Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Sir Keir Starmer has met leadership-bound Andy Burnham for talks, as the pair look to ensure an 'orderly' transition of power. The hour-long meeting comes as Starmer authorised access talks with civil servants for prospective Labour leadership candidates to prepare them for Government. UK correspondent Gavin Grey said if Burnham doesn't face any challengers, he could be the next Prime Minister as...

Labour isn’t the only party faced with a funding challenge related to the country’s pay equity regime. The three pay equity claims in the works relate to people who work for organisations partially funded by the Government - Plunket, Hospice and Bupa Aged Care. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's been some flare-ups in the AI and chip sectors and experts have raised concerns. There's been drops on the Nasdaq and S&P 500, and investors are questioning the huge amount of spend on AI. Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, former Auckland mayor Phil Goff and Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union joined in on  a discussion about the following issues of the day. What did we think of the censorship of an article in the Journal of the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists? How could they defend this? Do we see a real chance of the Opportunity Party being the new 'Kingmaker'? What...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 24 June, 2026, New Zealand Rugby's chief financial officer Chris Kinraid tells us where Moana Pasifika's fallen short in trying to stay in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters on how he'd tackle big tech to pay more tax. Otorohanga mayor Rodney Dow on why he's apologised for renaming the...

I can imagine there will be some disappointed fans out there but in the end, common sense does seem to have prevailed, doesn’t it? In the last-minute Hail Mary dash to try to save Moana Pasifika, NZ Rugby, it turns out, have ended up being the grown-ups in the room - simply saying no. This is not going to work; this is taking too long. Apparently, it’s predominantly because of the money. The peopl...

NZ First leader Winston Peters wants overseas tech giants to pay more tax - as Government agencies send millions offshore. Stuff reports public service departments spent $18 million dollars on advertising with offshore tech companies last year, mainly Google and Meta.  Peters says the Government needs to revisit the idea of hitting major tech firms with targeted taxes.  "Other countries...

The Journal of the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists recently retracted a peer-reviewed article and it's raised concerns among free speech advocates. The article questioned whether there's evidence of systemic racism in New Zealand's mental health sector - and the removal has attracted attention from around the globe. Clinical psychologist Dr Kumari Valentine says the removal of the ar...

Local controversy over a tongue-in-cheek promotion in Ōtorohanga.  In 1986, the town renamed itself Harrodsville for a week - after the owner of Britain's famed Harrods, Mohamed Al Fayed, sued Palmerston North's Henry Harrod - to prevent him calling his business ‘Harrods’. But some have complained, after Ōtorohanga's town sign was covered with a 'Harrodsville' sticker, to mark 40 years since...

The Opportunity Party says it's open to working with either major party if voters let it cross the threshold to Parliament this election. It neared the five percent threshold in last night's 1News Verian poll, rising 1.3 to sit on 4.6 percent. Leader Qiulae Wong says the fair thing to do would be to negotiate in good faith with the highest-rating party.  "We would sit down and try and find co...

New Zealand Rugby CFO Chris Kinraid has drop kicked suggestions Moana Pasifika was a failure. Super Rugby will reduce to ten teams next season as NZR have knocked back the four legitimate bids to buy the Moana license.  The franchise fizzles out owing millions on a loan from the Government, but Kinraid says NZR's open to Moana making a return beyond 2027. "We remain pretty open to opportuniti...

The Opportunity Party is seeing steady growth and would be a hair's breadth from Parliament on the latest 1News Verian poll numbers. It scored 4.6 percent support, up 1.3 percent from the last poll.  The centrist party says it would be willing to work with either the right or left block.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained what these results could mean for t...

The US Senate has adopted a resolution directing the president to remove military forces from the conflict with Iran amid the ongoing conflict. Democrats have repeatedly forced votes to limit Trump's war powers in both the House and the Senate - a campaign that's picked up more political support in recent weeks. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says the cost of the ongoing conflict has generated co...

New Zealand Rugby's adamant there was no choice but to reject rescue plans for the financially-strapped Moana Pasifika. Moana is officially out of the 2027 Super Rugby season, although there is hope they will be back in the future. Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explained the situation further - as well as whether or not the team could return. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

The battle for pay-to-view TV sports is heating up, with TVNZ staking claim over another high-profile event. The broadcaster today revealed it has secured the rights to boxer David Nyika’s world-title elimination fight - which includes a celebrity-filled undercard with former NRL star Manu Vatuvei, former All Black Rene Ranger, and another fight featuring former All Black Liam Messam. TVNZ Head of...

A rare red weather warning for extreme heat has been issued in the UK, as temperatures could go as high as 40C in places. In the worst-affected areas, the Met Office has warned the heatwave could reach the levels of the highest temperature on record - set in July 2022. UK correspondent Enda Brady says the heatwave is also hitting France hard, with at least 18 fatalities. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudi...

Day one of the Primary Industries New Zealand Summit and Awards is getting underway in Auckland. Jamie Mackay's set to MC tonight's awards ceremony - and he outlined some of the catergories up for prizes.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest GDP figures may not reflect the reality many businesses are facing right here, right now. GDP rose 0.8 percent in the March quarter - the third consecutive quarter of growth. HSBC Chief Economist Paul Bloxham outlined some predictions about the future, especially with the ongoing Middle East conflict. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson 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! Labour has revealed they're not planning on making changes to the retirement age and leader Chris Hipkins says there are some fundamental questions National needs to answer on its election KiwiSaver policy. D...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 23 June, 2026, Auckland University economics expert Susan St John on why we need to go back to a surtax on super.   Medicines New Zealand chief executive Graeme Jarvis on why it could be a slow process getting funding for weight-loss drugs. Sports socialist Holly Thorpe tells us what's driving a record number of gym membersh...

Confidence in the employment market is at an all-time low, with the Iran war still rippling through the economy. A Westpac-McDermott Miller survey for the June quarter reveals confidence fell for public and private sector employees.  A net 60 percent of respondents believe it's hard to find a job, up from 46 percent last quarter. Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon says employment confide...

Let’s talk about Ardie Savea’s interview on Mike Hosking’s show. I think we can all agree that it was awful, as the texts pointed out immediately.  It was pretty flat and miserable, which was strange because this was Savea’s first big media outing the day after being announced as All Blacks captain - to the biggest audience in the country. You’d think that if there was ever an occasion to sou...

New Zealanders are waiting almost twice as other countries to get modern medicines. US pharmaceutical research shows New Zealand's processes for registering, approving and funding modern medicines are the slowest out of 20 OECD countries. Medicine NZ chief executive Graeme Jarvis says other countries have similar wealth ratings and size - so we can't blame being poor and small. "You want to give p...

A social policy advocate suggests taxing superannuants' alternative incomes could be the solution New Zealand needs. National is campaigning on raising the retirement age, which Labour's ruling out.  But earlier this year, Labour's Chris Hipkins appeared open to means testing NZ Super eligibility.  Auckland University's Susan St John says reviving the superannuation surcharge, abolished...

A lot more than social media pushes people to the gym, according to one expert. Just under one million Kiwis now have memberships - or 26 percent of the population. That's up from 22 percent three years ago, with City Fitness overtaking Les Mills as the gym of choice. Waikato University sport sociologist, Holly Thorpe, says Instagram probably drives some of it, but people also value physical activ...