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

July 31, 2025 6 mins

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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2025 is nearly halfway over - and it's been a memorable one for the markets so far.

Between new developments in AI, ongoing economic uncertainty and Donald Trump's string of tariff announcements, investors have had to contend with a lot of unique factors.

Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explains further - and reveals what investors can expect for the months ahead.

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The latest Farmer Confidence survey shows farmers are seeing one of the highest lifts in confidence in recent memory.

The July survey shows the rural mood has improved significantly this year, rebounding from record lows 12 months ago.

The Country's Hamish McKay explains further.

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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...

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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...

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July 31, 2025 100 mins

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Oil and gas exploration is once again allowed in New Zealand.

Coalition parties voted to overturn the ban introduced by the previous Government to strong resistance from all opposition parties.

Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls wonders what this means for investors - and if they'll want to commit to New Zealand.

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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...

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The Black Caps are in danger of missing out on competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

It’s understood the International Cricket Council has opted to use a regional qualifying format to select the six teams to contest the men’s T20 tournament.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains why the side may not make the cut.

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The Government's keeping tabs on how much councils are spending and where the money's going.

Yearly performance metrics are out for each council, showing rates rises, revenue, debt levels, expenditure, and whether the budget's balanced.

Monitoring comes as the Government considers a rates cap.

Horowhenua mayor Bernie Wanden says successive years of underfunding and borrowing has contributed to the region's notable debt levels.

"Obv...

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The UK and France both vowed to recognise Palestine as a state if Israel doesn't agree to a ceasefire, but Israel has voiced opposition to this proposal.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has accused UK PM Keir Starmer of 'appeasement' following the announcement.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Starmer remains committed to the move.

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The Government has given the green light to a partial privatisation for KiwiBank.

The bank now has the opportunity to raise up to $500 million from investors. 

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains the deal further.

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After years of a historically strong labour market, there are now growing signs of softening beneath the surface.

Work opportunities in the US are dwindling amid ongoing economic uncertainty, with the Trump administration's policies contributing to high unemployment figures.

Milford Asset Management expert Brendan Larsen explains further.

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Tonight on The Huddle, journalist Clare de Lore 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!

The UK is threatening Israel with recognising the state of Palestine if it doesn't agree to a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Is this a terrible bargaining chip - or you do what you've got to do?

Australia wants to ban under-16s from using YouTube off the back of t...

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You know that story about the gang numbers cracking the 10,000 mark? That's classic gotcha politics, isn't it?

It doesn't count when the number is 9,999, but once it hits 10,000 - or in this case, 10,009 - it's a thing, and it's the Government's fault.

Is it the Government's fault though? I mean, should we actually be angry at Mark Mitchell for this one? I don't think so.

I think that what we're seeing right now is the re...

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