Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Pay increases for corrections staff from a $1.9 billion Budget boost. The Government says the funding will go into more than 800 extra beds at Waikeria Prison - and 685 more frontline Corrections staff, including 470 prison officers. Millions will go into rehab for the 45 percent of prisoners on remand. Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says this money will bolster frontline staff and keep Kiwis...

Award-winning Māori musician Ria Hall has announced she's running for the Tauranga mayoralty. She's up against former deputy mayor Tina Salisbury, who announced her interest last week. Ria Hall says the Tauranga region desperately needs change - and she's ready to step up. "There's some real excitement on the ground - there's lots of murmurs happening in the community. Everyone's getting ready for...

The OECD has released its detailed biennial report on New Zealand's economy, ahead of the 2024 Budget. It lays out suggestions to improve productivity - highlighting competition. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says the OECD thinks the Government could more aggressively break up monopolies and duopolies, like supermarkets. "It did recognise that, in a small country like New Z...

Police say there's no indication a deadly shooting on Auckland's Ponsonby Road last night is gang related. A man who was part of a group was killed after getting out of a car, shot by a man who'd reportedly been denied entry to a bar. He's described as dangerous, and is of a large build, with dark hair, a beard and moustache - and a large tattoo on his left forearm. Detective Inspector Chris Barry...

2,500 resident doctors are striking across the country at 7am tomorrow, for 25 hours. Mediation with Health New Zealand did not result in a settlement last week. More than 2,000 doctors had been offered raises of up to 25 percent, but about 300 would have had a 12 percent pay cut. Resident Doctors Association President James Anderson says the offer would have reduced their hourly rates. "I think i...

We have a young producer working on this show called Jack, who’s recently moved over from London. He asked us today why we're all so worked up about this one shooting on Ponsonby Road - and why if you open any of the local newspapers' websites today, it’s right there at the top of the front page. As Jack says, this happens all the time in London, it's no big deal. He even watched a guy get knifed...

Political Correspondent Barry Soper wraps the political week. The Deputy Prime Minister's facing defamation accusations from former Australia Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr, following comments Peters made about Carr's relationship with China. Barry Soper told Heather du Plessis-Allan ‘Winston has been terribly diplomatic overseas, and maybe the diplomacy has gotten too much for him. Peters says...

Wellington's Victoria University's controversial free speech debate is back on, with more speakers added.   A panel discussion around the role of universities in free speech was meant to be held on Monday, but it was pushed to the end of May, after opposition from some students.   Victoria University Vice Chancellor Nic Smith told Heather du Plessis-Allan they've added more people than anticipated...

Julie Anne Genter shouted at Wellington florist, Laura Newcombe about cycleways in Wellington.   Newcombe told Heather du Plessis-Allan that she could tell Genter didn’t really want to buy flowers and came in with a big attitude.     “It’s common knowledge that I was opposed every single car park removed from the shopping precinct.”   Newcombe said “Perhaps she just wanted to come in, and sort me...

I reckon Bob Carr might be wasting his time and money sueing Winston Peters for defamation.   If he was hoping that he would scare Winston into silence... he hasn't.   Winston just hit twitter today and doubled-down.   Calling Bob Carr a shill.   A shill is someone who is a bit of a hustler... who tries to convince other people to think something is great.   Suggesting he’s either shilling for the...

The UK local elections are underway - and Rishi Sunak's fate is hanging in the balance. Polls indicate Sunak is losing, and his party stands to lose approximately 50 percent of their council seats. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this could open up a discussion about Sunak's standing ahead of the election. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China's economy has been experiencing a downturn- weak growth, increased debt, and unwanted Government intervention. Despite this, China's stock market is the second-best performing market in the world so far this year. Fisher Funds' Sam Dickie explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nadine Tunley, Chief Executive of Horticulture New Zealand has resigned with her last day at HortNZ being Friday, 30 August. Tunley claimed this wasn't an easy decision - but she wants to focus on restoring work-life balance. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of Budget Day 2024, experts are predicting possible outcomes. Economists have warned this Budget will likely be very conservative, following on from earlier Government promises. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in Australia, One Nation's Pauline Hanson is copping backlash over telling another senator to 'go back to Pakistan'. Mehreen Faruqi claims Hanson breached the Racial Discrimination Act through her controversial tweet. Australian correspondent Murray Olds explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wellington Phoenix are swiftly diverting their attention to the next piece of A-League silverware up for grabs. The club missed out on a maiden Premiers Plate last night after Central Coast won their final match of the regular season. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 2 May 2024, Green MP Julie Anne Genter is in hot water over her behaviour in Parliament last night. Former Speaker David Carter tells Heather what punishment she might face. Diplomatic trouble? The Foreign Minister Winston Peters is being threatened with legal action over comments against former Aussie Foreign Minister Bob Carr....

The Government's about to go toe-to-toe with Canada again, over a trade dispute. Canada's refusing to comply in full with a ruling in our favour over dairy trade. New Zealand initiated the dispute in 2022, saying Canada's blocking dairy exporters’ access to its market, breached CPTPP rules. ACT Trade Spokesperson Parmjeet Parmar says Canada's refusal to comply is 'disappointing' and 'disrespectful...

Tonight on The Huddle, Josie Pagani from Child Fund and ZB Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Julie Anne Genter raised a few eyebrows after losing her temper at Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey in Parliament yesterday. What can the Greens do about this? What should the punishment be? Winston Peters has taken aim a...

Labour's Foreign Affairs spokesperson says critical comments from Winston Peters are distracting from real issues. Peters criticised former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr in an interview - over his stance on the AUKUS pact. Carr's called those comments defamatory. Labour's David Parker says the comments are being used to obfuscate the Government shift on AUKUS. "Saying 'well, we should look...

There's optimism out of the provincial unions that they'll get what they want when New Zealand Rugby's governance saga likely comes to a head later this month. A Special General Meeting on May 30 will vote on a fully independent model backed by the national body - or another backed by the unions. The provinces want at least three future members to have served a minimum of two years on a provincial...

An education union says there's more than one way to teach the basics in schools. The Government's committing $67 million in the Budget to roll-out structured literacy in state schools from 2025. It uses phonics to decode words - and teaches spelling skills and components like vocabulary, comprehension and writing. Educational Institute President Mark Potter says such methods are essential, but th...

A former Speaker of the House says Julie Anne Genter's behaviour yesterday was 'dreadful'. The Green MP crossed the debating chamber last night, confronting Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey at his seat and waving a booklet in his face. David Carter says a 2007 scuffle between MPs Trevor Mallard and Tau Henare was outside the chambers. Carter says Genter could face a range of punishments. "...

The Education Minister says teachers' stances on structured literacy are changing. The Government is putting $67 million from the Budget into bringing the learning method into state schools by the first term of 2025. The primary teachers' union, NZEI, says mandating a one-size-fits all approach does not work, and teachers know what is best for learners. But Minister Erica Stanford says she has evi...

That was some outstanding rage from Julie Anne Genter, wasn't it? It probably won't surprise you to hear she's not at work today, she's working from home - I would be too, if that was me caught on that camera. The Greens have launched a disciplinary process, but I'm not expecting much from that, given how relaxed they seem to have been in the past about dealing with allegations against their MPs....