Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

David Farrar and Ali Jones joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on The Huddle. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What an own goal from the Manly Sea Eagles.    They’ve just apologized for a “significant mistake”    The rugby league club decided to rebrand its jersey for this week's game by adding some rainbow trim to celebrate inclusiveness and diversity.   But seven players have refused to wear the jersey for religious reasons, which I’m assuming is Christianity.   Three of those players are Kiwis:  Josh Al...

A constitutional law expert is telling the Government to close what he says is a loophole in political donation rules. This is in relation to the high court acquitting two men accused of mishandling $750,000 given to the NZ First Foundation. The judgement found shadow entities, in this case the foundation, are able to bankroll political parties without needing to know where the money is coming fro...

Parents are being warned not to use weighted blankets and weighted sleep sacks for babies and young children this winter after two deaths involving them were recorded overseas. Major fundraiser Red Nose Australia has issued a new urgent warning about weighted blankets and sleeping bags, cautioning they could pose a suffocation risk for babies and small children. While the charity recognised the be...

Auckland Transport's controversial parking strategy has been pushed back until after the local body elections, when there's a risk of it being scrapped. The hot button policy would see AT removing parking spaces across the city for cycleways and bus lanes, and charging at park and ride stations, in a bid to unlock choked roads and reduce congestion. But the Herald can reveal that public feedback h...

Former Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler has taken a swing at central banks all over the world, including our own. He's co-authored a report accusing central banks of overdoing interest rate cuts and quantitive easing. He goes on to say the banks should admit their serious mistakes, which led to increased inflation. Don Brash, a Former Reserve Bank Governor himself, joined Heather du Plessis-Al...

Newstalk ZB Political Editor Barry Soper joined Heather du Plessis-Allan as National Leader Christopher Luxon has admitted he took an overseas holiday during Parliament's three-week winter recess - while posts on his Facebook page made it look as though he was visiting regional New Zealand. Soper provided the latest update on the Green Party co-leadership situation as well as legislation having it...

Newstalk ZB Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to shine a bit more light on the Manly Sea Eagles' controversial Pride jerseys. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Isolation rules are causing long Covid for businesses, according to the Auckland Business Chamber. The Chamber says hotels are closed, flights can't depart and there are no busses to get to the ski-fields with so many workers isolating as household contacts. Business Chamber CEO, Michael Barnett joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister is staying tight-lipped on whether another extension to fuel tax cuts is on the horizon. The Government pushed out the 25-cent reduction to petrol prices until the end of January, to ease the sting from high inflation. Low road user charges and half-price public transport fares are enjoying a similarly long stay of execution. Grant Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan the i...

Our new code of practice to tackle online harm has come under fire. It's been signed by Netsafe, NZ-Tech and the big five tech companies in Meta, Amazon, Ggoogle, TikTok and Ttwitter. But user-advocacy groups are criticising its lack of accountability. Tohatoha CEO Mandy Henk joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick has ruled herself out from running for the party's co-leadership. In a statement posted to Facebook, Swarbrick said there had been a lot of speculation in recent days since co-leader James Shaw was ousted from the position at the Greens' annual conference. "What happened at our AGM was unprecedented and I, like all of our Green MPs, wanted to respect the process and take t...

Newstalk ZB Political Editor Barry Soper returned to the airways as he joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss his view on the political landscape during his time on the sidelines, Green Party co-leadership and Local Government NZ's statement regarding Three Waters. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter Dutton has slammed Anthony Albanese for not suspending travel to Bali, warning the Prime Minister “needs to explain” what’s going on. Calling on Australia to close its border to Indonesia to stop the spread of foot and mouth disease, Mr Dutton warned any spread of the illness could devastate Australia’s livestock industry. “I believe we should shut the border,’’ Mr Dutton said. “I think the...

Newstalk ZB sports commentator and Weekend Sport host joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to give his thoughts on the removal of Brad Moar and John Plumtree and subsequent appointment of Jason Ryan to the All Blacks coaching staff. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The lawsuit against World Rugby over brain injuries has been launched today. More than 100 former players are taking legal action, including all black Carl Hayman who revealed he has early on-set dementia last year. The players allege there was a failure to protect them. Former All Blacks doctor Dr. John Mayhew joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

This is hopeless from the All Blacks, isn’t it?  Hardly anything has changed in the squad. Sam Cane is still the captain. Fozzie is still the coach. The apparently hopeless assistant coaches have all kept their jobs. They’re not elevating Joe Schmidt and he's not travelling to South Africa to help them with the Rugby Championship. All that talk of big changes has come to nothing. We have basically...

Italy is headed for an early election after its president accepted Premier Mario Draghi's resignation Thursday and decided there was no possibility for cobbling together another government following the rapid collapse of the ruling coalition. The demise of Draghi’s coalition in the eurozone’s third-largest economy and the uncertainty of what Italian voters will decide at the polls have dealt a des...

Biden administration officials are concerned that China could seek to declare a no-fly zone over Taiwan ahead of a possible visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as an effort to upend the trip, potentially raising tensions even further in the region, a US official told CNN. China could also respond by flying fighter jets further into Taiwan's self-declared air defense zone, which could trigger a res...

Ian McCrae has retired as Orion Health CEO after 30 years on the job. McCrae says he's going to remain as a director and major shareholder while keeping a hand on product development. It comes after a bout with brain cancer, and he says after 30 years at the helm, it's time for him to step back and take up a background role. Business commentator Rod Oram joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABO...

Forget Friends – Shortland Street has been touted as a show to watch for new migrants coming here to learn English. A Few Quiet Yarns is a company that organises networking events in the IT industry to help 'new Kiwis' get a better handle of our culture. A Few Quiet Yarns founder Ryan Ashton joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No changes from the All Blacks today. After a week of speculation, the All Blacks have named a largely unchanged squad for the Rugby Championship, and are choosing to back underfire coach Ian Foster. Meanwhile, Joe Schmidt won't be travelling to South Africa with the side. Reece Walsh has been benched for the Warriors' clash with the Raiders this weekend. Walsh struggled in last week's loss to the...

A police report suggests groups of ram raiders are meeting in juvenile detention. It shows there's been a 400 percent increase in the smash and grab offences in the past five years - with 436 in the year to July. About 76 percent of those caught are under the age of 18 - and only 37 percent of ram-raids result in enforcement action. Youth development worker Aaron Hendry told Heather du Plessis-All...

The Government has issued a strongly worded recommendation to schools to enforce mask-wearing for the first four weeks of Term 3. But it's stopped short of making masks compulsory nationally, instead leaving it to each school to decide for itself. Auckland Primary Principals Association President Wendy Kofoed told Heather du Plessis-Allan that in her experience parents are hugely supportive of stu...

Sam Cane is still the All Blacks captain and Ian Foster is still the All Blacks coach. After speculation of widespread changes, nothing happened. The team naming for the Rugby Championship is not that much different to the squad that lost the Ireland series. Former All Black and NZME rugby commentator Ant Strachan joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...