Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

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, National is promising to increase ...

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 contribution rates.

The eye-wateri...

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 down and farmers are making more mo...

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 National campaigned on.

LISTEN ABOVE

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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 overcharging domestic travellers.

Now, ...

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 Otago nutrition professor and report...

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 alcohol.

He says it can be used to pa...

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, Australia and Ireland use incentives.&...

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 lot of of peace of mind - so I think ...

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 their workers' pay checks.

LISTEN AB...

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' news to the passengers and crew member...

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 to Air New Zealand and CEO Nikhil Ra...

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.

Plus, the Sports Huddle debates wh...

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 flames of conversa...

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 develop into anything more sinister,"...

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 present himself as somebody who does have...

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 systems have introduced a whole new ...