Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Christopher Luxon and the National Party have found themselves in a pickle over our abortion laws. It comes as MP Simon O’Connor was asked to take down a post celebrating the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US and Luxon’s comments on abortion resurface as he vows not to reverse legislation on the issue. Labour MP Paul Eagle is running for Wellington mayor. However, people are saying he should sta...

Employers are being asked to loosen their approach to medical certificates for sick leave among staff. GPs say having people coming into clinics while sick every time a medical certificate is needed is taking its toll on an already overwhelmed workforce. They say that schools and workplaces should think about waiving the certificate requirement or extending the time period they are required for. B...

The Group of Seven economic powers are set to commit themselves to supporting Ukraine in the long haul, with the U.S. preparing to announce the purchase of an advanced surface-to-air missile system for Kyiv, as leaders meet in the German Alps and confer by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The G-7 leaders will begin Monday's session of their three-day summit with a focus on...

Covid had struck both the All Blacks and the Irish camps ahead of their first test this weekend. So far, one Irish player, two All Blacks midfielders and three All Blacks coaches have had to isolate after testing positive. As a result, former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has been called in to help the All Blacks. Former All Blacks coach John Hart joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omny...

Jacinda Ardern is on her way to Europe. One of the issues on her mind in particular is the FTA with the EU, particularly with milk and cheese. The Dairy Companies Association reckons the EU is “doubling down on keeping its market almost entirely shut to New Zealand dairy exporters.” NZME Business Commentator Fran O'Sullivan joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener...

If I was Christopher Luxon, I’d be wheeling out Simon O’Connor and forcing him to apologise. Not for his views on abortion, he’s entitled to whatever view he wants, but for being a dickhead about it. Personally, I’m not speaking from what I want. I don’t mind his Facebook post saying “Today is a good day” because while I disagree with him, I accept that other people have different views. And more...

MPs have had their say in the overturning of Roe v Wade. Nanaia Mahuta called out the decision, despite her voting against legislation to decriminalise abortion. Meanwhile, Grant Robertson wrote a lengthy post on social media on Sunday explaining his reaction to the decision while recounting on his own experiences. Robertson says Labour has delivered on the promise to deliver on decriminalising ab...

An anti-monarchist group says New Zealand may ditch the Royal Family as our head of state in the not too distant future. Prince Charles has given the green light to any Commonwealth country if they want to become a republic if it wants to. 15 countries currently have the Queen as their head of state, including New Zealand. New Zealand Republic chair Lewis Holden told Heather du Plessis-Allan it wi...

The Ukrainian community is disappointed our Prime Minister won't meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Jacinda Ardern says she turned down an invitation due to travel commitments, but it doesn't change New Zealand's commitment to supporting the country. Ukraine Association spokesperson Anton Stafurin told Heather du Plessis-Allan if she turned down the meeting for security reasons, he doesn't buy it. “Ma...

Claims it's better to support a woman to have a baby rather than terminate the pregnancy. This from an American anti-abortion activist after the US Supreme Court removed legal protection for the right to an abortion. It's opened the door for individual states to ban terminations, sparking widespread domestic protests and global outrage. Students For Life's Autumn Higashi told Heather du Plessis-Al...

Grant Robertson has come out strongly in the abortion debate in wake of the Roe v Wade overturning. At today's post-Cabinet, he accused Luxon of political spin in wake of statements over the weekend saying he would not seek to change New Zealand’s abortion laws. The calls come after Luxon instructed MP Simon O’Connor was instructed to remove an anti-abortion post on social media while saying O’Con...

NSW Police has a message for climate activists who caused chaos for Monday morning commuters in Sydney – expect a knock on your door. Protesters took to the streets of the CBD in an unauthorised demonstration to protest political inaction on climate change. Terrifying aerial vision has captured the moment one vehicle ignored traffic controllers, driving into police and protesters blocking traffic....

Joe Schmidt has been called in to help coach the All Blacks in their first test against Ireland at Eden Park on Saturday after a Covid outbreak in camp. Schmidt was not due to start his selector/analyst role with the All Blacks until the Rugby Championship but after head coach Ian Foster, forwards coach John Plumtree and defence coach Scott McLeod all caught Covid, he will now attend team training...

Rongotai Labour MP Paul Eagle has finally confirmed he’s having a go at the Wellington mayoralty. Eagle will take a leave of absence from Parliament for three months between July and the election. He says he’s going to donate his salary to charity during that time. Political commentator and Massey University Associate Professor Grant Duncan joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystu...

Tomorrow is the very first public holiday to celebrate Matariki. In March the Government announced $100,000 in funding will be given to the Matariki Festival in the Mackenzie District. It’s one of two Matariki festivals to receive government funding. Mackenzie Tourism Development Manager Lydia Stoddart joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

A proposed bylaw in Tasman District Council is causing outrage. The proposed law will require farmers to hold sheep 50m back from a road while shifting stock until all cars have driven past. Federated Farmers Nelson Provincial President Stephen Todd says it could end up being an unworkable joke. The Country host Jamie Mackay joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener...

Britain faces the second of three national railway strikes Thursday after new negotiations between union and employers ended in deadlock. The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union accused the government of “wrecking” Wednesday’s talks and said the 24-hour walkout by 40,000 cleaners, signalers, maintenance workers and station staff would go ahead as planned. The union's action this week is Britain's b...

Air New Zealand has announced it's relaunching 14 international routes in 16 days. It will have three-quarters of its international and domestic routes up and running by July 9th. Houston, Honolulu, and Tahiti are among the destinations that are being restarted from Auckland, while flights to Fiji and Australia are restarting from Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington. NZ Herald Business Editor...

It is the worst time to be a first homebuyer since 1957 apparently. Infometrics say millennials are signing up to a lifetime of debt and they're likely to be much worse off than baby boomers. They say the two key factors for this are the average proportion of a household's income needed to service the loan throughout the mortgage and the expected increase in the value of the property over the life...

Are we running this country on Blu-Tack and paperclips? We almost had power cuts again this morning and apparently we need to get used to it because this is just the way our winters are going to be from now on. So what happened was that Transpower issued a grid emergency just before 8am warning that we might not have enough electricity to power the country. Reporters were on the radio telling peop...

New Zealand's first alcohol free bottleshop has opened in Auckland. It aims to remove some of the stigmas surrounding people who don't drink alcohol. Power grid problems continue to plague New Zealand winters. Transpower declared a "grid emergency" this morning when there was an unexpected loss of electricity generation caused by a gas turbine extract failing to start, one of Huntly's turbines sto...

New Zealand now has it's first-ever alcohol free bottleshop. AF Drinks (Alcohol Free) opened today on Ponsonby Road. It hopes to remove some of the stigmas attached to those who don't drink alcohol. AF Drinks founder Lisa King joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israel Adesanya will not fight in New Zealand again. He made the decision after seeing the treatment of his City Kickboxing teammates by media and police while under Covid-19 restrictions. The Black Caps’ final test in England kicks off tonight. The team will be playing for pride when take on England in their dead rubber test at Headingley in Leeds. Sportstalk host D’Arcy Waldegrave joined Heather...

Polio has been detected in London for the first time in nearly 40 years. A national incident has been declared after UK health officials detected the virus in London sewage samples. Polio New Zealand president and survivor Brian Robinson told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's likely been passed on from someone jabbed against the virus to another who's unvaccinated. He says it shouldn't be a problem in...

This morning's power woes came close to a repeat of the power cuts which occurred in August last year. Transpower declared a “grid emergency” during the period of peak morning demand. It was due to a mechanical failure at one of Contact Energy’s power plants, a sudden drop in wind speeds, and a drop in power from one of the five turbines at Genesis Energy’s Huntly Power Station. Energy consultant...