Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Episodes

August 13, 2025 4 mins

The number of migrants to cross the English Channel in small boats since the Labour party came to power 13 months ago is expected to have reached 50,000. 

The Government says it’s an 'unacceptable number of people' but pointed to the 'one in, one out' returns deal with France as a deterrent.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says opposition MPs have been quick to accuse the Government of 'surrendering the borders'.

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The Reserve Bank is moving to cut 20 percent of its staff in a bid to unwind the hiring spree by former Governor Adrian Orr.

The restructure will see the net reduction on 142 roles, including 35 vacant positions.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains further.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson 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! 

Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson have all declined to be interviewed publicly by the Covid inquiry. Should they have fronted?

Did Chlöe Swarbrick deserve to get booted out of Parliament today? Should she have apologised? Wh...

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US inflation held steady in July, with consumer prices rising 2.7 percent - depite the ongoing concerns around import tariffs.

Figures are better than economists feared, but underlying pressures make the Federal Reserve's next move unclear.

Milford Asset Management's Michael Luke explained further.

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Unionised secondary teachers who say kids' needs aren't being met in school will strike next week, nationwide.

They'll step away from the job next Wednesday after rejecting a three percent pay increase over three years.

The PPTA says experienced teachers will be crucial to successfully rolling out proposed Government NCEA reforms.

President Chris Abercrombie says the teachers introduced a counter-offer, but it's up to the Governmen...

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I can't blame you if your assessment of Parliament today is that it's become a circus, because what happened today is kind of hard to defend or even explain.

Chlöe was kicked out, Brownlee suspended her for a week and all of the Government parties voted for that punishment - and that includes New Zealand First, before Winston Peters then got up to tell Jerry Brownlee that the punishment wasn't fair, even though he just voted for th...

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August 13, 2025 100 mins

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 13 August 2025, Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins and other former Labour Ministers have declined to give evidence at a public Covid inquiry. National's Chris Bishop says it's "disgraceful".

Drama in Parliament, with Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick kicked out of the House for the second day in a row. Former Speaker Sir David Carter says Gerry Brownlee is right to c...

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Education Minister Erica Stanford has received some backlash by excluding most Māori words from five-year-olds' school phonics books.

A Ministry of Education report shows Stanford decided to exclude all Māori kupu - except characters' names - last year, out of concern it would confuse children.

Canterbury University's professor Gail Gillon helped develop the phonics readers.

She says confusion doesn't appear to be an issue. 

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New Zealand Embassy staff have made contact with Sarah Shaw - the Kiwi woman being detained along with her son at a US immigration facility.

The pair were detained on the Canadian border three weeks ago.

Shaw's lawyer Minda Thorward says she's using every legal process she can to get the pair out - but it's ultimately up to DHS.

"We're hoping that they're just going to release her and her son later this week - although they may sti...

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Current and former Labour leaders and ministers deciding not to appear at the Royal Commission's Covid inquiry is being described as 'disgraceful'. 

Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson and Ayesha Verrall, who were all involved in Covid decisions - have declined invitations to appear. 

They say it would have been performative - not informative - and there's a risk livestream recordings could be manipulated and m...

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There was drama and controversy in the House today, after Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick doubled down and refused to apologise for saying MPs with spines would act on Gaza.

Swarbrick has since been booted from Parliament for not apologising.

Former Speaker Sir David Carter says he should have asked Prime Minister John Key to withdraw - when he told the Opposition to 'get some guts' in 2015.

"In hindsight, when you get a chance to...

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There was drama in Parliament today after Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick doubled down and refused to apologise for comments made yesterday.

She was kicked out of the House for again not apologising for saying Government MPs with a spine should support sanctioning Israel more over Gaza.

She was 'named', which means her pay will be docked.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says everyone's talking about Chlöe Sw...

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There's uncertainty over how Donald Trump's dialling up of law enforcement in Washington DC will play out. 

The President has placed the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control, and has deployed roughly 800 National Guards.

US correspondent Jonathan Kearsley says local authorities have claimed Trump's measures to crack down on crime in DC aren't necessary - and that violent crime is at a 30-year low.

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The Warriors have re-signed Te Maire Martin for the 2026 season, ending speculation on his future at the NRL club.

Martin had been shaping for a move away from the Warriors earlier in the year, but has proven invaluable in recent times as a 'Fix-it man' in the side ravaged by injuries.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further.

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There's growing calls among Auckland business leaders to get the city's economy going again.

According to the latest Stats NZ data, Auckland’s 6.1 percent unemployment rate for the June 2025 quarter was the highest of any region and above the national rate of 5.2 percent.

Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck says the Government needs to find a solution to get the city moving again.

"We're talking to people on the street, busi...

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US Vice President JD Vance and his family have taken a trip to the Cotswolds - and his extensive security detail have raised some eyebrows among the locals.

The 20-vehicle convoy has prompted some backlash from the residents.

UK correspondent Enda Brady explains further.

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Tonight on The Huddle, former Green MP Gareth Hughes and Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! 

Minister Shane Jones is looking into rationing gas - do we think this is a realistic idea?

Do we need to recognise the state of Palestine now - or is the Government right to wait?

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Meat processor Alliance Group says Dawn Meats is lining up to pay $250 million for a 65 percent stake in the meat co-op.

Alliance, a farmer-owned co-operative and New Zealand’s biggest sheep meat exporter, said the deal would give it an enterprise value of $502 million.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further.

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Spark New Zealand is selling 75 percent of its data centre business for about half a billion dollars.

Australian-owned Pacific Equity Partners is taking the controlling share of the $705-million-dollar business.

Spark will move its data centre assets and operations into a new stand-alone company.

Devon Funds Head of Retail Greg Smith explains what this could mean for the business.

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August 12, 2025 100 mins

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 12 August 2025, is the Government about to ration our gas usage? Resources Minister Shane Jones speaks to Heather.

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour explains why the Government is taking its time before it recognises Palestine as a state.

There are calls to urgently help a Kiwi mum and her son who have been held in US immigration detention for almost three weeks...

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