Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The senior doctors’ union says the Health Minister's proposal of arbitration, would've taken away their members right to decide.

Simeon Brown wanted Health NZ and the union to let a third party decide the terms of the contract.

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists rejected this and called his proposal a breach of employment law.

Executive Director Sarah Dalton told Heather du Plessis Allan that there were a lot of unknow...

Green MP Benjamin Doyle's resignation from Parliament was inevitable.

That's according to former MP Peter Dunne - who says it's the right outcome for both Doyle and Parliament.

Doyle - who faced questions over controversial social media posts earlier this year - says they've faced an onslaught of hate and violent threats. 

Dunne says Doyle's made the right choice. 

He says it removes a distraction from Parliament and remo...

Better, faster, cheaper's the aim of the newly announced refresh to Auckland's transport governance.  

The government's introducing legislation to strip Auckland Transport of many of its powers - handing responsibility for major roads to Auckland Council, and local roads to community boards.  

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told Heather du Plessis-Allan the council should be able to make decisions, as going through Auckland T...

US President Donald Trump hosted a tech get-together with some of the biggest names in modern technology.  

The CEOs of ChatGPT, Google Facebook and Microsoft were all present at the high-profile dinner hosted by the President. 

Correspondent Jonathan Kearsley told Heather duPlessis-Allan that Trump’s former right-hand-man and CEO of Tesla Elon Musk was invited but did not attend.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.c...

A major study by Auckland University has found that playing high level rugby increases the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.

Former male high-level players in New Zealand face a 22% increased risk when compared to men in the general population.

NZ Rugby's General Manager Steve Lancaster told Heather duPlessis-Allan that, 'the research that's just been published actually makes it very clear that it doesn...

A Victoria University academic has apologised after making public comments suggesting dairy industry leaders should be hanged. 

Dr Mike Joy, a senior research fellow at the Wellington university and freshwater advocate, made a LinkedIn post suggesting the dairy industry was putting people at risk nitrate contamination of drinking and groundwater.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/list...

Tonight on The Huddle, broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

The Government has confirmed it aims to ramp up its deportation figures and deport more criminal residents. Does this go far enough? Do we support these changes?

Ikea is finally set to open in New Zealand this December. Are we going to go check it out?

Māori Par...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 4 September 2025, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford explains why the Government is looking to deport more immigrants who turn criminal.

Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche reveals whether he would consider axing the Ministry for Women.

All Blacks assistant coach Scotty Hansen admits that there are some nerves ahead of the big clash against the Springbok...

So I'm going to suggest that Erica Stanford is on the right track with wanting to make it easier to deport criminals, but maybe she doesn't go far enough.

So at the moment, the rules are that we cannot deport criminals if they've been here on a residence visa and they've been residents for more than 10 years.

An example of this is the Mama Hooch brothers. These guys are not Kiwis.

You know the ones I'm talking about, down in C...

There's been some new proposals regarding the future of housing density in Auckland, and it's prompted plenty of debate and discussion.

The draft plan would see more dense housing built around key transport hubs, like the new City Rail Link.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop says Auckland needs to allow for more housing, and there's a long-term plan in place for the city's future.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

The Public Service Commissioner says he doesn't want to see the public service slashed and burnt. 

Earlier this week, the New Zealand Initiative called for a culling of our 43 Government departments to just 20. 

Sir Brian Roche says everything's on the table - but the changes need to be measured. 

"The Initiative is one world view, I think these things have to evolve. I don't look at this being a big bang, we don't w...

Halfback Kyle Preston is poised for a test debut off the bench for the All Blacks against South Africa on Saturday at Eden Park in the Rugby Championship.

The Crusader's backing up Finlay Christie, who's been named to start with Cortez Ratima ruled out due to an injury.

All Blacks assistant coach Scotty Hansen says experts confirmed Ratima wasn't fit to play this time round.

"It wasn't an option this week to play him." 

LISTEN...

The Health Minister's admitting his decision to request Heath NZ and the senior doctors union go to arbitration is unusual. 

Heath NZ's agreed to participate in arbitration in an effort to resolve 12 months of collective agreement negotiations. 

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is yet to respond. 

Minister Simeon Brown says his request comes after the union indicated it's looking at striking.

"I guess ...

The Immigration Minister says changes to deportation laws were started because of the Mama Hooch rapists' case. 

Erica Stanford is proposing to make deportation possible for visa holders who've been here less than 20 years and also committed a serious crime. 

That's up from the existing 10 years - and could also apply to historic crimes. 
 
Stanford says Australian serial rapists Danny and Roberto Jaz curr...

The search for alleged cop-killer Dezi Freeman is still ongoing, but his wife is also the subject of an investigation as the situation continues.

Freeman is accused of gunning down two officers before disappearing into the bush, but authorities have evidence to prosecute the fugitive's wife, Amalia Freeman, for obstructing police at the time of the shooting.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Amalia Freeman and a 15-year-old...