Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Health Minister says the system is under pressure. Hospitals are struggling, with Counties Manukau DHB paying local GPs to see patients to take pressure off Middlemore Hospital emergency departments over the weekend. And a 50 year-old woman died with a brain bleed last week after allegedly being told by Middlemore staff there would be an eight hour wait before being examined. Andrew Little tol...

A taskforce has been set up to help with the GIB shortage. Building and Construction Minister Megan Woods has set up the taskforce to troubleshoot on the plasterboard issues that have left many builders unable to secure supplies, and has also written to Fletcher Building over trademarks. The taskforce members are Naylor Love chief executive Rick Herd, Registered Master Builders chief executive Dav...

The trial for the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins has been delayed in the wake of an “extraordinary” Logies acceptance speech from Lisa Wilkinson. Bruce Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting Ms Higgins inside Parliament House in 2019. He was due to stand trial in the ACT Supreme Court on Monday, June 27. Lawyers representing Mr Lehrmann launched a stay application to delay...

The new Police Minister hopes to produce a package of options to tackle gang problems in coming weeks. Chris Hipkins picked up the portfolio last week after Poto Williams. Gang tensions have been surging in Auckland, with a series of drive by shootings - alongside a plague of ram raids by very young offenders. Hipkins told Heather du Plessis-Allan they want to move quickly. “We are looking at the...

Would you trust Mahe Drysdale for financial advice? The two-time Olympic champion retired from rowing last year and has taken up a new challenge. He's now an associate financial advisor at Hobson Wealth. Mahe Drysdale joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister is gearing up for a Europe trip this weekend. Trade, tourism and foreign policy will all be on the agenda as Jacinda Ardern aims to meet with European leaders, including the UK's Boris Johnson. Ardern has also been invited to the Nato summit in Madrid, and has been invited to attend alongside leaders of Australia, South Korea and Japan. She will also head to Australia with a bus...

French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance was projected to lose its majority despite getting the most seats in the final round of parliamentary elections Sunday, while the far-right National Rally appeared to have made big gains. The projections, which are based on partial results, say Macron’s candidates would win between 230 and 250 seats — much less than the 289 required to have a st...

Swimming’s world governing body has banned trans women from competing in female competitions. FINA has said they are only allowed to compete if they started transitioning before 12-years-old, and will instead create an open category for trans women. An Indian couple is getting deported over breaking Covid lockdown rules. The man had smuggled his partner out of Auckland, only to be caught when aski...

The Crusaders were absolutely dominant in the weekend’s Super Rugby Pacific Final. Their 21-7 victory over the Blues at Eden Park was highlighted by the first half, which saw the Crusaders 11-0 up at half-time. Rugby Australia may be leaving Super Rugby. It was reported on Thursday that Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan told NZR counterpart Stewart Mitchell they were considering ditching th...

The decision by the international swimming body to ban trans women from female competition is massive. As far as I can tell, this is the first sports body to outright ban trans women from competing against biological women. Other sporting bodies have tried to do it by mucking around with testosterone rules but this the first decision where they simply say no. I’ve got to applaud it. That can’t hav...

It's hoped that an incoming shipment of plasterboard will ease the GIB crisis. The shipment is coming through the online business Container Door. They're importing 15 to 20 containers of the GIB alternative from Asia, with Fletcher still unable to meet demand. Container Door CEO Ben Nathan joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yet another case of Government money going to a consulting firm owned by Nanaia Mahuta's husband. This time, $73,000 paid by Kainga Ora for "facilitation services for hui and workshops". National's Public Services Spokesperson Simeon Brown says this creates a pattern where there appears to be a conflict of interest. Simeon Brown joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/list...

A Maori Business Professor says commercial ventures surrounding Matariki should be in line with its themes and history. It comes as an advisory document shows MBIE have concerns about the commercialisation of the holiday and that it could take away from its core values. Dr Jason Mika told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's an individual business decision, but anything done should take into account Mata...

A medical expert says paying GPs to take on hospital patients is just a band-aid for a deeper staffing issue. Auckland's Middlemore Hospital is paying GPs to take patients off its hands as pressure grows in Emergency Departments. It's funding local GPs up to $1400 an hour to take on patients for free over the weekend. College of GPs medical director Bryan Betty told Heather du Plessis Allan it's n...

The extent of the damage of a van sustained after it was ripped a part on a head on crash has shown the devastating consequences of what can happen on our roads. Seven people, including an infant, were killed in a horrific crash when a van and a truck collided near Picton yesterday morning. NZ Herald reporter Kurt Bayer has been at the crash scene. He told Heather du Plessis-Allan Police made the...

The Prime Minister is heading off to Europe on her latest overseas trip. Jacinda Ardern is heading to Madrid for a Nato summit session, as well as meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The trip will focus on trade, tourism and foreign policy, and follows trips to Singapore, Japan, the US and Australia earlier in the year. The latest poll does not look good for the Government. The Taxp...

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says he will comb over a $25 million quote to permanently fly the Aboriginal flag on the Sydney Harbour Bridge “line-by-line” to ensure taxpayers get value for money. It comes after the Premier laughed his way through a press conference on Sunday when reporters grilled him on why it cost that much. “I don’t know, but it does, apparently,” he told reporters on Sunday....

The world’s swimming governing body has banned trans women from competing in female competitions. Trans women are only allowed to compete if they started transitioning before the age of 12. Instead FINA is going to create an open category for trans women to compete in. FINA Sports Medicine Committee vice-chair Dr Dave Gerrard joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listene...

A Dutch intelligence agency said Thursday that it foiled a sophisticated attempt by a Russian spy using a false Brazilian identity to work as an intern at the International Criminal Court, which is investigating allegations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands said the 36-year-old man, identified as Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, worke...

Chinese President Xi Jinping reasserted his country’s support for Russia on issues of sovereignty and security in a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, state media said. Xi told Putin that “all parties should responsibly push for a proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The Kremlin said in its account of the call that Putin “...

Chorus has decided to fully commit to a modern hybrid office layout - with only half the desks they need for all their staff. Their new CBD office has just 371 workstations for 550 employees. It’s a mixture of collaborative workspaces, hot-desking, and working from home. Chorus Adaptive Organisation Tribe Lead Hannah Croft joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Inflation is really getting quite problematic in a lot of countries now. The US Federal Reserve has raised its rate by 75 basis points and it’s likely to go up by another 75 basis points in July. In the UK, the Bank of England reckons inflation could hit 11 percent in October. Business commentator Rod Oram joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

The race for Auckland’s mayor is very tight. Efeso Collins and Leo Molloy are tied in first place at 21.7 percent a piece, with Viv Beck and Wayne Brown just behind them in the 20s. Molloy reckons he has the support of the National Party, which he said this morning on the AM show. Leo Molloy joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Blues are back in the big dance. They will have the home advantage over the Crusaders for Saturday’s Super Rugby’s final in front of a sell-out crowd at Eden Park. All Whites coach Danny Hay has said they were robbed in their World Cup qualifying eliminator to Costa Rica. Chris Wood had an equaliser controversially ruled out by the VAR, before having Kosta Barbarouses sent off in a questionabl...

Tomorrow night, the Blues and Crusaders face off to decide who will be Super Rugby Pacific champions. Blues can look forward to a home advantage. Eden Park is sold out for the first time since the Bledisloe Cup test last August. Former All Black Ant Strachan joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.