problems as people use the gas as a cheap high - available from the dairy.  Real life Martha is taking the...

The woman who claims to be the inspiration behind Netflix’s Baby Reindeer is suing them for at least NZ$274m.   Scottish woman Fiona Harvey first announced she was the inspiration behind Martha, the main character’s stalker, in May.   Criminal lawyer Joseph Tully told Heather du Plessis-Allan “The defence by Netflix will be that they told the truth.”   Tully said “We’re going to have a real-life d...

The European Union Election runs Thursday to Sunday. They're held every five years across the 27-member bloc. This year marks the 10th parliamentary election since the first polls in 1979, and the first after Brexit.   The vote takes place from 6-9 June. Initial results can only be revealed on the evening of 9 June, once polling stations have closed in all member states.   UK Correspondent Gavin G...

Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 240 seats in the 543-member lower house of parliament – not enough to form a government.   National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners won a further 53 seats to drag the coalition over the line.   Modi has kept a dominant presence in Indian politics for the past decade - with outright majorities in previous elections.   Asia Business Correspo...

Te Pāti Māori is asking Police to lead an urgent investigation of allegations made against the Party.   It denies claims Census information collected at Manurewa Marae was used in electioneering.   The Electoral Commission, Stats NZ and Police are investigating - and the Privacy Commissioner is looking into the claims.   Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper told Heather du Plessis-Allan “Te...

The ANZ Bank has changed its official cash rate (OCR) forecast, now expecting the first cut to arrive in February, rather than May 2025.   Meanwhile, The European Central Bank has cut interest rates for the first time in five years, and the Bank of Canada has become the first G7 nation to cut rates.   ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Heather du Plessis-Allan “Essentially the Reserve bank’s...

Tonight, on the Sports Huddle with Andrew Gourdie & Matt Brown: The future of Super Rugby Playoffs   Newshub Sports Presenter Andrew Gourdie told Heather du Plessis Allan “I prefer to have a top six, give the top two a week off, three through six playoff, then semifinal.”   Gourdie said “The competition bosses would like to get an extra week out of this – a bit more money, more bums on seats.”...

In a recent NCEA literacy exam, Year 10 students were asked to read four memes and discuss which two had the most similar underlying themes.   Sociolinguist Julia de Bres told Heather du Plessis-Allan “I was extremely surprised and delighted by this development.”   De Bres said “You can think of memes as ‘static images’ - ads, and cartoons have been around for a while.”   LISTEN ABOVE.   See omnys...

Australia's Immigration Minister Andrew Giles issued ‘Direction 110’ on Friday, which means non-citizens with violent criminal records can be deported, even if they'd lived their whole lives in the country.   Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says "it's just not right".   Australian Correspondent Murray Olds told Heather du Plessis Allan “This is Politics 101, and Labour’s only got itself to blame....

The police have been referred to an investigation into National MP for New Plymouth David MacLeod's failure to report $178,394 in donations.   MacLeod - a backbench MP - unveiled this last month, and was stood down from the Environment and Finance select committees.   Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper told Heather du Plessis-Allan “There’s a lot of question to be answered – you can’t just...

Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend Hallie is testifying in his federal gun trial.   Hallie described to the court how she found a gun in his truck, his drug use and how he got her into drugs.   Biden is charged with three felonies stemming from the purchase of a gun in 2018.   US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson told Heather du Plessis-Allan “Joe Biden has released a statement saying if his son is found gui...

New Zealand will make its annual payment of $1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as scheduled - Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has confirmed.   "This follows careful consideration of the UN's response - including through external & internal investigations - to serious allegations against certain UNRWA staff being involved in the 7 October terrorist attacks...

This weekend, the Fijian Drua will play the Blues at Eden Park in their second quarterfinal in a row.   Meanwhile, The Melbourne Rebels are closing up shop – bringing Super Rugby’s finals system down to a six-team playoffs next year in an 11-team competition.   SportsTalk Host Jason Pine told Heather du Plessis-Allan “I don’t think the Rebels or the Drua will beat the Hurricanes or Blues games.  ...

An Auckland woman who can no longer move her legs after inhaling nitrous oxide - otherwise known as 'nangs' or 'laughing gas -  is urging the government to regulate the sale of the gas.   Nitrous oxide has been used as an anaesthetic for over than 150 years, but it’s also popular as a recreational drug.  Auckland City Hospital Neurology Registrar, Dr Shilpan Patel, told Heather du Plessis-Allan “W...

The Australian change of heart on the 501s didn't last long did it, ay?   They flipped their position today. They've issued a new directive. Now, what this is going to do essentially is it's going to force decision-makers when they’re considering whether to send a 501 back to New Zealand, or wherever else: they now have to put more emphasis on Australian safety when they make their decision.   Pre...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday 6 June 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown details his $4 billion spend to fix and prevent potholes on the nation's roads.   With further calls for an investigation into Te Paati Māori and alleged misuse of personal information, the issue has reached a point where a broader inquiry can be justified.   The Huddle considers if Co...

New information has been revealed about Christian Brueckner, the lead suspect in the long-running Madeleine McCann case.   German police have claimed Brueckner had an email account containing messages related to the killing of McCann.   UK Correspondent, Enda Brady told Jack Tame “Police have discovered a Hotmail account and external hard drive, which they say link him to the disappearance of Made...

Infometrics predict the official cash rate (OCR) won’t move until February next year - rather than this November.   Non-tradeable inflation (inflation that is domestic and not influenced by international factors) has caused issues for the Reserve Bank – say business commentators.   It makes up almost 60% of the consumer price index (CPI), which the Reserve Bank is trying to reduce.  Infometrics Pr...

University of Otago research revealed last year that twice the number of under 30-year-olds living in rural areas die compared to those in cities.   It’s the strongest evidence yet that the health of rural Kiwis is worse than those who live in the city.   The Country Host Jamie Mckay told Jack Tame “The rural male suicide rate is 64% higher than in cities.”   Mckay said “Māori living rurally are t...

Good news for motorists: the price of oil has gone down around 7 percent in the last week.   The Brent Crude oil price dropped below US$80 a barrel at the weekend, after OPEC+ came to a deal to extend voluntary production cuts.   NZ Business editor-at-large, Liam Dann told Jack Tame “That’s good news for motorists – and good news on the inflation fight.”   Dann said “We want to see renewable energ...

The Bank of New Zealand is extending the opening hours of part-time branches.   The bank put an emphasis on call centres and digital services after closing 38 branches during the height of the pandemic.   BNZ Chief Executive Dan Huggins told Jack Tame “We’ve heard from our customers – particularly small businesses – that they want to talk to our people more often”   Huggins said “four or five year...

On The Huddle: Health funding in this year’s budget   The government will fund $22m to train 25 more doctors each year through the existing medical schools at Otago and Auckland universities.   Although, Waikato University's plan for a new medical school - which had support from National - is not in the Budget.   The Maxim Institute’s Tim Wilson told Jack Tame “It’s probably not the end of the wor...

The government will purchase an additional 9 million rapid antigen tests (RATs), extending freely available tests by three months.   Health Minister Shane Reti announced today that nearly $200m of the funding will go towards vaccines and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test processing.   Health Minister Shane Reti told Jack Tame “I believe Kiwis want to do the right thing and follow their isolatio...

Male birth control may be on its way – in gel form.   It’s a hormonal gel that men rub on their shoulders, which has been developed at the University of Southern California (USC).   USC Obstetrician-Gynaecologist, Dr Brian Nguyen told Jack Tame “It’s very similar to female contraceptive methods – we have so much experience with it.”   Nguyen said “The entire factory is left intact, you’re just tel...

Te Pāti Māori is facing allegations that personal information collected by a Manurewa marae during Covid immunisations was used for political campaigning.   The marae was also controversially used as a polling booth in last year’s general election.   Te Pāti Māori has denied the allegations.   Taxpayers Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, told Jack Tame “At the end of the day, this informat...