Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Donald Trump has once again extended the deadline to reach a trade deal with China. 

The deadline that was due to end today has now been pushed back by 3 months. 

Asia Business Correspondent Peter Lewis told Heather duPlessis-Allan that this extension is, ‘kicking the can down the road.’  

He says that the two countries' trade principles are making it harder to find a middle ground.

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Donald Trump is due to meet with Vladimir Putin at 7:30am NZST to discuss the war in Ukraine. 

This will be the first time the pair have met since Helsinki in 2018, and the first time the Russian President has visited the States in more than a decade. 

Marco Rubio’s former chief of staff and managing partner of Firehouse Strategies Matt Terrill told Heather duPlessis-Allan that this meeting is a ‘major step’ towards a cea...

Auckland council wants to go ahead with its plans to cut Takapuna Golf Course in half - turning it into a 9-hole course.

This plan will transform half of the club into a wetland to help with any future floods. 

Despite opposition from big-name members at the club such as Lydia Ko and Ryan Fox, alternative options to this plan have been rejected.

Takapuna Golf Club member Phil Jaggard says the club will, 'take a moment to diges...

Well, I don't know what kind of psychosis has taken hold of the bureaucrats at Health New Zealand, but you want to see these rules that they've put out about the food and what food is allowed and what food is banned from the hospital cafeterias. It is ridiculously, ridiculously prescriptive.

So what they've done is they, they, they put out, because they like wasting their time on nonsense, they've put out their new national food an...

Health New Zealand's changing up hospital cafe menus in the name of a good diet. 

Its fresh National Food and Drink policy reduces processed foods, and the portion sizes for things like slices and scones. 

Food will need lower saturated fats and added sugar - examples include skinless chicken and fish. 

Public Health Service Director Doctor Nick Chamberlain says it would be a bad look if hospitals didn't have healthy...

Stats NZ says food inflation was back up five-percent for the year to July.

The heftiest increases include butter rising 42-percent, cheese 29, and produce climbing more than seven.

Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says other essentials like milk, steak, and mince are also going up.

Olsen says food price inflation probably won't impact next week's Reserve Bank announcement, but it is uncomfortable for households. 

LI...

Rail Minister Winston Peters is disputing the reported final cost of dumping the mega-ferries project which sits at $671million dollars. 

Peters argues the 449-million for infrastructure, project management, and wind-down costs isn't all lost, with elements still being used. 

Settlement for cancelling the contract with a Hyundai shipyard for the two new inter-island ferries cost 144-million-dollars. 

It brings the to...

The government has begun looking in to allowing more foreign investors to by homes in New Zealand. 

Currently in discussion is the proposal to loosen the active investor visa and allow investors to purchase a property. 

Although discussion is in early days, ...

US President Donald Trump is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska tomorrow. 

This is the first time a Russian leader has been on US soil in more than a decade.  

Donald Trump has made it clear on many occasions that he wants to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. 

US Correspondent Jonathan Kearsley  told Heather duPlessis-Allan that, “He wants to be seen as a peacemaker president.”&nb...

The Justice Minister's promising the right to protest is being protected - as the Government moves to outlaw action outside people's homes.

Its new Bill would create a new offence for engaging in a targeted and disruptive demonstration outside a residence.

It would carry a maximum fine of two-thousand dollars, or three months in jail. 

Paul Goldsmith says New Zealanders value the right to protest, and also value privacy

He say...

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to have their summit soon, but experts have voiced concerns about what this could mean for Ukraine.

European leaders appeared cautiously optimistic after holding a virtual meeting with Trump ahead of the pair's meeting in Alaska, with the US President saying his goal was to obtain a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv.

UK correspondent Enda Brady unpacks the mood ahead of the...

Tonight on The Huddle, Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners and AUT Chancellor Rob Campbell joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

Israel has hit back at Chris Luxon's comment that Netanyahu has 'lost the plot'. What does this mean for the overall Gaza situation? 

Should the Royal Commission of Inquiry summons the ex-Ministers?

Do you think the teachers are misjudging the public mood with ...

Ōtorohanga mayor Max Baxter is set to wrap up his 12-year term, and he's gotten some criticisms in about central Government before the end.

Baxter says the rhetoric directed at local Government is doing 'way more harm than good' and more teamwork is needed.

"I think it's about time that central Government and local Government work together rather than throwing barbs at each other."

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I think what many of us are experiencing right now, re: Jacinda, Grant, Chippy and Ayesha not fronting publicly for the COVID inquiry is not disappointment, because disappointment requires us to have had a higher expectation of them.

And I don't think that we did, because I think we got the measure of these people a long time ago.

I think what we're experiencing right now is a sense of injustice, because these people had the power,...

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 14 August 2025, should the Royal Commission into Covid reconsider summonsing ex-Ministers Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins and co? Constitutional lawyer Graeme Edgeler reveals what he thinks could happen next.

Israel's deputy foreign Minister Sharren Haskel speaks to Heather about Chris Luxon's call that Netanyahu has 'lost the plot'.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell a...

There's no shortage of stories where customers go crazy for free giveaways at the supermarket - and one expert has revealed why this is the case.

Between coffee shops offering a free drink after you've bought 10 or beauty retailers handing out samples if you spend enough, research has explained this is all another marketing trick to hook people in.

University of Canterbury marketing professor Ekant Veer says people like to feel lik...