Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

A flurry of action has occurred over Wellington mayoral hopeful Ray Chung's campaign. Three council candidates aligned with his ticket, Independent Together, have dropped out in just three days. This follows criticism of an email Chung wrote, containing salacious rumours about the city's Mayor. He's since apologised. But Alistair Boyce from campaign group Better Wellington is standing by him. He told Ryan Bridge he doesn't expect anyone else will leave, and they're all strong and ready for the fight. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A recent survey has revealed that Kiwis are more nosy in open homes than many would expect.   The survey found that 72% of participants admitted to snooping through wardrobes, and 69% confessed to looking through drawers and cupboards.  Despite this, real estate agent and Location, Location, Location host Jayne Kiely told Ryan Bridges that she’s never had a missing item reported from an open home.  ‘11 years I’ve been selling, I have not had one item stolen or moved’  LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Education Minister is promising a school property agency (taking over management from the Ministry of Education) will pay for itself. Erica Stanford says using offsite manufacturing and repeatable designs from now, is reducing class build costs. She's announced plans for 137 new schoolrooms in Auckland. Stanford told Ryan Bridge cost efficiencies will pay for the new property agency. Stanford's also today announced plans to build 137 classrooms across 24 Auckland schools.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump is now asking for some of the Epstein documents to be released.  The President, who earlier this week was calling for people to forget about the files, has now changed his approach to the situation.   US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson told Ryan Bridge, ‘I think he wants to try and get ahead of this, even though he has been trying to divert attention from it.’   These documents are suspected of containing important information about the identities of some of Jeffery Epstein’s clients.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A legal battle has swayed in media's favour - now allowed to report child sex exploitation and bestiality imagery were allegedly discovered on work devices of former Police Deputy Commissioner, Jevon McSkimming.  They were allegedly found while he was under a separate criminal investigation, the details of which can't be legally reported.  He resigned suddenly in May after being suspended on full pay since December.   The Herald's Jared Savage told Ryan Bridge details had to be kept secret after McSkimming's lawyer filed an urgent application in the High Court.  He says media organisations banded together to successfully challenge the injunction stopping reporting on the nature of the material.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Police Minister is defending the focus of a new anti-corruption taskforce. The Serious Fraud Office will aim to understand threats to the public sector. The six-month pilot will be limited to six Government agencies -  Inland Revenue, ACC, Corrections, MSD, Land Information NZ, and Sport NZ.  Mark Mitchell told Ryan Bridge that globally, some of the biggest recent corruption issues - relate to sporting codes.  He wants to ensure there's best practice to maintains the country's low-corruption reputation.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will welcome Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, to the UK to sign a new bilateral defence treaty. The treaty promises tighter action on smuggling gangs, expanded defence exports and closer industrial ties between both regions. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this treaty sends a clear message to Russia amid escalating global tensions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, former Green MP Gareth Hughes and lawyer and political commentator Liam Hehir joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Oranga Tamariki won't publish the reoffending rates of future youth bootcamp participants. Shouldn't we know those rates to know whether the camps are working? Scientists have warned campylobacter is on the rise, and want warning labels on chicken. What do we make of this? With all the discussion on rates caps, do we also need to think about a cap for tax rise too? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US earnings season for the second quarter is under way - and one expert has revealed what this means for American households. Recent data shows households are staying resilient, and there's no sign of a recession as of yet. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite the current geopolitical environment, product prices have strongly recovered from their lows of the past couple of seasons as demand returned from key export markets. Experts claim tighter global production has contributed to improved demand for meat products. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 17 July 2025, shocker price hike. Food prices have gone up by 4.6 percent. Economist Brad Olsen says the cost of some food groups including mince makes for grim shopping. Scientists are warning of the huge rise of people getting hospitalised for campylobacter. But Food Safety's Vincent Arbuckle says the researchers are scaremongering and people are well aware of the dangers of raw chicken. Green MP Tamatha Paul makes her debut on Drive, saying Oranga Tamariki is refusing to publish reoffending rates for boot camp participants to hide its failure. Plus, with all the talk about rates caps - the Huddle debates whether we should also have a cap for tax rises. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hunt is on for New Zealand's next big new start-up. Icehouse Ventures recently opened a $30 million seed round in an attempt to fund 30 new Kiwi-made business ventures. CEO Robbie Paul says they're looking to invest in new technology that can go from New Zealand to the world. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How many times have you heard the Prime Minister say this Government is different because it will set targets, track progress and be open about its actual results? That's how we're going to get back on track, that's what we've heard from National so many times. And what's more important than turning around education and getting on top of youth crime? Not much. Which is why they've got charter schools and bootcamps. Everybody said 'yep', those kids need sorting out in the case of bootcamps - or those kids deserve more choice in the case of charter schools. But now this week, we’ve heard from the agencies involved in these programmes and they've decided they won't be telling the public how many students are enrolled at the new charter schools. And in the bootcamps- they won’t talk about how many of the kids are re-offending. They’ve given various excuses for this, but none of them stack up. They reckon telling the public general details, no specifics or names, about youth re-offending is potentially harmful to vulnerable kids - which sounds very cotton-wool, wraparound luvvie Labour for the the big game this Government talked, don't you think? The fact is, people can’t trust a system or a programme they know nothing about. When you're not totally upfront about the results, it looks like you're trying to hide something. And you only hide news when it’s bad. So either they know charter schools and boot camps are a bad idea, which I doubt, otherwise why would you do them? Or -they’re scared of failure on key programmes a year out from the election. Here’s some free advice: give us the truth and let us make up our own minds. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks selectors have rung 10 changes to the starting XV for Saturday's third and final test against France in Hamilton. Ethan de Groot, Fabian Holland, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea and Rieko Ioane are the only players remaining from the last run-on side. Samisoni Taukei’aho, Tyrel Lomax, Samipeni Finau and Luke Jacobson come into the starting pack. The backline changes includes promotions for Cortez Ratima, Damian McKenzie, Quinn Tupaea, Anton Lienert-Brown, Sevu Reece and Ruben Love. All Blacks assistant coach Jason Holland says it's important to make changes - and he's expecting the squad to deliver a solid performance against the French. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pressure's on Oranga Tamariki - as it announces it won't release more details around bootcamp reoffending. The Ministry for Children initially confirmed teens in the pilot military-style academy programme had offended again. It's since said releasing information could've been harmful to those involved. Green MP Tamatha Paul says the agency is shifting the goalposts. "That is one of the measures of success for the pilot, so I think it's really important that we do know." Paul claims Oranga Tamariki doesn't want to publish the data because the programme's been a failure. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Households are still finding it tough to pay for the basics, with high prices not easing yet.  Stats NZ has revealed the cost of food rose 4.6 percent in the 12 months to June. It's largely driven by double-digit increases for products like red meat, cheese and milk Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen says the general economy is still experiencing intense price pressure and weakness - which isn't comforting. "Mince prices are now hitting nearly $22 a kilo. You can't even have a cheap mince meal at a cheap price." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Food Safety New Zealand says a study of campylobacter infection rates is unnecessarily alarmist. The Public Health Communication Centre claims more than 10 percent of the population contracted the infection from eating chicken in the past few years. It suggests it's caused 9000 hospitalisations, and at least 60 deaths since 2008.  Food Safety NZ's Vincent Arbuckle says the numbers are way off.  "Every time there's a death, the clinician has to determine the primary cause and that goes on record - and the primary cause has been only three cases." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour's urging councils to axe what he calls 'puppy dogs and ice cream'. The Deputy Prime Minister's adding to the coalition's call for councils to focus on basic, core services - and ditch 'nice-to-have' projects. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained why David Seymour's speech was so controversial. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Qantas has filed court action in a bid to stop the compromised data of millions of customers being accessed or released following a recent cyber attack. The accounts of 5.7 million Qantas customers were compromised in a data breach at the end of June, with millions of phone numbers, addresses and dates of birth caught up in the leak. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says the airline is trying to negotiate with the hackers before the information gets shared on the dark web. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concern in the All Blacks camp over a hand injury to first five Beauden Barrett. While Barrett was unlikely to start in the third and final test against France in Hamilton on Saturday, he's been ruled out entirely after suffering the damage in training. Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retail NZ is criticising the Commerce Commission's regulatory change to card payment fees. The Commission today announced new regulations on interchange fees, reducing charges to businesses for taking Visa and Mastercard payments. Retail NZ Chief Executive Carolyn Young says it's a complex issue - and these changes won't address everything. "This is one part of the merchant service fee, there's about 5 or 6 fees depending on how you structure your payment portfolio that may cut the merchant service fee. The Commerce Commission has said they won't get that fee down to one percent maximum." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of Afghans have moved to the UK under a secret scheme which was set up after a British official inadvertently leaked their data, according to new reports. In 2022, the personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan were leaked. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the name of the MoD leaker hasn't been unveiled, but it's prompted widespread backlash.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ANZ has declined a proposed settlement by lawyers leading a massive class action against the bank for giving customers the wrong information about their loans. The lawyers asked ANZ to agree to pay a penalty of up to $300 million, on top of the $35 million it has already paid more than 100,000 customers to compensate them for the error. ASB, which is also subject to the class action, is yet to respond to the proposal for it to also make a payment of up to $300 million. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ryman Healthcare's share price has gone up for the first half of July, leading experts to speculate about the company's future.  This follows a downturn from earlier in the year. Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 16 July 2025, open plan classrooms will no longer be built, the Education Minister says they lead to worse learning outcomes. Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney tells Ryan his school spent $1.5 million to put the walls back into its open-plan classrooms. The Local Government Minister has confirmed he wants a cap on council rates increases by the end of the year. Local Government boss Sam Broughton says caps are not the solution. Why does Labour think a new commissioner is the solution to NZ's modern day slavery? Camilla Belich explains. Plus, a DoC hunter tells Ryan how he found the kiwi pukupuku - the first sighting on the mainland in 50 years. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  Australia seems to have turned the corner on teenage vaping, with rates among young people dropping. Do we need to follow suit and crack down on vaping? Members of Local Government NZ have voted in favour of strong opposition to a rates cap. What do we make of this? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We owe our kids an apology. School students of all ages in this country have been used as guinea pigs in failed experiments that have been demonstrably bad for their learning. We've had two announcements from the Government this week that prove this. First, the latest NCEA maths results from low decile schools. They improved by around 70 percent. 19.8 percent passed the co-requisite test last year. In June it was 34 percent. This is, obviously, excellent news. Well done to those students for putting in the hard work. The begging question is why and how on earth did this happen? I asked both Erica Stanford and Chris Hipkins, the former Education Minister, this question. Both agreed it was a more relentless focus on the basics. Both agreed that teachers have been teaching too much 'fluffy' other stuff to students and their results in core subjects have been declining as a result. Both politicians blamed the other party for changing where the focus goes. And that's politics. But it's the students who've missed out. They're the ones who won't get those years back. They're the ones who've missed out. They're the ones who will pay the price in future for missing out on a basic education. And two, the open plan, barn-yard style classrooms - the home of distracted learning. The Government today announced they won't build any new ones. Which, again, is welcome news. But the question is - why any were built in the first place? The Key government built some and Labour carried on. All of this on the advice of boffins at the Ministry of Education who've clearly never stepped foot in an actual classroom. Now, the Minister says they've done some actual research and realised they're a terrible idea. This is how Erica Stanford politely described how schools are coping with these classes at present: "There are schools who still have them and they operate in them the best they possibly can. They have trained their teachers to work in them, they've got really good acoustics. They're teaching children at different levels, some on chairs, some on the floor to reduce the noise, and they're doing the best they can." I know, totally ridiculous. The reality is, we can't solely blame out kids for their failure to learn. We can also blame ill-informed or ideologically-driven experiments by the Ministry of Education, the unions and politicians. Whether it's the Ministry in Wellington, the unions or politicians, we can't solely blame our kids for their failure to learn. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The winter season means higher power bills will impact Kiwi households, but the Electricity Authority has promised changes are on the way. The nation's largest power companies will be required to offer 'time of use' plans that make it cheaper to use power at off-peak times. Electricity Authority Chair Anna Kominik says there's no silver bullet for bringing prices down, but these changes are important for the sector's future.  "Basically, we'll make sure that cheaper off-peak power and most New Zealand households can access a pricing plan that gives them a cheaper rate for electricity use during off-peak hours."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia may have turned a corner on youth vaping, according to new reports. A new study has found the country's rates have fallen among 14 to 17-year-olds, from 17.5 percent at the start of 2023 to 14.6 percent this April.  It's putting it down to banning disposable vapes last year.  Lead study investigator Becky Freeman says the rate's still worryingly high - but it seems to have peaked. "We're really pleased to see that our youngest teens are telling us that vaping is no longer the norm amongst their friends, they're not as curious about it as they were before."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's taken quick action on demands from thousands of Kiwi teens to counter modern slavery. The students today delivered letters to Parliament - written at World Vision NZ Youth Conferences and universities. Labour's Camilla Belich announced a draft bill today to set up an anti-slavery Commissioner. National put a similar bill to the ballot this year.  Belich says nothing currently addresses issues of modern slavery - so any start is a good one.  "There'll be a chance to see whether that Commissioner is effective in their role, and a chance to look at whether there's more that needs to be done in that space." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Open-plan classrooms will soon be a thing of the past, according to a new directive from the Government. Education Minister Erica Stanford's announced plans to build all new classrooms with standardised designs. Rangiora High School's already spent one and a half million dollars removing its open-plan style classes. Principal Bruce Kearney says it ended up being distracting. "They tend to be noisier, but it was also the combination of 60 kids, two teachers - the whole deal, really. It didn't really work out for us."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A rare little spotted kiwi has been spotted in the wild on the mainland for the first time in nearly 50 years.  The bird was seen in March in the remote Adams Wilderness Area on the West Coast. It's estimated only 2000 remain, and were thought to be only on offshore islands or in fenced predator-free sites. DoC diversity ranger Iain Graham discovered the bird - and says they're more vulnerable to predators than other kiwi species.  "It takes these guys a whole lot longer than our other kiwi species, it takes them up to two years to get to that stoat-proof weight, so they're vulnerable for a much longer period of time." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Johnson, the US Speaker of the House, has called for the Justice Department to release the files of deceased sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein. President Donald Trump has been facing increased backlash from fellow Republicans for not properly handling the case - which Trump campaigned on getting to the bottom of.  US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says the White House has been trying to shift public attention away from this case - but the division is making it hard to ignore.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More accusations are being slung across the House, with the Greens indicating it's the Government that's forcing people across the ditch. At today's Question Time, Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick asked the Prime Minister about the conditions making young Kiwis head to Australia. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says there's a number of factors behind the brain drain - and that many skilled workers are making their way into New Zealand. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sonny Bill Williams is over the chatter and is ready to let his hands do the talking in tonight's boxing bout against Paul Gallen in Sydney. It'll be the first time in three years either fighter has stepped inside the ring, with both acknowledging it's their final dance in the squared circle.  Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The head of a local Government lobby group has raised concerns about the Government's newest bill aimed at local councils. An amendment bill being moved through Parliament would require councils financially prioritise its core services.  The Government wants councils to give more value to ratepayers.  Local Government New Zealand President Sam Broughton says many people and councils want lower rates, but he's unsure if capping rates is the way to go. "Lower rates increases has got to be the aim, whether a rates cap is the right way to go about it  - and compromises will need to be made to get us there - it's up for debate." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Britain has lost more billionaires than any other nation over the past two years, and there's fears a tougher wealth tax could drive these figures up. New research has found the UK lost nearly a quarter of its billionaires between 2023 and 2024, with many of the UK's wealthiest individuals moving their tax residency to low-tax jurisdictions.  UK correspondent Enda Brady says many of these rich-listers have moved to places like Switzerland, Monaco and Dubai - which have far more favourable tax regimes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the summer barbecue season continues in the US, Americans are paying record-setting prices for their beef.  The price for New Zealand-produced beef has surged amid ongoing demand among US consumers. The Country's Jamie Mackay reveals what this news could mean for Kiwi farmers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research from the Financial Services Council reveals that New Zealanders are quick to insure their cars, homes, and gadgets - but they're far less likely to protect their health, income, and lives. The report, titled Money & You: Valuing Belongings Over Ourselves, shows New Zealanders are twice as likely to have car insurance over life or health insurance. FSC CEO Kirk Hope says expanding access to private insurance through workplace schemes would help improve coverage across the population."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Commerce Commission is taking Foodstuffs North Island and its subsidiary Gilmours Wholesale to court, citing what it labels 'cartel conduct'. The regulator has alleged that the retailers pressured a supplier into an agreement to redirect supply through them. Competition lawyer Andy Matthews says it's all allegations at this stage, but New Zealand has very 'broad' cartel laws. "What it means is - pretty much any agreement with an actual or potential competitor probably has a cartel provision. And it's up to the party who's entered into the alleged cartel provision to demonstrate an exception that the Commerce Act applies." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, former Labour Minister Stuart Nash and Tim Wilson from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!   David Seymour's rebuttal letter to the UN has ended in an awkward walkback after Prime Minister Chris Luxon told him off. What do we make of this? Australia is debating whether or not to put cancer warnings on alcoholic drinks. Do we need to follow their lead? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 15 July 2025, the Government is changing the law to force councils to focus on their core business. But the Minister for Local Government is struggling to explain to Ryan what councils have been doing that is nice-to-have. Former Australian ambassador to Russia, Peter Tesch, is not convinced that Donald Trump's ultimatum to Vladimir Putin will actually lead to peace in Ukraine. Deputy PM David Seymour has been reminded by the Prime Minister who is in charge of foreign affairs - and that's Winston Peters! Seymour tells Ryan he was just overeager to get his response to the UN in the mail. Plus, the Huddle debates whether cancer warnings on alcohol would make a difference. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's introduced a bill today to get local Government back focused on the basics. But the fact they've strayed so far from potholes, rubbish and waste water is as much our fault as the councillors and mayors running the budgets. The Government's bill contains the wildly controversial stuff like: "Prioritising core services when managing finances and setting rates." And "new financial performance measures for councils, with a requirement for regular public reporting." How scandalous. Honestly. We shouldn't need central Government to spend time and money clarifying such simple principles to their local Government counterparts, but it's 2025, and here we are. We shouldn't need a bill to stop wasteful spending. We just need more Andrew Tripes. He's the Whanganui mayor overseeing a 2.2 percent rate increase this year. Much less than the average 8.7 percent across the country. He went on RNZ this morning and basically said it how it really is. If you want low rates, spend less, save money, have a plan. And stick to it. Like Dave Latele, he says: No excuses. He cut the naff curb-side food waste bin nonsense. That saved them 1.1 percent. Why has Auckland kept its scheme when most don't even use it? The fact is that this is all our fault. Not the fault of the councils or the mayors - and certainly not central Government who's sweeping in to try and save the day. It's us, the voters. We obviously don't care enough about council waste. Otherwise we'd have voted to get rid of it. It's a simple as that. Voter turnout in 2022 was 36 percent. In Auckland, our largest city, it was 31 percent! In some areas of Auckland it was only 20 percent. No wonder we're tripping over cycleways and raised crossings, paying for cooking classes at community centres and drowning in unnecessarily, infuriatingly exorbitant rates bills. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour is standing by his letter to the UN - now withdrawn. He wrote responding to an official who'd expressed concerns about the impact of Seymour's Regulatory Standards Bill on Māori. The Prime Minister says that's a job for the Foreign Minister and Seymour's conceded it's better to a have a single Government response, led by Winston Peters. Seymour says he still needs to work out how to undo the letter he sent. "I'll probably have to go through Winston, he probably doesn't want me to write direct to the UN again - I think that would probably miss the whole point of the exercise."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TRA’s latest New Zealand’s Favourite Ads survey for June 2025 has revealed what ads Kiwis are loving the most - and one of the top contenders is powered by AI. Skinny's new ad campaign starring a digitally cloned 64-year-old Liz Wright - chosen from hundreds of entries in a nationwide search - rounded out the top 10 in a list including Tux, One NZ, KFC and Turners.  Spark's marketing and data director, Matt Bain, says AI has allowed digital effects in advertising to become more 'democratised'. "Brands like Skinny can actually do things like clone a customer and then create scenes that wouldn't have been possible on Skinny's budgets." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A significant moment for Ukraine - as the US falls into line with NATO.  President Donald Trump's pledged billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine, through a sale to NATO.  He's also threatening Russia with 100 percent secondary tariffs if the Kremlin doesn't make a ceasefire deal within 50 days.  Former Australian ambassador to Russia, Peter Tesch says US policy is too fickle to make this a complete game changer. "It is an important signal - and a very welcome signal to Ukraine and NATO that the US won't hinder their efforts to defend Ukraine at their own expense." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Local Government Minister says new legislation in the works will give councils clarity.  An amendment bill's been introduced to Parliament to make local bodies focus on core services.  It also demands regular public progress reports - and disclosure on the cost of consultants and contractors.  Simon Watts says it's a return to bread and butter duties.  "Previously, terms like social, cultural and economic type activities - they were all just catch-all. And as a result, some councils across the country were doing stuff that was basically wasteful spending." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour's withdrawn a letter he sent to the United Nations after being called out by the Prime Minister.  A United Nations' official's letter was critical of the Regulatory Standards Bill, saying it excluded Māori traditions. Seymour, the Minister responsible for the bill, replied that as an indigenous New Zealander himself, he's deeply aggrieved by the UN's audacity in presuming to speak on his behalf.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper discussed the saga further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthony Albanese and Xi Jinping have met in Beijing, kicking off high-level talks as Australia and China strive to focus on economic co-operation rather than their increasingly militaristic regional rivalry. With the Australian and Chinese national flags adorning the walls, it was a welcome befitting the charm offensive waged on the Australian Prime Minister since landing over the weekend. Australian correspondent Charles Croucher unpacked the pair's meeting further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Blues’ contract with Eden Park is drawing to a close, and a decision on where they will move their home games to is yet to be made. In a survey sent to supporters, the franchise asked fans whether they would be more likely to attend Blues matches if they were moved to Mt Smart instead of Eden Park next Super Rugby season. Sportstalk host Jason Pine weighs in on the discussion. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.