Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

OK, quick quiz for you.

Think of the Labour Party.

Who is the climate spokesperson?

Yeah, no, you didn't get it right because it's Deborah Russell.

I know.

I didn't think it was that either.

I didn't know it.

And you know what, it's my job to know this kind of stuff.

But to be fair to me, in the entirety of this year thus far, Deborah has only put out 3 press releases on the climate and the third one was today.

And guess what it wa...

A shareholder vote to approve a takeover bid for Comvita has not gathered enough votes to proceed.  

The bid from Florence to buy Comvita at 80 cents a share required 75% support from shareholders to go through.  

Although the official vote count has not been released, we know that the numbers fall short of the margin.  

Octagon Chief Investment Officer Paul Robertshawe told Heather duPlessis-Allan that anything is p...

Whitcoulls is being accused of censorship and moral panic - because it's hiding a literary journal with risqué content. 

Copies of Folly Journal have been pulled off Whitcoulls shelves around the country and are now only offered when customers ask for it.

Editor and Founder of Folly Journal Emily Broadmore told Heather duPlessis-Allan that Whitcoulls hasn't explained specifically why their books have been removed from stores.&...

An Auckland retirement village is looking to ban electric vehicles because of safety.

Forty-seven residents at Fairview Lifestyle Village in Albany have got into a row with management over the decision.

One resident told our newsroom the village claims EV's are a fire risk.

Drive Electric chair Kirstin Corson told Heather Du Plessis-Allan that it's completely unreasonable.

She says EV's are 25 percent less likely to catch fire than...

The Retirement Commission's calling on leaders to strengthen our retirement income system while we can.

It's retirement income policy review's found a longer-term political focus is needed to ensure future generations' certainty. 

It makes 12 recommendations, from moving more quickly to implement Kiwisaver reforms to harder strategies such as a new cross-party accord. 

Commissioner Jane Wrightson says this issue should be...

Labour's climate spokesperson says she's attending the UN's annual climate summit to become better informed. 

Deborah Russell will join Climate Change Minister Simon Watts and a New Zealand delegation at COP30 in Brazil. 

Climate scientists have warned the world's likely to blow past 1.5 degrees of warming. 

Russell says we'll be faced with absolute disaster if we can't pull this back somehow. 

She told Heather ...

Te Pati Māori has had an eventful week, with two prominent MPs being ousted from the party.  

Party leader John Tamihere said that this was done to prevent an internal coup – however that may not be the case.  

Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper told Heather duPlessis-Allan that a, “attempted takeover of the party's leadership was a made-up story.” 

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A law group wants to see a culture shift at Police - while also welcoming an Inspector-General.

The new position was announced, in response to a scathing IPCA report.

It identified a number of issues around how Police's senior leadership team failed to deal with complaints about then-Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming in a timely and respectful manner.

Defence Lawyers' Association co-Chair Elizabeth Hall told Heather du Plessis-A...

Over in the UK, there's reports of dissatisfaction in the political ranks.

There are fears from those loyal to Sir Keir Starmer that his job might be under immediate threat, with rumours circulating the Labour leader might be rolled. 

UK correspondent Enda Brady says Labour's popularity has taken a hit in new polls and concerns are mounting ahead of the upcoming Budget.

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So it turns out the woman with whom Jevon McSkimming had an affair, whose warnings police ignored and who police charged instead of investigating McSkimming, is still facing charges.

This is the news today. And the police are having to defend this.

Now, the charges don't relate to messages that she sent about McSkimming. Those charges have been dropped. They relate to messages that she allegedly sent to another policeman - the offi...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 13 November 2025, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers defends the decision to continue prosecuting the woman at the centre of the McSkimming saga.

Teacher unions and their ongoing strikes have been blamed for dropping attendance rates - but Cathy Chalmers from the Manurewa Attendance Service says parents very much have their part to play.

The US shutdown may be ...

Tonight on The Huddle, Brigitte Morton from Franks Ogilvie and former mayor of Auckland Phil Goff joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

Is it in the public interest to pursue charges against the woman at the centre of the McSkimming saga? She's charged under the Harmful Digital Communications Act for sending emails to the detective who arrested her. What do we make of all this? 

David Seym...

The Government says it will act on all 19 recommendations from Parliament’s banking inquiry - and it's committed to increasing scrutiny around the banking sector.

This comes as Westpac and ANZ report significant increases in profit, prompting concern from experts.

Kent Duston from the Banking Reform Coalition says the proposed changes make good steps forward, but it's unclear how much of a difference they will make.

"I think the bi...

The White House is staying firm the President had no involvement in wrongdoing, with the fresh release of emails written by deceased sex offender and child sex procurer Jeffrey Epstein.

House Oversight Committee Democrats have released a 2011 email saying Donald Trump spent hours at Epstein's house with a victim. 

Another email calls Trump 'the dog that hasn't barked'  - and say he told Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwe...

An attendance expert says David Seymour's disingenuous to blame attendance numbers on striking teachers. 

He's claiming their industrial action meant term three attendance dropped year on year.

He says it was on track for 52 percent attendance, but ended closer to 50.

Manurewa Attendance Service head Cathy Chalmers says attendance on those days isn't recorded - and numbers usually slip at the end of term.

"Historically, that l...

The Police Commissioner's instructed specialist investigators to see whether the McSkimming scandal amounts to a perversion of justice.

Fallout continues from revelations in an IPCA report that's found senior police staff inadequately managed serious allegations against former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.

Harassment charges against the complainant have been dropped, but she's still being prosecuted for emails sent to the l...

The White House says Democrats are pulling a manufactured hoax following the release of emails by late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, mentioning Donald Trump.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released three email exchanges, followed by the release of 20-thousand pages of documents by Republicans.

One email from 2011 claims the US President spent hours at Epstein's house with an unnamed victim.

Newstalk ZB senior polit...