Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Dame Noeline Taurua coaching saga could be near an end after the Silver Ferns wrapped up their series against South Africa 3-nil. Game-day captain Grace Nweke took the microphone in the post-match ceremony and called for Taurua to return from her stand down period while under internal review. She said the coach is missed and they want her back in charge. Former All Blacks Sevens coach Sir Gord...

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has been quick to confirm his party would recognise Palestine as a state if Labour leads the Government after next year’s election. On Saturday, while at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced New Zealand would not recognise the state of Palestine amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Hipkins says...

A shake-up to the quake-prone building standards could be a reprieve for iconic properties facing large retrofit bills. The Government's loosening the regime to only capture buildings genuinely posing a risk to life in medium and high seismic risk zones.  It'll mean only 80 will need full retrofits and 15,000 will still need some remediation.  Building and Construction Minister Chris Pen...

The Prime Minister says New Zealand remains committed to the peace process in the Middle East. Foreign Minister Winston Peters has told the UN our Government won't be recognising a Palestinian state.  Chris Luxon says we can't acknowledge a state whose de facto Government is the designated terror group, Hamas. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Peters delivered a 'wel...

Australian telco giant Optus  is investigating another network outage that led to nine failed triple-0 calls on the NSW south coast. Optus has issued a statement saying the problem stemmed from a mobile phone tower site in Dapto. It affected calls between 3am and 12:20pm on Sunday, including calls to the triple-0 network. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says this incident will cause...

United States golf captain Keegan Bradley has taken full responsibility for his side's Ryder Cup defeat to Team Europe. Team USA threatened the greatest recovery in the event's history, winning eight and a half points from 12 singles matches on the final day only to lose 15-13 in New York. Sportstalk host Jason Pine recapped the action. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

The Government's open to legislating to over-rule court decisions on incorporating tikanga Māori. That's from the Prime Minister - echoing comments last week from his Justice Minister.  Paul Goldsmith claimed at a Law Association meeting that including concepts of Māori customs and values in law could cost the country investment. Former Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson says the La...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 26 September 2025, police have revealed they came across Tom Phillips and his missing kids several times during their period in the bush. Former police negotiator Lance Burdett is surprised they weren't able to confront him sooner. Former Wellington mayor Dame Kerry Prendergast has met with Wellington Council's boss for a please e...

US President Donald Trump announced an acquisition of social media platform Tiktok - a platform that is owned by Chinese software company ByteDance. The President said that the deal was a closed case, however Asia business correspondent Peter Lewis told Ryan Bridge that there is more to be done.  He said that although Washington has approved their side of the deal, Beijing and ByteDance are m...

The Bledisloe Cup is back for another year, as the All Blacks face the Wallabies this weekend at Eden Park.  The All Blacks need 8 more points to top 4000 against Australia. Former Wallaby Tim Horan told Ryan Bridge that this is the best chance the Wallabies have had in years, but they still respect the strength of the All Blacks.  'It's the hope that kills us with the Wallabies, because...

Tonight on the Huddle: Host of Sky's Aotearoa Rugby podcast Ross Carl and NewstalkZB's own D'arcy Waldegrave join Ryan Bridge to discuss the latest sports news.  The Wallabies are facing the All Blacks at Eden Park. Can they conquer the fortress? Have the All Blacks done enough after their defeat at the hands of the Springboks to fend off the Aussies? And can the Black Ferns take 3rd place af...

A former Wellington City Mayor has met with the Council CEO after her private papers were among confidential documents found in a desk bought from a dump sale. A man bought the desk at a city tip-shop and found termination agreements, whistleblower allegations, and staff pay details inside - dating from the 1980s to the 2000s. The council has launched a investigation and contacted the Privacy Comm...

New Zealand's sporting success could lead to economic growth.  The government's launched a Sport Diplomacy Strategy paper today with the goal of leveraging our sporting reputation globally.  Sports Minister Chris Bishop told Ryan Bridge that there's plenty of opportunities, including the Blackcaps in India,  where the government's trying to ink a free trade deal. He says another is...

A former police negotiator says police would have had to take a balanced approach to finding Marokopa fugitive Tom Phillips and his three children. They've revealed today they spent thousands of hours searching for him but knew it was unlikely he would surrender easily. Former Police negotiator Lance Burdett told Ryan Bridge they probably didn't want to overplay their hand.  He says it was a...

The government is expected to make a major announcement on the energy sector next week. This announcement comes as more and more Kiwis are calling for reform. Senior political correspondent Azaria Howell told Ryan Bridge that, according to a survey on energy reform, 62% of respondents support the government underwriting the cost of new electricity generation. 49% of respondents also said that they...

Late enrolments aren't the reason for a slow election vote count.  That's according to constitutional lawyer Graeme Edgeler, who agrees with comments from the Electoral Commission that changes to voting rules won't speed up the process.  The government's ending same-day enrolments and requiring people to enrol 13 days before polling day.  But Edgeler told Ryan Bridge that it won't s...

There's rumours in the UK a new competitor could challenging Keir Starmer to become the Prime Minister. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, says Labour MPs are urging him to take over Starmer's role. UK correspondent Enda Brady says Burnham has claimed the Labour Party needs a plan - but it's difficult to roll a leader. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's economy has been shrinking, but our largest company has seen profits surge. Fonterra's announced a 13 percent rise in annual operating profit. Its cash return to shareholders is up 30.6 percent, and its final farmgate milk payout to farmers has reached a new record high of $10.16 per kg of milk solids. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/liste...

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Nick Leggett joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  Teachers say they're seeing an alarming rise of students with extreme ideologies, including misogynistic views promoted by Andrew Tate. How can we handle this?  The oil and gas ban has been reversed and the applications...

More than one-third of farmers say their mobile coverage has gotten worse over the past year - and it's negatively impacting their work environment and overall safety. New reports show only 57 percent of farmland gets coverage, and there's been no improvement since 2022. Federated Farmers telecommunications spokesperson Mark Hooper says the situation is likely to get worse with the 3G network shut...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 25 September 2025, Fonterra has delivered one of its best results ever. Chief Executive Miles Hurrell speaks to Ryan Bridge about the outlook for the next year.   Half of us are buying less fruit and veggies because of the cost, but chef Mike van de Elzen says it doesn't have to be so! Teachers say they're seeing an alarmin...

So the teacher's union is warning about a rising tide of extremism in our schools. I've read the story - what's the actual problem? That's what I'm trying to figure out here today. Apparently, some kids say they're 'Trump Boys' - i.e. like a majority of Americans, a few kids here support the Republican party or MAGA movement. The other problem apparently is some school girls saying they want to be...

A new survey has revealed a significant number of Kiwis want the Government to prepare for catastrophic events that could bring about the end of the world. New University of Otago research shows two-thirds of respondents believe the Government should draft action plans for threats such as a nuclear war, bioweapons or mass famine and supply chain collapse. Professor Nick Wilson, senior researcher a...

There's growing push-back on the idea that children should be censored at school, as extremism spreads. PPTA members are seeing misogyny spread through the classroom, and they're putting it down to a 'toxic online culture of masculinity'. The union wants to make addressing online extremism an official policy, and is calling for Government action. Free Speech Union CEO Jillaine Heather says it's ha...

The All Blacks are hoping to turn their luck around following their worst-ever defeat to South Africa. Ahead of their Eden Park clash against the Wallabies this Saturday, there are 11 survivors in the run-on side to meet the Aussies. All Blacks assistant coach Tamati Ellison says the team's morale is running well ahead of the big game. "I don't think worry's the right word...you prepare every week...