Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Forty-four titles have been announced for the 2026 Ockham Book Awards longlist, with true crime and politics among the big name nominees. Nine debut authors appear in the list, three in each of the poetry, illustrated non-fiction and general non-fiction categories, including the Jacinda Ardern memoir  A Different Kind of Power. Time Out Bookstore manager Jenna Todd says it's unclear if Ardern...

The Transport Minister says discussions must be had on roads that keep flooding during extreme weather events. Chris Bishop and the Prime Minister have been surveying damage in Te Tairāwhiti, and visiting still isolated communities. Bishop says the focus now is reopening routes. But he says NZTA and contractors need to discuss how to future-proof these crucial routes.  "They'll be having a re...

A warning more insurance companies could follow AA Insurance, which has paused signing up new new policies in the West Coast's Westport. Buller District Council says the insurer has confirmed it’s temporarily halting new property policies because of the high flood-risk. Existing policyholders can renew as usual. Victoria University Emeritus Professor Jonathan Boston says he can almost guarantee it...

New Zealand roads are about to re-enter a dangerous window as schools return for term one. A report from driver safety advocacy group AutoSense claims accidents linked to fatigue happen most between 7 and 8am, the hour children head to school. CEO Charles Dawson says fatigue is driven by our body clock - and it can be dangerous. "Any vehicle that has a human behind the wheel is going to be prone t...

The Minister for Trade's attempting to put to bed concerns about our fair trade agreement with India - repeatedly voiced by the NZ First leader. Winston Peters claims it will let tens of thousands more Indian migrants enter the country.  The Prime Minister has denied the assertion.  The full agreement is still not publicly available, but Trade Minister Todd McClay has detailed visa numbe...

Speculation about Liberal leader Sussan Ley's future with the party is growing, as more people call for her ousting. Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie are the two names being discussed as potential replacements in the liberal leadership race. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says it's likely Ley will stay in the top job as long as the vote among Australia's right bloc remains divided. LISTEN ABOV...

Auckland FC can live without being in football's Australia Cup. The Black Knights have been dumped because it's an Asian Confederation competition, while Auckland FC and the Wellington Phoenix are from the Oceania region. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Air New Zealand says it hopes to avoid a three-day strike by international cabin crew in February. E tū Union and the Flight Attendants Association have issued strike notices for wide-body crews on 787 and 777 Boeing flights. The airline's Chief People Officer, Nikki Dines, says they've covered a lot of ground in 10 months of weekly meetings with the unions. "There's a lot of things that we've agr...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 28 January, 2026, we look at the legacy of Judith Collins in New Zealand politics as she prepares to become president of the Law Commission. Air New Zealand cabin crew are preparing to go on strike - will it affect your travel plans? Another hammer blow for the construction industry - why more than 20 businesses have gone bust...

A unit of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will take on security roles at the Winter Olympic Games in Italy, sparking outrage and petitions in protest. Sources at the US embassy in Rome confirmed a statement from ICE that agents would support diplomatic security details during the upcoming Games. UK correspondent Mike Pearse says the high-profile shootings in Minneapolis have ma...

Home owners could be left covering the costs of defective work on their properties once an overhaul of the Building Act is complete. The Government plans to give itself the ability to temporarily suspend the requirement for consumer protections to be put in place in the building sector. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener...

The Reserve Bank spent most of 2025 lowering the OCR, leaving experts to speculate how these changes impacted the economy. Since then, economic and business confidence has gone up for the start of 2026, but inflation data for the December quarter has raised some concerns Milford Asset Management expert Brendan Larsen explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

2026 has been a rough year for New Zealand's construction sector, with multiple businesses going bust in January alone. Reports show there were 22 applications to put building or property related companies into liquidation over the 7 days from January 20 to January 27. NZ Certified Builders CEO Malcolm Fleming says this reflects the tough conditions that have impacted the market over the last two...

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers Union and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Judith Collins today confirmed she was retiring from politics - will we miss her? Will New Zealand politics be different without Ju-Co around?  Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has sunk to his lowest p...

Right, so the biggest political news of the day is that Judith Collins has announced she’s retiring from politics to take up a new job as the head of the Law Commission mid‑year. I, for one, am going to miss Judith Collins being in politics, because she has that thing very few politicians have. Winston Peters has it, John Key had it - the ability to be a bit cheeky and have a laugh, but then get o...

Tauranga City Council's confirmed staff were working around Mount Maunganui on the morning a landslide buried six people at the campground. Surrounding cordons were reduced this morning, on day seven of work to recover those buried. A rāhui's been declared for parts of Pilot Bay and Mount Main Beach and the cordoned search area. Mayor Mahé Drysdale says the council's independent review will h...

The Official Cash Rate is expected to rise this year, although forecasters say predicting when is tricky. Inflation was stronger in the December quarter than expected, at 3.1 percent. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen is picking a hike in November - with an outside possibility of one in May.  He says other signs in the market signal a possible increase.  "Actual bank rates for l...

Judith Collins says the one thing she'd change about her political career is leading the National Party. The Senior MP has announced she's leaving politics after 24 years, in a career that included 18 different ministerial portfolios. In 2020 she had a brief stint leading the party, and lost the election to Jacinda Ardern.  She says stepping up was a bad move. "And I knew it was a hospital pa...

Reflections on a tumultuous career, as senior National MP Judith Collins quits politics. She's moving to become the Law Commission President - after 24 years in Parliament.  She lost the National leadership in 2021 after a caucus revolt, but just two years later became the Minister with the most portfolios. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper looked back on Collins' long-ru...

The latest civilian death at the hands of Federal Immigration Officers in the US could hurt the Republican party in midterm elections.  Donald Trump is kicking off the campaign in Iowa - a state neighbouring Minnesota, where ICE agents have now shot two protesters dead. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says many Republicans and Trump allies are questioning the immigration agents' tactics.&nbsp...

Fifth seed Elena Rybakina has taken the first set of her Australian tennis Open quarter-final against world number two Iga Swiatek 7-5. The weather is considerably cooler than yesterday's 45 degree high - it's currently 21 in Melbourne. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave recapped today's action. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of New Zealand’s most violent murderers is set to appear before the Parole Board for the first time this week. Clayton Weatherston was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 18 years for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Sophie Elliott in 2008. Weatherston is now eligible for parole, but Sophie's father, Gil Elliott, says he hasn't availed himself of any rehabilitation m...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 27 January, 2026, should there be two inquiries into the Mount Maunganui landslide - one by the council, the other the Government? And is the uprooting trees at the crux of the problem there? We look at why boys are finding it harder to make friends as they get older. The fitness trends that could do you more harm than good. And...

Over in the UK, another high-profile member of the Conservative Party has defected to Nigel Farage's Reform Party.  Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, well known for championing the controversial Rwanda plan, has joined the party.  It follows defections from others like former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawai and Conservative Party leader candidate Robert Jenrick.  UK...

Last week's extreme weather in the Upper North Island left a lot of damage behind, and concerns have been raised about the future. The Government last year established a loose framework for climate adaptation, on an expert panel's recommendation to transition from buying-out destroyed homes - but Minister Simon Watts says a better assessment is needed. Climate adaptation expert Dr Judy Lawrence sa...