Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Plans for a second Trump-Putin meeting to discuss the Ukraine war have been shelved, days after they were proposed. Last week, Trump said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest to discuss the war in Ukraine. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says reports claim Russia isn't happy with some proposed terms. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

High Performance Sport NZ has quietly footed the bill for an independent review and player wellbeing support in the Silver Ferns' camp amid the ongoing Dame Noeline Taurua saga. While Netball NZ grapples with the fallout following Taurua's suspension, HPSNZ has offered funding, strategic advice, and resourcing behind the scenes. Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omny...

With gas prices going up all over the country, there's debate over whether households should make the switch to electricity.  Contact Energy recently revealed it's hiking gas prices by an average of 17 percent, as the decline in production has hit faster and harder than expected. Master Plumbers CEO Greg Wallace says making the switch is a big decision - and could set households back by thous...

Prince Andrew has not paid rent on his Royal Lodge for more than two decades, according to a new release by The Crown Estate. The release of this tenancy agreement follows calls for transparency on Andrew's residence, on top of another week of scandal. UK correspondent Enda Brady says it's suspected William wants to get ahead of a bigger mess before he becomes King. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com...

Labour unveiled their first major policy a year out from the 2026 election, and it's prompted mixed reactions from experts. Some have lambasted the proposed New Zealand Future Fund for being light on details, and Labour has yet to confirm which public assets will be managed by this fund. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie offered his take on the proposed idea. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudi...

Tonight on The Huddle, broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and Tim Wilson from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day, and more!  Should the Public Service Commission be putting out ads about Thursdays' mega strike, in a bid to attack the unions? Should we be concerned here?  Sports Minister Mark Mitchell is weighing in on the Netball New Zealand v Dam...

Partially selling one of New Zealand's largest meat companies should give it much-needed capital, according to some. Farmer shareholders of Alliance Group voted to let Ireland's Dawn Meats buy a 65 percent stake in the company, for $270 million. The remaining 35 percent will still belong to the co-op. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Problems with Amazon's cloud services in the US have been felt around the world. Thousands of websites and apps were affected by an outage during the night, including TVNZ Plus, Neon, Sky TV, Snapchat and Wordle. Tech commentator Paul Spain says a lot of things got broken in the process of trying to undo the damage, and some businesses are still trying to recover. "When you break a lot of technolo...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 21 October 2025, former attorney general Chris Finlayson is not on board with the Government's law change to make it harder for iwi and hapu to gain customary title over coastal areas. Sports Minister Mark Mitchell says he won't freeze Netball NZ's funding but wants a fast resolution of the Dame Noeline Taurua saga - and that he...

I think it's fair to say, don't you think, that Labour's first policy has been a flop? It's been panned by pretty much everybody worth listening to or worth reading. I mean, I see Maiki Sherman over at TVNZ liked it last night. She called it a 'solid first hit' on telly, but I think everyone else seems to have seen through what Chippy's trying to do here. Let me quote you some. Tom Pullar-Str...

The Labour Party says there needs to be a probe into the Public Service Commission posting ads about Thursday's mega-strike.   About 100,000 workers in health and education are set to walk off the job later this week. Several commission adverts have appeared on social media - outlining how it'll disrupt services. PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the Commission is running political...

Six60 have unveiled a new country and roots music festival in Matakana, which is set to take place this January. The 'Sweet Home Aotearoa' festival line-up will be curated by Six60 and promises to feature big names to bring a taste of Nashville to New Zealand shores.  Six60 lead singer and guitarist Matiu Walters says he's felt a strong connection to country and roots music every time he goes...

Sports Minister Mark Mitchell has outlined why he feels it was time for the Government to step in with the ongoing Netball New Zealand v Dame Noeline Taurua saga. The side-lined Silver Ferns coach and the national body remain at an impasse concerning issues with the high performance environment. Mitchell says the situation has simply dragged on for far too long. "Everyone involved loves netball, b...

Questions have been raised regarding the Government claim over changes likely to make it harder for Māori to claim customary marine titles. The divisive Marine and Coastal Area Amendment Bill is likely to pass its third reading in the House tonight. The Government claims it'll restore the legislation to its original intent. Former Attorney-General Chris Finlayson says these changes aren't restorin...

An unexpected Labour policy announcement was a bit of a shock for leader Chris Hipkins today.  Health spokesperson, Ayesha Verrall revealed the policy in an op-ed for New Zealand Doctor magazine.  It proposes to create an independent body to estimate and allocate GP funding increases, rather than the Government. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Labour 'botched...

Reports indicate the US is pushing ahead with the AUKUS deal, with Australia getting nuclear powered submarines from the US. President Donald Trump's held talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the White House today on defence and trade. Trump also cleared doubt on the deal between Australia, the US and UK. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says concerns were raised ahead of the meeting,...

The Netball New Zealand v Dame Noeline Taurua saga is beginning to gain traction inside the halls of Parliament. Labour MP Willie Jackson is urging Sports Minister Mark Mitchell to freeze the Netball New Zealand funding until it clears up the suspension of Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua. Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explained the situation further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener...

A survey of roadworkers has found many face routine abuse, attacks, and some are even purposely hit by cars, according to new reports. The survey, which was run by Temporary Traffic Management Industry Steering Group, included 667 workers across New Zealand who described their experiences with verbal abuse and physical assault. Pipeline & Civil Ltd owner Hugh Goddard says he's heard his staff...

A rare daylight robbery has been executed at the world's most visited art museum.  Items of 'incalculable' value were stolen in a seven minute heist at the Louvre museum in Paris - just after it opened.  The thieves rode a basket lift up the museum's facade, forced a window and fled with France's Crown and Napoleonic jewels. UK correspondent Gavin Grey unpacked the ongoing investigation....

A multi-million-dollar class action against ANZ New Zealand over historic disclosure obligations looks likely to go ahead. ASB earlier this month settled its part in the four-year class action for $135.6 million - without conceding liability or wrongdoing. ANZ Chief Executive Antonia Watson has voiced disappointment with the development. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Recent Stats NZ data shows annual inflation hit three percent in September - the upper limit of the Reserve Bank's target range. This has sparked mixed reactions from the Government, but it's unclear if New Zealand avoided another technical recession. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly unpacked the market responses. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  How many more dirty secrets are we going to find out about Prince Andrew? Could the royals have done more to get a handle on this? Labour has unveiled their first big policy promise ahead of the election with their newly-propo...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 20 October 2025, inflation is up three percent - driven by large increases to electricity and rates bills. Kiwibank's Jarrod Kerr says this shouldn't stop the Reserve Bank from cutting the OCR further. Labour's Chris Hipkins explains his party's first new policy in two years - the NZ Future Fund. The scandals keep coming . Prince...

Well, even I didn't expect Prince Andrew to lose the use of his titles that fast. It was about 5pm on Friday afternoon that I said that he would lose them - and about 7am the next morning, the news broke that he had. But then again, I suppose we can see why it happened so fast, right? Because since that happened, it has just been one revelation after the other involving him. First, the police...

Drivers are likely to have to cough up for travelling on the Government's Roads of National Significance. NZTA's board has endorsed the investment cases for all the roads.  Transport Minister Chris Bishop says the default will be to toll the new roads in order to establish a clear revenue stream. "Once you've built a road, it's all very well to have it there, but you've got to look after it a...