Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The North Island has been hit hard by record-breaking downpours over the last few days, and it's expected to leave an impact on the rural communities in those regions.  

Reports indicate livestock won't suffer too badly, but concerns have been raised over the roading damage, which will make it harder to move produce round the country. 

The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. 

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Tonight on The Huddle, journalist Clare de Lore and broadcaster Mark Sainsbury joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day -and more! 

Families of young children with cystic fibrosis are celebrating a Pharmac proposal to widen access to the drug Trikafta, which is out for consultation. How good is this?

Donald Trump has laid the groundwork or a future deal involving Greenland and dropped proposed tariffs on...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 22 January, 2026, we hear from a witness to the landslide at a Mt Maunganui campsite.

A father tells us what Pharmac funding for a cystic fibrosis drug will mean for his son.

Brad Olsen from Infometrics looks at whether the worst of the brain drain has passed.

And on The Huddle, Clare de Lore and Mark Sainsbury have a laugh about Donald Trump confusing Greenland ...

If you don't know him, Jamie Dimon is the boss of JP Morgan and quite a smart guy, obviously.

I've mentioned him a few times on this show because he's a good thinker - and says some pretty reasonable and practical things about big issues.

He's spoken about AI and reckons we need to slow down. If we don't slow down, society, he reckons, could tear itself apart. And he's not talking about in ten years. He's talking about soon.

In the...

Families of young children with cystic fibrosis are celebrating a Pharmac proposal to widen access to the drug Trikafta, which is out for consultation. 

It's been funded for children over 6 since 2023, but the agency's now proposing extending it to under-sixes.

Liam Rooney's child has cystic fibrosis and he says his family was looking for other ways to get it.  

"I'd already spoken to my boss over in Australia about the p...

There's signs the brain drain could be slowing, according to new reports.

A total of 67,800 citizens left the country in the year to November 2025, many for Australia - for a net loss topping 40,000.

In the year to the November before, the net migration loss of Kiwis reached almost 44,000.

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen says most trends have plateaued.

"Instead of seeing huge numbers of Kiwis that have continued to move out...

Donald Trump may have secured a diplomatic win, claiming he's laid the groundwork for a deal involving Greenland.

The US President's spoken at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland and held talks with NATO leaders.

He’s ruled out using military force to take the Arctic island and is dropping threats of slapping tariffs on NATO countries.

Marco Rubio's Former Chief of Staff, Matt Terrill, says more negotiations are expected - but ...

Authorities haven't tied down exact numbers of people missing, after the land gave way at Mount Maunganui's Beachside Holiday Park. 

The landslide took out tents, cars, caravans, a toilet block, and the hot pools about 9.30am this morning. 

The total unaccounted for is in single digits - including young people - with searchers including dog teams carefully probing the site.

The nearby Surf Club being used as an emergency ...

NZ First is starting the election on a high note, recording its best-ever result in the Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll out today.

The poll results, if reflected on election day, would see the current coalition Government re-elected, but National continues to trail Labour in the party vote.

The highest jump in the poll has been recorded by NZ First, who are up 3.8 points to 11.9 percent - its highest-ever result since the poll began in...

Over in Australia, today has been marked as a National Day of Mourning for the victims of December's Bondi terror attack.

The Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales are expected to illuminate national institutions on Thursday night as 'symbols of light' this evening.

Australians have also been asked to mark a minute's silence to honour those who were killed in the attack.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Prime Mi...

A witness has described a loud cracking sound as a massive landslide slumped across Mount Maunganui’s Beachside Holiday Park this morning, taking out tents, caravans, and a toilet block - and hitting the hot pool. 

Searches have continued all day - and fewer than 10 people remain unaccounted for, including young people.

Evacuees from the park gathered at the local surf club have now been moved, out of concerns the land could m...

Experts have indicated the Reserve Bank could be done cutting the OCR for the moment, and there's questions about what this could mean for homeowners.

The window of time borrowers had to lock in longer term fixed rates after the OCR cut and before they started rising was narrow, and reports indicate they could have missed their chance.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further.

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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!

We've finally got an election date - it's November 7th. Who do we think will win at this stage? Any other predictions? 

New data shows 65 percent of Kiwis want to ban under-16s from social media. Will this be a vote winner this election cy...

So we've got an election date, and it's the date pundits have been picking since late last year - November 7th.

This election is National's to lose. The only question really is how much influence ACT and or New Zealand First will have in any future Government.

Don't get me wrong - it'll be a close race.

Here's some easy picks - National will get more votes than Labour, New Zealand First will outperform ACT, New Zealand First will s...