Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Ukraine officials say they've agreed to the 'essence' of a peace deal with Russia, but some sensitive issues are still to resolve. US President Donald Trump says a deal is close and US and Russian officials have been meeting separately in Abu Dhabi on discussions. Reports indicate it's now expected Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet within the next week. US correspondent Jonathan Kears...

The Black Caps cricketers have been grouped with Afghanistan, South Africa, Canada and the UAE for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. The marquee pool fixture will see India and Pakistan meet on February 15 in neutral Colombo.  Sri Lanka will also host any play-off matches involving Pakistan, due to the latter's ongoing political tension with India. Sportstal...

A promoter says concerts in New Zealand have a bright future, despite some high-profile cancellations.  Tauranga reggae festival One Love and Taranaki's WOMAD have called off their 2026 showings. Promoter Brent Eccles says other festivals like Electric Avenue are doing very well.  He says there are plenty of future opportunities.  "And I think you'll find that next year, with this n...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 25 November 2025, regional councils are about to get the axe. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop explains what will replace them, and why it's hopefully going to lower your rates. Massively promising results from the new maths curriculum, as kids are finally seeing a turnaround in their dropping results. GPs are welcoming plans to...

Over in the UK, concerns have been raised over a new kind of brain drain as migration remains a consistent issue. A total of 257,000 British nationals are now thought to have left the country last year, 180,000 more than the initial estimate of 77,000. UK correspondent Enda Brady says rich-listers are among the high-profile Britons leaving, including steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal - who voiced displ...

Tonight on The Huddle, Tim Wilson from the Maxim Institute and Labour candidate for Wellington Bays Craig Renney joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  The Government has confirmed it plans to make major changes to regional councils, including axing regional councillors and replacing regional councils with groups of local mayors. Do we think this is a goo...

The Government has announced this afternoon that it is scrapping regional councils - and I reckon you need to put this on your list of some of the best news that you have heard in a long time for turning this country around. Regional councils have got to go. It's not so much the elected councillors, right? I mean, obviously they have to go as well.  But we simply don't need that layer of bure...

The Reserve Bank is set to deliver their final Monetary Policy Statement for 2025 tomorrow, and reports indicate the OCR will be cut further. Economists are widely expecting the OCR to drop 25 basis points to 2.25  percent - with room for further cuts down the line.  HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham speculated further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fonterra's forewarning farmers falling global dairy prices could hit their bottom lines. The dairy co-op recently cut its seasonal farmgate milk payout midpoint forecast - from $10 to $9.50. It paid out $10.16 last season. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newly elected regional councillors are in for a big change, with sweeping Government reforms. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop recently unveiled plans to replace the country's 11 regional councils with boards consisting of local mayors.  He suggests this will streamline decision-making, planning and infrastructure across regions. LGNZ Regional Sector Chair Deon Swiggs says the mandate for may...

There's revelations a rise in top grades at universities may not be down to New Zealanders getting smarter. Analysis by the New Zealand Initiative reveals 'A ' grades have increased from 22 percent to 36 percent of all grades since 2006. B grades have fallen from 47 percent to 38, while C grades have dropped from 20 percent to 17. NZ Initiative research fellow Dr James Kierstead says 'A' grades ar...

There's belief from experts that efforts to launch a single electronic medical record are 'well overdue'. The Government is embarking on a 10-year Health Digital Investment Plan to improve Health New Zealand's digital infrastructure.  The single record would replace 6,000 different systems currently in use. College of GPs Medical Director Luke Bradford says it's needed.  "We've been doin...

The Government is proposing one of the biggest reform packages around local Government in decades. Ministers are launching consultation on major proposals - including replacing regional councils with boards made up of mayors from the region's city and district councils.  It would aim to streamline decision-making, planning and infrastructure across regions - and boards would prepare a regiona...

Australian politician Pauline Hanson has been suspended from Parliament for seven days after refusing to apologise for wearing a burqa in the Senate. The One Nation leader caused outrage yesterday when she walked in wearing the religious garment. Just five senators voted against the motion to censure her.  Australian correspondent Murray Olds unpacked the reactions. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudi...

The Government's proposing to abolish regional councils, and replace them with boards made up of mayors from the region's city and district councils. The proposals would deliver the most significant reforms to local Government since 1989. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan says more details will be revealed later down the line.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Not much changes between formats for Blair Tickner, who's included in the 14-strong Black Caps squad for next week's opening cricket test against the West Indies in Christchurch. The 32-year-old, who performed well when called on across the white ball fixtures against the Windies, has spent the past two English County seasons playing for Derbyshire. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains furth...

A-pluses all round for a nationwide maths trial. The $40 million Government programme targeted 1500 Year 7 and 8 students needing extra support, through small-group tutoring up to four times a week.  Education Minister Erica Stanford says early indicators show students averaged one to two years progress.  "It tells me that there's no substitute for excellent, explicit teaching in a struc...

Ukrainian officials are expressing their thanks to the US, following disgruntled comments from the US President. Officials from both sides are negotiating details of the proposed 28-point peace plan in Switzerland,  which includes Ukraine ceding territory and reducing its military. Earlier this morning, Donald Trump accused Ukrainian leaders of showing zero gratitude over US peace efforts. UK...

The Reserve Bank is set to make an announcement this week, and experts are expecting at least one more cut to the OCR. Markets are projecting the OCR will be cut down to 2.25, and they've priced it in accordingly. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, lawyer and political commentator Liam Hehir and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  New reports claim New Zealand's wasting 1.2 million tonnes of food every year - but most of it is thrown away during production before it makes its way to the supermarket. What do we make of this? Ahead of the election,...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 24 November 2025, if you're building a new home or doing a biggish renovation you'll soon be forced to buy a building warranty in case of building faults. Building Minister Chris Penk talks to Heather about the details. Koura's Rupert Carlyon says employers should be stopped from decreasing salaries to accommodate higher Kiwisaver...

New surveys show Auckland business confidence is on the up, with reports indicating businesses are feeling less pessimistic ahead of the new year. Auckland Business Chamber CEO Simon Bridges says the latest November survey shows the city isn't 'out of the woods' but it's no longer 'stuck in the darkest part of the forest'. Bridges says there's room for the economy to improve, but the OCR's coming...

There's growing speculation that National is looking to oust Chris Luxon as leader ahead of the election, but Finance Minister Nicola Willis is disputing these rumours. Reports have claimed National is looking to replace Luxon with Chris Bishop, but this is mostly speculation. Nicola Willis says the party has a Prime Minister who's delivering significant reforms - and making good on the promises N...

Let's talk about Air New Zealand. Look, if I was Air New Zealand, I would feel pretty beaten up after the weekend's opinion pieces. Bruce Cotterill  wrote a piece in one newspaper complaining that if Air New Zealand want to charge as much as they do, then they have to do the job better and be on time more often. And then, Sam Stubbs wrote a piece in another newspaper telling them to stop over...

New Zealand farms and food producers appear to be outpacing other countries when it comes to reducing food waste. A report commissioned by the Ministry of Environment reveals more than 1.2 million tonnes of food is wasted or thrown away here every year. The total proportion of food wasted is between 5 and 10 percent - considerably lower than the global estimate of 30 to 40 percent. University of O...