Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

There's agreement migrants’ access to superannuation needs to change, but not in the way New Zealand First is proposing.

The party wants it to be subject to citizenship from 2029.

It says superannuation for migrants who become residents aged 50 or older - now costs more than a billion dollars a year.

Immigration expert and Woburn International CEO, June Ranson, says these are often highly skilled workers who should still get ...

A long-awaited project at Port of Tauranga has the green light.

The Stella Passage development will extend container berths and wharves, after getting fast-track approval, subject to conditions.

Payments will also be made to the local marae as part of 'cultural mitigation'.

Port CFO Simon Kebbell says it'll be two and a half years before it's finished.

"It's probably going to take six months to stand up for construction, so there w...

Opportunity's not letting polling figures get it down.

The latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll has the Party slipping below the Parliament threshold - on 4.5 percent.

National leads at 29, Labour's down to 25.9, but the Greens have climbed to 13.9, ACT is at 10.5 percent and NZ First is on 8.4. 

Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong says they'll keep working to earn Kiwis' trust.

"If we can't get anywhere with that largest party...

Labour's leader has little to say about the party's plunge in popularity in the Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll.

It's lagging behind National's 29 percent - on 25.9, making it the lowest poll result for Labour since July 2024.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says National has also dropped two points, so it's not good news for either major party.

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Social media companies could be facing hefty fines if they don't do enough to keep under-16s off their sites under a new bill, according to the Australian Government.

The fines would be aimed at sites like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, and the bill is designed to boost the eSafety Commission’s information gathering powers.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says concerns have been raised that the social media giants h...

A reduced All Blacks squad of 36 has travelled to Baltimore for Sunday's fourth and final rugby test of the series against the Springboks.

Three players have been ruled out after suffering injuries in the third match - Ardie Savea has a dislocated shoulder, Quinn Tupaea picked up a knee knock, and Luke Jacobson injured an elbow tendon.

Sportstalk host recapped the team's defeat in Soweto, and speculated about what this latest loss ...

It's been a big season for the Warriors, as they await their upcoming qualifying final this weekend.

The Kiwi side will host the Dolphins next Saturday at Go Media Mt Smart, and they're guaranteed another home final irrespective of that result.

Former Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson says the side's been 'grinding hard' all season, and he's hoping the second NRL home final will take place at Mt Smart over Eden Park.

"I've got no dou...

Now let's talk about Nick Kyrgios' punishment. He's been banned from playing professional tennis for a month after being busted with cocaine in his system.

His punishment is very much at the low end of the scale. He was facing a ban of up to four years. It was downgraded, firstly, because he was using cocaine recreationally.

He snorted a few lines the night before he was due to play in Mallorca. He wasn't using it immediately befor...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 4 September, 2026, two psychiatrists get permission to use a party drug to treat trauma. We speak to one of them - Dr G.

The Privacy Commissioner on retailers putting up walls of shame of suspected shoplifters.

Sav's saucy selfie - plus more from the veteran rugby man's travels in South Africa.

And on the Sports Huddle, Adam Cooper and Nick Bewley tell us if they r...

The All Blacks return to Gauteng province for their third test against the Springboks at FNB Stadium in Soweto on Sunday at 3.10am. 

South Africa evened the score Cape Town last week adding extra pressure to this week's test. 

All Blacks senior assistant coach Neil Barnes told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "it's a hell of an occasion and the boys are in a good place, to be honest."

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The Warriors are facing off against the Sea Eagles at 5pm on Saturday for NRL Round 27 at Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, Auckland.

The original captain of the Warriors joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss the match. 

"We've got to sort of look forward to these playoffs with a lot of hope, you know it's not going to surprise us if they're at the grand final day and they lift the trophy, but as I say it's a different level."

L...

Okay, do you want to hear something straight out of the "you would have been better off just saying absolutely nothing" file? This one's from the Privacy Commissioner.

Michael Webster has warned small retailers, such as dairies, about putting up "walls of shame" featuring people they say have shoplifted from them. You know the ones. You go into the dairy and there's a mood board of dodgy-looking people in trackies, snapped by CCTV,...

The privacy commissioner has warned retailers like dairies not to put up walls of shame, photographs of shoplifters due to privacy risk and reputational harm - especially for children. 

Privacy commissioner Michael Webster explained to Heather du Plessis-Allan some of the potential concerns. 

"The first... is you could potentially break the law, the second, the wrong person could be identified." 

He says there a...

Medsafe has approved two New Zealand-based psychiatrists to begin prescribing ecstasy for patients who are resistant to normal medications. 

The psychiatrists will be able to provide pharmaceutical-grade MDMA to patients within their clinics, but not to take home. 

One of the psychiatrists permitted to prescribe the medication, Dr Gary Wynn, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss the treatment. 

"It seems to quie...

The controversial Lindsay Clancy trial has reached the jury deliberation stage with one juror preventing murder trial verdict. 

If the jury does not reach a verdict and the judge declares a mistrial, prosecutors will need to decide whether to retry the case.

"The prosecution is kind of in serious trouble at this point, and the best thing they can hope for is a mistrial if they're lucky," US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson told He...

ACT has announced their new transport infrastructure policy barring public art being funded from transport budgets, and requiring the “lowest-cost safe option” for new transport projects to be publicised alongside the preferred option.

The party gave examples, including the nearly $631,000 spent on a 12m-high sculpture at the Piarere roundabout on the Waikato Expressway.

ACT infrastructure spokesperson Simon Court told ...

Londoners are now able to hire driverless taxis, with  rides in Wayve’s autonomous vehicles available through the Uber app.

The chances of landing one will be slim at this stage, as there's only 15 vehicles so far licensed.

UK correspondent Enda Brady also revealed that the cars will come with a licensed human driver sitting in the front seat to take the controls if the need arises. 

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Long-term Government borrowing costs have hit significantly high levels all over the world, and experts are discussing the long-term implications of this.

The US, Japan, Germany and many other countries have reached the highest levels of Government debt in nearly two decades, inspiring economists to coin the term 'debt doom loop'.

Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further.

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