Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Taxpayers' Union has raised concerns about Nicola Willis' skills as a Finance Minister - and one of her predecessors has expressed interest in a debate. Willis challenged Ruth Richardson to a debate yesterday, after Richardson criticised the Government's fiscal track.  Richardson's agreed - but a date's yet to be set.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump is defending his controversial economic policies amid ongoing concerns about the cost of living. Data shows two-thirds of Americans say the Trump administration has fallen short of expectations in handling inflation and economic turmoil. US correspondent Jonathan Kearsley says Trump has blamed the Democrats and the previous Biden administration for the state of the economy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have been sent an unprecedented email from our National Cyber Security Centre. It's emailed 26,000 addresses warning malicious software, called Lumma Stealer, could have infected their devices. It's designed to steal sensitive information - and some stolen passwords are connected to Government agency systems and bank accounts. Aura Information Manager, Patrick Sharp, says international partners revealed the threat to our cyber security centre. He explained that presumably means an agency's uncovered a trove of stolen data and alerted the NCSC about the email addresses of concern. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A ray of sunshine for the Black Caps on the opening day of the second test against the West Indies at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. New Zealand newbie Michael Rae has stepped up on debut, taking his maiden test wicket - luring West Indian opener John Campbell into flashing an edge to first slip Daryl Mitchell after lunch - Campbell made 44. Blair Tickner had earlier stalled the tourists' progress after an opening stand of 66 - securing the lbws of recalled batters Brandon King and Kavem Hodge. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 9 December 2025, the big RMA reform is finally here. RMA Minister Chris Bishop explains what resource consents you will soon not need anymore. The Education Minister reacts to all the dubious spending by schools and principals that's been highlighted by the Auditor General. Economist Brad Olsen finally settles the debate over whether our long summer holidays are hurting the economy. Plus, New Zealand Navy's Commodore Shane Arndell reveals the messages the Chinese war ships sent our navy while the HMNZS Aotearoa was patrolling near North Korea and Taiwan. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These RMA changes hit the nail on the head by putting private property rights front and centre. These rights are basically what keeps rich countries rich and their absence keeps poor countires poor. If a council wants to infringe on them, it should compensate you for it. And these changes lower the threshold for compensation, which is a good thing. Want to suddenly invent a Significant Natural Area or label something 'heritage'? Well, that may cost you, Councillor. It'll make councils think twice before imposing some of this stupid stuff on property owners. We've had too examples of councils just making these up and restricting land use on a whim. On an airy fairy idea. The reason property rights are so important is simple. You use your land as collateral to borrow. To build. To invest. Owning acts as an incentive to build assets. It creates growth and production. This production is then taxed. The taxes pay for nice, communal things that everybody likes. Like classrooms and hospitals. What we need now is for politicians to stick to this plan. And not mess with it. The new bills will pass first reading next week, and the first bits will come into effect by the end of 2026. Half the consents currently required will no longer be needed. Anyone who's been through the consenting process will be celebrating this. But only if the changes stick. Only if Labour promises not to touch them. Because this is not our first rodeo. Remember, it was Labour who first repealed the RMA and replaced it with 2 new bills. 900 pages long. The Coalition got in and one of the first things they did was ri[ it up. We reverted back to the RMA. Now the Coalition's bills are out. 900 pages. The test of how long they remain law is not lasting another term of Coalition, but a first term of Labour, whenever that may be. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We learnt this week that A New Zealand Navy vessel was followed by 7 Chinese Warships while patrolling Asian waters. The HMNZS Aotearoa had crossed through the Taiwan Strait, and was patrolling international waters to curb North Korean war programmes.  Commodore Shane Arndell told Ryan Bridge that this is a routine practice, and communication was open between the HMNZS Aotearoa and the Chinese fleet.  'We communicate, we let each other know what we're doing, we keep it all nice and safe and everything is respectful.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The RMA is out and is set to be replaced with two new laws - one based on planning and one based on the environment.  The new laws are expected to cut the number of consents and permits by 46%, and speed up the ones currently in the pipeline.  CEO of the Property Council Leonie Freeman told Ryan Bridge she hopes that, "the reduction of 100 plans down to 17 will provide a lot more consistency." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Auditor-General has released its annual report on questionable spending by schools - and some stand out more than the rest.  Sutton Park School spent $11,000 on a staff planning meeting at Sky City, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Mangere spent $22,000 on a boat cruise, and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Tonga o Hokianga spent $6,000 on a trip to Turkey for the principal with 'No clear business purpose.' The Ministry of Education says that over 2400 schools were audited and only a handful were 'commented on' by the auditor-general.  Education Minister Erica Stanford blamed the previous government, saying that, 'It wasn't particularly fit for purpose and it didn't have good guard rails to prevent exactly what's happened.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The length of New Zealand's summer holiday - isn't as bad for the economy as some may think.  Prime Minister Chris Luxon's weighed in on debate - saying after working overseas, he's used to returning to work about January 3  - which he'll probably do again this summer.  Infometrics Chief Executive, Brad Olsen, says supermarkets and tourism boom over the period.  He says the professional services industry shuts down longer, but that's not the entire economy.  Olsen says March quarterly GDP relative to average quarterly GDP - and it's only two percent below the average for the rest of the financial year. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACC has backed down and will continue to let staff work from home three days a week.  The corporation had proposed cutting that allowance back to two days a week at home - so the public service association then complained to the commerce commission.  National Secretary of the PSA Fleur Fitzsimmons told Ryan Bridge that there was no problem before the proposed change, and that the staff's strong response contributed to the company's decision to back down.  'We took legal action, we went to the Commerce Commission. And really all of those things have countered towards ACC's decision today.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Resource Management Act is officially bound for the scrapheap. The Government's replacing the hefty legislation with two new laws - one based around planning, and the other on the environment. The new laws will cut consent and permit numbers by 46-percent, and speed up those still required. Barry Soper told Ryan Bridge that he's 'overwhelmed' with the scrapping of the Resource Management Act, and says he agrees with Chris Bishop's claim that this is the largest economic reform in a generation.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many aesthetic changes to buildings will no longer need consents - under the Government's Resource Management Act shake-up. The replacement Planning and Natural Environment Bills are being introduced to Parliament today - and will pass next year.  RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says planners won't be able to block projects because of visual changes - as long as other people aren't affected. He told Ryan Bridge that planners have got involved in some cases, to a ridiculous degree.  Bishop says that includes the direction doors face and where televisions were placed in living rooms.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Greens are warning student debt is stopping New Zealanders coming home for Christmas. Its survey of 400 expat Kiwis found 71 percent were overdue on payments - and 82 percent are worried about their loan. The Green Party's calling for a cross-Parliament inquiry into the repayment scheme for Kiwis living overseas. Spokesperson Lawrence Xu-Nan told Ryan Bridge that inflexible repayment schemes, interest rates and penalty fees are driving people away. He says these are people with skills gained overseas we want to eventually attract back to contribute to New Zealand. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A push to get Kiwis talking about systemic issues leading to child abuse. The Dear Children campaign has launched today - with a letter to kids and parents countrywide, focusing on preventing all forms of child maltreatment Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad says child homicide cannot be ignored. She told Ryan Bridge on average, one child is killed every five weeks, but it's not too late for change, so eventually children will grow up in New Zealand feeling safe. She says it starts with awareness. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Public transport users in the Capital can start using debit and credit cards and phones on buses and trains - from next March. Greater Wellington Regional Council will introduce contactless payments - at a cost of 5.5 million dollars.  It's jumping the gun on the Government National Ticketing System, scheduled for mid-2027.  Council Chair Daran Ponter told Ryan Bridge they don't trust the timeline.  He says he's sick of telling Wellington commuters they can't have something that's available in Auckland and Australia. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 8 December 2025, the EMA's Alan McDonald outlines why tomorrow's RMA overhaul is so desperately needed and why he thinks the Government is coming with the bazooka approach. Will the big Netflix-Warner Brothers deal lead to fewer films in cinemas? Media commentator Duncan Greive weighs in. The Children's Commissioner has launched a campaign against child homicide, but are the country's worst parents really going to pay attention? Labour's Chris Hipkins rejects Andrew Coster's assertion he'd been briefed about the McSkimming affair - and says he has a witness. Plus, the Huddle debate the Children's Commission's campaign against child homicide and whether the days of boozy and lavish Christmas parties are over. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smaller electricity retailers and generators are worried impending power market reforms won't create the level playing-field promised.  The Electricity Authority's proposed a non-discrimination rule that will force gentailers to play fair when deciding to sell electricity to itself or other companies.  Some smaller players, including Electric Kiwi, have written to the authority saying the rule doesn't go far enough.  Its Chief Executive Huia Burt told Ryan Bridge the rule only applies to leftover electricity.  But she says that could be a very insignificant amount of the total volume - which doesn't create a level playing field.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ve had it with people running around pretending we’re going to solve big global problems. Australia’s banning kids from social media on Wednesday. They’re going to lead the world. Sounds very appealing. Stop the brain rot, etc. Except kids will be kids and will get around it. They’ll do this the same way I was able to use Facebook in China—despite the big firewall—by using a VPN. You just log in to an app and piggyback off another country’s internet. Or they might get a fake ID, or set up a fake account in another jurisdiction. Good luck with this actually working. Same goes for climate change. Remember when we were once world-leading? Well, the problem with being world-leading is that you actually need others to follow. Otherwise, you’re not world-leading—you’re just an anomaly. What’s the point in stopping your cows from burping if the Aussies keep mining, the Chinese keep burning coal, and the Saudis keep drilling for oil? Climate change and the internet pose similar problems because they are global in nature. And because they are global in nature, you need kumbaya from all corners of the globe to address them. Look how that’s working out for the UN. It doesn’t. The truth is this: if we really wanted to solve these problems, the quickest, most effective way would be individual action. We could, each and every one of us, tomorrow, take phones off children and put them in the bin. We could walk to work and stop driving our cars. But we won’t. A poll out of Australia says 70% of parents support the ban. Guess how many said, in the very same poll, they would actually enforce it on their own children? Less than a third. It’s that same logic that has seen the Ford Ranger ute—a gas guzzler, big macho bull of an A-to-B—be the top-selling vehicle in this country for the past ten years running. And that’s the real problem with these global issues: governments make a big song and dance, but fundamentally, individually, we don’t actually see them as real problems, do we?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A geopolitical expert says it's a good thing a New Zealand navy ship was on its own in waters around East Asia - when it was shadowed by seven Chinese warships. The vessel was patrolling last month as part of international efforts to monitor and restrict North Korea’s nuclear and missile activity. The Defence Force says the Chinese ships followed at a safe, professional distance. Geoffrey Miller told Ryan Bridge we'll have to wait and see if there are further repercussions. He says China's usually more offended by joint actions with other Five Eyes countries - so it's probably better our Defence Force was alone. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Falls for the Greens and Te Pati Maori in the latest 1 News Verian Poll - which gives the coalition more than enough seats to govern. National is on 36 percent, up two - while Act is also up two to 10 percent, and New Zealand First steady on nine. In the left bloc, Labour was up three to 35, but the Greens dropped four to seven, and Te Pati Maori - after weeks of infighting - fell two points to one percent. Finance Minister Nicola Willis told Ryan Bridge they're focused on doing things to make sure people are better off, can get ahead, and have strong public services. She says it's positive to see that most people, if given the chance to vote tomorrow - would re-elect the current Government. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Employers and Manufacturers Association has high hopes for tomorrow's reveal of the Resource Management Act overhaul. The Government's announcing significant changes tomorrow, foreshadowing it as one of this term's biggest pieces of reform. It says it'll be introduced this year - and pass before next year's election. EMA Advocacy Head, Alan McDonald, told Ryan Bridge councils interpret the current RMA for themselves - letting planning differ from region to region. He says the old RMA system did not protect the environment. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talked to Ryan Bridge about today's political hot topics. Luxon sold the RMA reform we'll see tomorrow from Chris Bishop and Simon Court. Minister of Police Mark Mitchell is at odds with former police commissioner Andrew Coster over who knew what and when in the McSkimming scandal. A New Zealand war ship is being shadowed by a Chinese fleet near Taiwan.  And, Helen Clark's father passed away. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netflix is set to acquire Warner Bros Studios in a Netflix agrees to acquire Warner Bros Studios in a $125B deal including HBO Max.  Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said theatrical releases will become more limited, as Netflix sees them as not 'consumer friendly'. Media commentator Duncan Greive told Ryan Bridge: "historically, Netflix has been at best tepid, probably more accurately hostile, towards movie theatres." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 5 December. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

HSBC Chief Economist Paul Bloxham joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to consider the question, will New Zealand ever be a rockstar economy again? The phrase 'survive until 25' promised economic prosperity this year, but in reality little growth was seen.  But, Bloxham says the key is to "aspire to try and be a rock star." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Sports Huddle sports journalist Nathan Limm and Jeff McTainsh from Sky Sport joined in on a discussion about the sports issues of the week - and more! TVNZ cricket commentator Scotty Stevenson called Christ College students 'syrup suckers' on live TV. Was he out of line? A proposed cricket league is causing a stir. Are former cricketers right to be concerned about the NZ20 league? And, should Etzebeth have to miss international tests for his eye-gouging incident? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talked to Heather du Plessis-Allan about today's political hot topics. Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has been reinstated to Te Pāti Māori, for now, after she took her expulsion from the party to court. A leaked phone call between European leaders shows confidence in Trump's loyalty to Ukraine is not strong. And, ten years ago we voted against changing the flag. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s membership of Te Pāti Māori has been reinstated after she took her expulsion from the party to court. Although, the decision is an interim measure ahead of a substantive hearing on February 2, where legal expert Graeme Edgler believes her reinstatement will be reversed.  Edgler told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "ultimately, if Te Pāti Māori wants to get rid of this person from their party, they'll probably be able to do it, and the courts will probably let them." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2021, the night before the infamous January 6 insurrection, bombs were placed at Democratic National Convention and Republican headquarters. Police were able to deactivate the bombs, but, until now, the culprit was a mystery.  On December 4, the FBI arrested a 30-year-old Virginia man, Brian Cole Jr., for the crime. And, the US continues to target alleged drug boats, yesterday killing four people in the pacific.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's a question for you... is our summer holiday too long? Are we going to the beach and staying away from the office for too long? There's a chap called Toss Grumley who thinks so, he's written a column about it. He's a young mover and shaker, business advisor, director, investor in multiple New Zealand entities. He reckons that our summer breaks are so long now that we're pretty much winding down from November and then we're only sparking up again in February, which means that we're taking about 10 weeks of productive conversations out of the business calendar and it's hurting our productivity. And we have no retail spending in January really to speak of, and businesses have poor cash flow at the start of the year when they come to have a look at it in April, May because they are taking excessively long shutdown periods. Now, I think Toss has got a point here. We do this. This is why you'll see the Reserve Bank leaves the economy basically in park for two months until they come back in February. But then again, I don't want this to change. Do you? I would rather work flat out for 11 months a year and then take a nice long break over summer than work all year round at an even pace. I think this is just human nature because summer is for enjoying. Summer is for spending with your kids, it's for going out there, having a swim, getting out in the sun, doing all the things that make life worth living, seeing your family, all the good stuff. Plenty of countries do this too, we're not the only ones. Try getting anything done in Europe in the month of August and you are out of luck. This year, the Bank of England just by way of an example, you go look at any central bank, Bank of England will not make a single decision for the entire month of August and then also for the first two weeks of September. Now, maybe Toss has a point that the summer is getting too long. Maybe we should be powering ourselves right up until Christmas, then stopping and then coming back after maybe 4 or 5 weeks and getting stuck into it again at the start of February rather than taking 10 weeks off with our brains. Fair enough. But can I just say this ... I urge caution here. We have a really great work-life balance in this country. We understand that life is for living, not just for working. We have a joy about our lives. Don't throw that away too easily.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier is currently visiting the UK, marking the first UK state visit by a German head of state in decades. "The overriding two themes from this state visit is the brilliant relationship between Berlin and London now, and strength and solidarity for Ukraine from these two countries," UK Correspondent Edna Brady told Heather du Plessis-Allan.  Brady also touches on the large sum of seized Russian money, which Europe hopes to use to rebuild Ukraine.  LISTEN HERESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! We could be looking at the next Netball scandal... at NZ Cricket. A bunch of ex Black Caps have signed an open letter highly critical of a new independent T20 competition. What do you make of their concerns? Ikea is open, and people either hate the hysteria or are totally buying into it, while The Warehouse is trying to remind people to buy local. What have you made of the whole drama?  And, are our summer breaks too long? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday 4 December. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next week a social media ban for anyone under-16 will take effect in Australia. Some Meta accounts have already been deleted as the deadline looms.  Former Facebook Australia New Zealand CEO Stephen Scheeler told Heather du Plessis-Allan he believes an under-16 ban will become the 'new normal'.  "Now there are benefits to social media for many teens as well, but the negative effects, I think, are just too pronounced," he said. LISTEN HERESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) members voted to accept the Governments recent pay offer, officially bringing an end to the striking... for now. The settlement includes a 4.6 percent pay increase over two years, and increased allowances for teachers who have management roles or other special responsibilities. PPTA president Chris Abercrombie told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "we're pleased that we're going to be able to start the new year in a settled environment." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talked to Heather du Plessis-Allan about today's political hot topics. Expelled MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was heard by Justice Radich in the Wellington High Court in regard to her interim injunction against Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attended the IKEA opening in Auckland today. And, head of the Justice Ministry, Andrew Kibblewhite, defended Sunny Kaushal’s work as chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) for victims of retail crime, including more than $227K in pay and a $3200 morning tea. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swedish flat-pack furniture giant IKEA opened in Auckland today with a more mild turnout than expected. But, as customers are expected to flock to the new store in the weeks leading up to Christmas, questions over it's potential market domination arise.  Forsyth Barr retail analyst Paul Koraua believes IKEA may put positive pressure on other companies to perform better for their customers. "I think it's a good thing for the end consumer because a lot of these retailers are going to be working on their products, working on their pricing, working on the ranging," he told Heather du Plessis-Allan.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia has announced plans to force gas companies to keep more fuel onshore.  The Labor Government is set to announce an east coast gas reservation scheme in the coming weeks with the hopes it will lower gas and energy prices in the country.  Meanwhile, raising tobacco prices has come back to bite the Government as the black market grows exponentially. Australian correspondent Murray Olds told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "here's the thing ... a packet of durries can be bought for $10 or $12 so the government tax take is down dramatically to $7 billion this year." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government announced some changes to retirement villages today following thousands of submissions.  The changes aim to support residents by giving the villages a specific timeframe of 12 months to repay residents after they vacate a unit.  Until now there was no repayment deadline.  Retirement Village Residents Council spokesperson Carol Shepherd told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "to be realistic and pragmatic we wanted some definition, some definite time frame about when we could get our money back, and 12 months seems to be a logical time frame." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Prince Andrew will get to stay in the Royal Lodge for another year, but likely won't receive compensation for the early termination of his lease.  A shipment of German ammunition, thought to be 20,000 rounds, has been stolen from a delivery lorry after the driver for a civilian transport company left his truck in an unguarded parking lot. The Bank of England has warned of a potential "sharp correction" in the value of major tech companies amidst fears of an AI bubble. UK Correspondent Gavin Grey told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "the bank is outlining that the growth of the AI sector in the next 5 years will be fuelled by trillions of dollars of debt, raising financial stability risks if then companies go bust." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the end, I think Andrew Coster had to go. Look, you realize he's won a big victory today, don't you? Cause it's a big admission from the Public Service commissioner today that Andrew Coster didn't do anything wrong himself. He hadn't committed any personal wrongdoing and it's a big admission also that there was no cover-up. And the reason that it's a big admission is because of the number of times lots of ministers and also the new police commissioner went out there in media and said cover up, cover up, cover up, and then also in some cases said corruption. Now what I think this proves is exactly what I had intimated a few weeks ago. Yes, this was a scandal, but it was not the A plus plus plus plus plus plus scandal that these guys were kind of racking it up to be. That was politics. They wanted to play the game of the bad guys are out, we're the new guys, it's a new broom, that kind of thing. I didn't rate Andrew Coster as a police commissioner. I think he was rubbish at that job, but I always thought that he would be good at running the social investment agency because he's the kind of guy that likes the warm fuzzies and the early intervention, which is what the social investment agency was. It was never about hard policing. He was about warm fuzzies, the Social Investment agency is about warm fuzzies. So it is in a way a pity that the warm fuzzies guy cannot lead the warm fuzzies agency anymore. But ultimately, like Brian Roach said, he had to go because even though he did nothing wrong, the buck stopped with him at the police, and he made a series of bad calls that meant none of us could ever fully trust his judgment again. And he was going to be a political target. Who wants to be the minister or the government that protects the guy that protected Jevon McSkimming, even if he's the guy who didn't know that he was protecting the bad guy? And ultimately, we've probably got away lightly. I didn't want to have to pay him $124,000 but that was the low end of things. That was his notice period. It was probably the very least you could pay him. But count today as a small victory for Andrew Coster because he's cleared his reputation even if he's lost his job.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle Auckland councillor Maurice Williamson and Ali Jones from Red PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Andrew Coster has quit his role as CEO of the Social Investment Agency. He'll get paid three months notice, like a few other high profile servants who have recently "resigned". Are you uncomfortable that we're paying people out to quit rather than just sacking them? The school lunch drama between principal Peggy Burrows and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour continues. Who do you think is telling the truth here? Do you care at all? Half of us apparently drive around with lapsed car registrations and WOFs. Is your registration and WOF up to date? Is it too much admin? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 3 December. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster resigned from his position as CEO of the Social Investment Agency following an Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report into how police handled complaints against former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming. Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche said the result was 'appropriate', but shared positive experiences working with Coster.  Roche told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "I believe him to be a person of integrity and very values-driven." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2021 retired veterinarian and ex-mayoral candidate Leo Molloy was convicted for knowingly publishing a name in breach of a suppression. In a forum on the NZ Premier Racing Community’s website called “Main Street Cafe” Molloy made a post identifying Jesse Kempson as Grace Millane's killer before he was publicly named.  The Veterinary Council is now seeking censure and a $23,000 fine. "Not one veterinarian ever complained about what I did, and not one member of the public complained for that matter," Molloy told Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talked to Heather du Plessis-Allan about today's political hot topics. Ex-Police Commissioner Andrew Coster resigned from his role as the CEO of the Social Investment Agency amid an inquiry into his involvement in the McSkimming case. The Treasury is over halfway through a review of state asset ownership, but they say the review is not driven by hope of asset sales.  And, Donald Trump says he can abolish income tax because of how successful the tariffs are.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Accusations of mouldy school lunches from Haeata Community Campus has caused much back and forth between principal Peggy Burrows and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour as blame is passed around.  In an effort to get to the bottom of who is telling the truth Heather du Plessis-Allan grilled Seymour about the facts of the situation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grammy award winning popstar Sabrina Carpenter has slammed the White House after using her song 'Juno' in a video of immigration raids.  She called the video 'evil and disgusting'. US Correspondent Jonathan Kearsley told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "I think the administration posts these videos, with music from vocal critics of their own campaign and administration, knowing full well the response they're going to get." Kearsley also chats about the backlash to US strikes on Venezuelan boats, and Witkoff and Putin's unsuccessful meeting in Moscow. He summed up the meeting saying, "essentially there is no compromise, there is no deal." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An estimate from vehicle admin app Bonnet puts half of New Zealanders behind on their WOF or registration. Bonnet CEO Steph Kennard told Heather du Plessis-Allan the cost of living crisis is likely a contributing factor, alongside forgetfulness. Further concerns of financial pressure and forgetfulness are added when considering the incoming implementation of road user charges. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.