Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

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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.

  1. 4 HRS AGO

    Enda Brady: UK correspondent on the second Tube strike set to impact London commuters

    Commuters in London face more disruption as a second 24-hour Tube strike starts later this week. No further talks have taken place to settle the dispute and drivers in the RMT union are set to continue industrial action. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this is likely to frustrate commuters.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    2 min

  2. 4 HRS AGO

    Jamie Mackay: The Country host on Victorian Hydrogen proposing a $3 billion urea plant in Southland

    Victorian Hydrogen is proposing a $3 billion urea plant to be located 30km northeast of Invercargill. The company says it could deliver 1.5 million tonnes a year of urea fertiliser (using 3 million tonnes of lignite), making New Zealand's agricultural sector fully self sufficient. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    3 min

  3. 4 HRS AGO

    David Seymour: ACT leader explains why planned increase in fuel taxes should go ahead

    ACT leader David Seymour says the Government should stick to a planned increase to petrol taxes, despite the Middle East conflict driving up fuel prices.  Transport Minister Chris Bishop has claimed it's 'unlikely' the taxes will go up by the planned 12 cents per litre early next year. David Seymour says no one knows what the fuel prices will be like by 2027 - and we shouldn't cancel the increase as a result. "The roads do need to be built, they do need to be maintained and the National Land Transport Fund is actually not funded by taxpayers, it's exclusively funded by road user charges and the excise tax on petrol."  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    6 min

  4. 4 HRS AGO

    The Huddle: Were the comments about Nicola Willis out of line?

    Tonight on The Huddle, Tō Waha Media's Carmen Parahi and Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! The spike in fuel thefts has lead to police encouraging petrol stations to utilise pre-pay in order to bring crime down. Do we think this is a good idea? Chris Hipkins has apologised after making a comment Nicola Willis took objection to. Do we think this was out of line?  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    12 min
  5. Full Show Podcast: 23 April 2026

    4 HRS AGO

    Full Show Podcast: 23 April 2026

    On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 23 April, 2026, Chris Hipkins tells us why Labour took so long to back the India free trade agreement. We talk to ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar about a haka by a former Te Pati Maori president that's been called anti-Indian. We get expert advice on "poo taboo" - children who avoid going to the toilet at school. And on The Huddle, Carmen Parahi and Jordan Williams on whether comments by politicians about Nicola Willis' weight loss is unfair. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 41m

  6. 5 HRS AGO

    Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Labour had no other direction to go on the India FTA

    What a surprise, Labour has agreed to support the India free trade agreement - although it wasn’t really a surprise when it was announced today. I told you last week it would happen this week and Labour would give it the green light because there was really no other way for them to go. If Labour had said no and blocked the agreement, they would have been accused of stopping New Zealand businesses - like apple growers - from making money that is effectively there for the taking. I think Labour simply dragged this out for political reasons. Saying yes straight away would have meant acknowledging they liked what Todd McClay and National had done. Instead, they dragged it out, looked like they were agonising over the decision and pretended they improved the deal by getting National to hire 14 more inspectors to focus on migrant worker exploitation. All of that was done to give the impression the deal isn’t actually as good as it seems, while still saying yes so businesses can benefit from it. And let me remind you: this is an incredible accomplishment when you think about it. Remember when Chris Luxon said during the 2023 election that he wanted this deal signed in his first term? He was poo-pooed for dreaming. Ambitious, yes. Likely, no. And yet here we are. Todd McClay - a trade minister who keeps knocking it out of the park with the Gulf States FTA and the United Arab Emirates FTA - has done it again. Even more impressively this time because this is India. A huge market and New Zealand has just secured access. And by the way, who do you think was more painful for McClay to negotiate with - the Indians or Labour? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    2 min

  7. 5 HRS AGO

    Nicola Willis: Finance Minister on Moody's credit rating agency downgrading outlook for New Zealand

    The Finance Minister says politicians should see our downgraded Moody's economic outlook as a wake-up-call, as she pieces together her Budget. The rating agency's moved our designation from stable to negative, but reaffirmed our triple A credit rating. Nicola Willis says she's got a clear set of goals for the 2026 Budget - and she's committed to sticking with them even during the ongoing crisis. "The most urgent thing I'm having to do, pretty much every day at the moment, is say no to spending more...many New Zealanders are saying cut the petrol tax, do this for us, do that for us - I get it."  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    7 min

  8. 5 HRS AGO

    Tusha Penny: Police Assistant Commissioner on the rise in fuel thefts

    Police are urging petrol stations to switch to pre-pay only, to stop people stealing fuel. Fuel app Gaspy is pricing 91 at an average $3.28 a litre today, with diesel sitting on $3.44.  Police say they're being called to about 100 more thefts every week, since the fuel crisis began.   Assistant Commissioner Tusha Penny says recently, diesel thefts from rural properties have been rising.  "At the beginning of March, it was probably around 20 per week we were looking at, and as of April, we're looking at 50 offences per week - that's a significant increase."  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    3 min
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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.

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