Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

NZ on Air has its fingers crossed its financial support of Shortland St won't be forever. 

New Zealand's longest-running drama's been granted 2.5 million in funding for its 2026 season, to help the show transition to the audience's preference of online viewing. 

NZ on Air CEO Cam Harland told Heather du Plessis-Allan that they also provided funding last year, but hoped it would assist the show moving to a more financially...

New South Wales is celebrating its new programme - poaching cops from other states - and abroad. 

21 experienced, poached, officers are graduating in the Australian state today - seven of them from New Zealand. 

The New South Wales Police Minister, Yasmin Catley, is attributing it to a historic pay rise last year - making them the best paid officers in Australia. 

Catley told Heather du Plessis-Allan she makes no apo...

So, was our government too relaxed about the tariffs then?  

Cause this is a shock today – isn't it? To find out that we’ve just been bumped up to 15% while Australia and dozens of other countries have stayed on 10%. 

Now, it seems to be related, most likely, to our balance of trade and that the US has a trade deficit with us. So we get 15%, but then a trade surplus with Australia, so they get 10%. So perhaps it was inevi...

The Trade Minister's hitting the phones, as it's confirmed US tariffs on New Zealand will be higher than when they were first announced.

The Trump administration has confirmed base tariffs will now be 15 percent -- up from 10, in a decision that impacts countries including New Zealand.

It's believed the new rate applies to those with a trade deficit with the US.

Todd McClay told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he's seeking an urgent ...

New Zealand is facing a shortage of school board members, as only 60% of the 10,000 required spots have been filled. 

School Board Association President Meredith Kennett says that it’s up to community members to get involved. 

She told Heather duPlessis-Allan that, ‘it's important that communities continue to get engaged in their school.’ 

Although the numbers look sub-par now, Kennett says she is expecting a boost i...

President Donald Trump's flown back to the US after a brief visit to Scotland, but he's revealed he's not done with the region just yet.

Trump expressed interest in leading Scotland after he's done with America - and said Scotland was full of 'fine people'.

UK correspondent Enda Brady says it's important not to underestimate Trump - given how the last 8-9 years have panned out.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Tim Wilson from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  

Did Emergency Management go overboard with their alerts regarding the tsunami? Or is it better to be safe than sorry?  

The Chief of Navy has ordered Kiwi sailors to stop drinking irresponsibly, saying alcohol substance misuse is undermining the organi...

An Auckland company is part of a consortium which has secured nearly $18 million in UK Government funding to help Jaguar Land Rover recycle old EV batteries.

Mint Innovation, along with LiBatt Recycling and Warwick University, will help develop technology to extract lithium, nickel and cobalt from used batteries.

Mint Innovation CEO Dr Will Barker says the company is scaling to be one of the leaders in recovering valuable metal fro...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 31 July 2025, Civil Defence Director John Price has defended emergency warnings sent out across the country - and says there continues to be a tsunami risk.

Minister for Defence and Intelligence, Judith Collins, explains why the FBI is opening its own office in Wellington.

Oil and gas exploration has been officially unbanned - Energy Resources Aotearoa is hopeful...

So the national emergency alarm that bugged a nation was the big talking point in New Zealand today.

There's a million stories about the alarm, and here's mine: 

The first alarm yesterday afternoon at 4:30pm I welcomed. I'd been out and about and didn't know about the Russian earthquake. So I looked up the story and quickly ascertained there were hours before this could become a problem.

This was important because my partner w...

The Government crossed the final hurdle of overturning the oil and gas exploration ban as of today.

The bill passed 68 votes to 54, with all coalition parties in support and the opposition parties opposed.

Energy Resources Aotearoa CEO John Carnegie has voiced support for this change.

"We've all felt the effect of an energy shortage over the last couple of years - in terms of the threat of electricity blackouts, factory closures an...

A former Defence Minister is commending the Navy Chief's stance on irresponsible drinking.

A directive from Rear Admiral Garin Golding points to multiple alcohol-related incidents in the past month at various levels, domestically and internationally.

It says alcohol undermines health, wellbeing and decision-making across the Navy.

Current Defence Minister Judith Collins says no Chief should have to deal with it.

Wayne Mapp says thi...

There's a new strengthening of the partnership between our police and security agencies and the FBI.

The bureau is opening a stand alone office in Wellington, meaning they're established in all Five Eyes countries.

Minister for Defence, SIS and GCSB Judith Collins says it will work on combating terrorism, organised crime, and foreign intelligence threats.

"Whether it's people trafficking fentanyl, which is a big focus at the moment...

The cautionary handling of the effects of Russia's earthquake, which triggered tsunami phone alerts and some coastal evacuation, has been further explained.

The 8.8 magnitude quake shunted tsunami waves across the Pacific - the largest to hit our shores, landing on the Chatham Islands at 51 centimetres. 

Unpredictable currents are expected to continue until tomorrow. 

Civil Defence Director John Price says precautions are...

Australia's parliament on Thursday passed a law to cut student loans by 20 percent - removing over AU$16 billion in debt for 3 million people.

During this year's election, Labor made cutting student debt a key election promise, framing it as a measure to ease living costs and tackle intergenerational inequality.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds explained that the student loan cuts weren't just for degree holders, but trade stud...