Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

A Wellington bar owner could be stripped of his liquor license for offering a bar tab as a pub quiz prize. Courtney Place's Dakota Bar advertises a first prize reward of a $150 tab. Owner Jose Ubiaga has to appear before the council's Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority. He says he's been told to reword offering winners a food and drink voucher, to avoid the perception he was giving away al...

A finance expert warns New Zealanders need reasons to pay in to KiwiSaver, if they're being told to contribute more. National's made a pre-election pledge to progressively raise baseline worker and employer contributions by 2032 - to six percent each. Koura Wealth managing director Rupert Carlyon says that's a nudge to contribute, but more's needed to turn it into a push.  He says the US, Aus...

New rules aimed at protecting homeowners should be formally introduced next year. The Government's announced plans to require all warranties for new homes three storeys or less, and all renos worth at least $100,000. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk admits homeowners will pay a bit more, but it's worth it. "It's around half of one percent of the cost of a build, so I think that's a lo...

Chris Luxon says National's KiwiSaver election pledge will be a bottom line in coalition negotiations. National's announced plans to lift default contributions to six percent by 2032. Employer contributions would increase by half a percent from 2029. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan says most of the policy is sound, but he raised concerns over some employers taking the increases out of t...

Search teams have been unable to find a man who went overboard on a Melbourne to Auckland Disney cruise.  Reports claim a 73-year-old jumped from the Disney Wonder in the early hours of Saturday morning.  The vessel turned back for about five hours to search alongside search efforts from the air.  Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says this will likely come as 'harrowing' new...

The All Blacks will review their campaign in the coming weeks as they take stock of a mixed year. The side are heading home in groups as they contemplate a 10-win, three-loss record. Those losses include a record demise to South Africa, a first defeat in Argentina and the disintegration of Grand Slam hopes to England. Sportstalk host Jason Pine recapped the action. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/...

Up to 15,000 passengers could be disrupted if Air New Zealand cabin crew go ahead with strike action next month. The airline's largely unionised crew plan to strike on December 8th demanding greater salaries and allowances. The flagship carrier's assessing the potential effect on operations. Expert and advisor to business leaders, Bruce Cotterill, says people have high expectations when it comes t...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 21 November 2025, Heather finds out more about the disquiet in the National Party about Christopher Luxon's leadership.   Auckland Pride are seeking a judicial review of the government's call to withdraw guidelines for transgender athletes in community sport. We find out the DIY medical tests may be as reliable as a coin toss....

Rumours have been swirling of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon getting rolled by his party. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith denied the rumours saying no one in National’s caucus had raised with him the idea of replacing Luxon.  In recent polls National has lagged behind Labour with 33% versus 38% in the Talbot Mills/Anacta poll conducted between November 1 and 10.  This has fanned the fl...

A LGBTQ+ advocacy group is taking the Government to court over issues with transgender athlete inclusion.  In July, Sport New Zealand announced it'll abandon its guidelines outlining how transgender athletes can be included in community sport.  Auckland Pride says documents released through the Official Information Act show Sport and Recreation Minister Mark Mitchell had directed Sport N...

There have been no signs of easing anxiety in the stock markets despite record Nvidia results.  Investment director for Craigs Investment Partners Mark Lister told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the apprehension is a result of not wanting to overestimate the appropriate levels of optimism. "It's more of a case of a healthy pullback, a healthy correction rather than something that's going to de...

Trump is set to meet with recently elected New York mayor Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday following months of public conflict.  The US President announced the meeting in a Truth Social Post which said the "communist mayor" requested the meeting. US correspondent Charles Feldman told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "Trump is at heart a New Yorker, and I think he's going to want to presen...

Following the death of a two-year old baby in Manawatū earlier this year Midland Community Pharmacy Group chief executive Pete Chandler co-ordinated an audit. The audit found 1,200 prescription mistakes in one week- 26% of the mistakes posing 'high risk of harm' to patients.  Chandler told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the days of doctors' handwriting causing issues are over, but electronic s...

Either Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is telling porkies, or he’s the most out-of-the-loop person in Wellington. His claim that there’s “no talk” of rolling Chris Luxon is complete nonsense. There is talk—serious talk. I can tell you for a fact that senior National Party ministers believe Luxon can’t continue in the job. MPs are actively discussing whether to pull the pin and replace him. If they...

Over in the UK, some Labour MPs claim they've got the necessary numbers to roll Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer's popularity has been declining and Reform remains a consistent threat in the polls - and there's clear mood for change. UK correspondent Enda Brady explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 20 November 2025, Education Minister Erica Stanford talks whether she's going to go further on digital restrictions in our schools. Heather asks Wellington Mayor Andrew Little whether he'll cancel the Golden Mile project altogether - after the council voted to pause the works. Predator Free New Zealand Trust CEO Jessi Morgan cel...

Despite growing concerns about the AI bubble, Nvidia's shown it won't be popping any time soon. The company's quarterly results have smashed expectations and it recorded a 22 percent jump in profit from the previous quarter. Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zespri has issued its November forecast for the 2025/26 kiwifruit season, and it's predicting some solid results. At a per-hectare level, record returns are currently projected across all categories. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners 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!  NZ First is looking to repeal the Regulatory Standards Act ahead of the election. ACT's David Seymour isn't thrilled - what do we make of this? What's Winston's plan here? The Government has officially r...

A promise the Government's working as quickly as possible on roading projects - but an admission some will take a long time. The Transport Minister says he's trying to make expectations clear. Officials estimate petrol tax and road user charges would need to be hiked 70 percent - to deliver all the $56 billion Roads of National Significance - within two decades. Chris Bishop says the Government is...

Wellington's mayor says scrapping the controversial Golden Mile project would be relatively easy, but they want to act in good faith. Councillors voted 12-4 to hold fire, after warnings the project could balloon to $220 million up from the 2021 budget of $160 million. Doing up Courtney Place could cost up to $25 million more than approved. Andrew Little says there's no contract or exit costs - but...

David Seymour isn't impressed with New Zealand First's promise to campaign on repealing ACT's Regulatory Standards bill.  The Bill passed last Thursday - supported by New Zealand First, National and ACT - and became law two days ago.  NZ First leader Winston Peters has since called it a 'terrible overreach' and 'not fit for a modern democracy'. Seymour gave his opinion on this move.&nbsp...

The Government has officially recognised feral cats as pests and added them to the Predator Free 2050 list. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka described them as 'stone cold killers' and says they need to be dealt with to protect New Zealand's native species.  Predator Free NZ Trust chief executive Jessi Morgan says they've been campaigning on this move for a long time and it's 'exciting' to se...

The Education Minister's not ruling out banning other digital distractions in schools. An Education Review Office report shows three-quarters of secondary school teachers believe student behaviour's improved since cellphones were outlawed in class. It's also recommending considering also excluding smart watches and social media. Education Minister Erica Stanford says she's open to the ideas. "We'r...

There's growing speculation Chris Luxon is at risk of being rolled ahead of the election, with Chris Bishop being touted as a potential replacement.  An opinion piece by Audrey Young was released today, and it claimed that Labour was going extra hard on Bishop over the cycleway project because he was likely to take over the party by 2026. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper...