Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Rhythm and Vines festival has announced 2026 will be their final year in Gisborne after 24-years in the region. The new location is yet to be revealed. CEO Kieran Spillane told Andrew Dickens they want to make this years R&V 'the biggest and the best' so far. "We really want to go out with a bang and say a huge thank you to the wonderful people of Gisborne who have helped, and supported this festival over the years." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Consumers Price Index (CPI) has increased 4.1% in the 12 months to the June 2026 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. As expected, the increase can be partially contributed to the US-Iran war as the largest upwards contributor to the annual inflation rate was petrol, up 27.5%. Finance Minister Nicola Willis is labelling annual inflation hitting its highest level in more than two years a “Trump spike”. Former Reserve Bank senior economist Michael Reddell told Andrew Dickens that economists don't tend to look at the headline numbers but they will be digging through the numbers to find trends. "It's a bit like the famous line about democracy, you know, it's not a perfect system, it's just better than any of the alternatives that have been tried, and inflation targeting is a bit like that as well. It's definitely not perfect." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast with Andrew Dickens for Tuesday, 21 July, 2026, former Reserve Bank senior economist Michael Reddell on what a higher inflation rate of 4.1% could mean for interest rates. Rhythm and Vines is about to bow out of Gisborne. We find out why with chief executive Kieran Spillane. Ponsonby News editor Martin Leach is baffled by a threat he's received from the Auckland mayor. And on The Huddle, Sarah Trotman and Mark Sainsbury on whether Wayne Brown's out of line. 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.

President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping tariffs against Canada, including 50% on electrical equipment and machinery which are among the steepest tariffs his administration has levied against any country. Director of international policy at the New North America Institute, University of Calgary, Carlo Dade said they are concerned that pushing back against the tariffs would result in consequences. "We've largely accepted that sticking our head up would get us hit hard by the Americans," he told Andrew Dickens. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Local newspaper Ponsonby News received a threatening email from Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown earlier this month after publishing an opinion piece by councillor Mike Lee. In the email, sent on July 3, Brown said, “if you are just going to publish Mike Lee bagging me then your paper will die”. "You know, I've been publishing and editing magazines since 1990, and I've never ever had an email like that," Leach told Andrew Dickens. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, this cost of living crisis is not going away anytime soon, despite what any number of New Zealand political parties promise they can do about it. The inflation figures are out. It's gone up by one percentage point and there's now a four in front of it. A large part of that cost is petrol, which we can do nothing about. Diesel is up 7.1%. But even excluding tradable inflation, which we can't influence, non-tradable inflation is still above the Reserve Bank's arbitrary target band. It came in at 2.9%. That's up from 2.4% a year ago. There's stuff in there that really gets our goat, like the 12% rise in electricity prices. Rates are up 8.8%. That's the non-tradable stuff. We can influence that but we're not. It's all going up. But all this increases the pressure on the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates to squash these price rises. The problem I have with that is that the nascent recovery we're starting to see gets squashed as well, forcing us into a longer period of downturn and stagnation. And that's because this simplistic inflation target does not take into account all the complex wheels that spin in an economy. It's this brutal, simplistic measure that served us so well when it was first introduced 30 years ago but is now seeing us boom and bust, lurching up and down on a rollercoaster that, you have to say, is no good for long-term economic planning. There is a strong argument for a new way of calculating our economic position rather than relying on a single inflation figure. But it's going to take a very smart person to figure that out. So until then, the fairground ride that is our macroeconomic setting will continue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, opposition party Labour has hit out at two of National's policies. Labour has said the RMA reforms and dissolving of council agreements with local Māori will result in a need to renegotiate existing Treaty settlements. And, Labour justice spokesperson Camilla Belich told Andrew Dickens Labour has concerns about the voting law changes disrupting democracy. But, Treaty negotiations minister Paul Goldsmith denied any reason for concern. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Former deputy prime minister and One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce grabbed headlines after snapping at a misbehaving dog on live TV. This isn't the first time Joyce has been caught in dog related controversy, as he once threatened to kill actor Johnny Depp's dogs. Australia correspondent Murray Olds said, "you have to yell at your dog from time to time, but it was honestly, I think anyone who was watching last night started to laugh so hard you'd wet your pants." The moment came as a reporter was interviewing him about Pauline Hanson's latest controversial comments to far-right British figurehead Tommy Robinson. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour is concerned that the Electoral Commission is not doing enough to enrol voters ahead of this year's election following changes to the law made by the current Government, which mean that voters cannot enrol or update their enrolment on election day or during the advanced voting period. This means that if the contact details associated with your enrolment are incorrect, your vote could be discounted. Labour justice spokesperson Camilla Belich told Andrew Dickens their concerns are that the changes will limit people's ability to participate in democracy. "We think that politicians should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder, and unfortunately the Government is doing the opposite," Belich said. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Childfund CEO Josie Pagani and Sherson Willis co-founder Trish Sherson joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! The big topic of debate is the latest election policy announcements out of NZ First and Greens both focusing on drastically different approaches to energy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis joined Heather du Plessis-Allan for their weekly chat. On the Golden Bay Cement bailout, Willis defended the Government's decision to not change the ETS and instead provide funding directly to the company. "If we had said 'actually no, the ETS doesn't apply to you, Golden Bay Cement', there would have been a conga, well, there could have been a conga line of others who would have said, 'hey, we don't want the ETS to apply to us either.'" Willis also confirmed that Erica Stanford is expected to make announcements on a potential social media ban in the coming weeks. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 20 July, 2026, Sir Bob Charles tells us why he's such a big fan of the way Open golf champion Ryan Fox plays. Resource Management Reform Minister Chris Bishop explains how the government's getting rid of iwi agreements with local councils. We look at how you can get a kitset granny flat - and what it'll cost you. And on The Huddle, Josie Pagani and Trish Sherson on whether they like the Greens' energy policy, including a new company, Kiwipower. 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.

Well, I think we can probably call it: in the end, no one cared enough about the controversies at the Football World Cup. We all just had a really good time watching it. Anyone hoping, and there were definitely people hoping, that this would be the World Cup where the corruption would finally be too much, the controversies would finally be too much, and something would be done about it, will be horribly disappointed. Already, it sounds like UEFA is ignoring calls to deal with FIFA president Gianni Infantino after US President Donald Trump involved himself in getting the red card overturned. And already, more than 200 of FIFA's member associations have formally backed Infantino for re-election. I think those two things should tell you more than anything else that nothing is going to come from any of the politics or any of the controversies. Instead, what's going to happen is that Infantino will celebrate yet another successful tournament. The football was great. It wasn't diluted by the extra teams, which is what people were worried about. It wasn't predictable. You had surprise successes like Cape Verde. Nearly seven million fans passed through the gates. That is, by the way, enormous. That's double the previous record, which was set in the US 32 years ago. Ninety-nine-point-seven percent of tickets were sold. They think the final will be the most-watched football match on record. Now, sure, in years to come we're going to remember that Trump got a red card overturned, just as we're going to remember the rainbow armband drama in Qatar. But, we're also going to remember that the Argies got really heated up and had a fight after the final, that Lionel Messi got a hat-trick and that Eli Just scored a double for the All Whites, who actually turned out to be not half bad and gave us some hope that maybe quality football is finally improving in this country. In the end, the controversies are just part of the story but they didn't stop people going to the games or watching the games, which is so predictable because this is what happens every single time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today the Green Party announced their new energy policy to build a publicly owned electricity company called Kiwipower. The policy has a proposed $980 million four-year appropriation with the goal of cutting power bills and expanding renewable energy. "It's creating something called firming, which effectively is the power that kind of rumbles on in the background and is constant," Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick told Heather du Plessis-Allan. "These are the kinds of investments that are necessary for the sake of creating that secure and resilient energy system." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The $1.66 billion mega-pipe solution to some of Auckland's water woes was officially opened today. Watercare's Central Interceptor tunnel runs for 16.2km from Point Erin in Herne Bay to the Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant. "What it does is it creates, basically, a new backbone for our wastewater system, and will over time really reduce those overflows that are occurring into our harbours," Watercare CEO Jamie Sinclair told Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop spoke to the public today with more details about the RMA reform. Bishop confirmed all existing agreements, called Mana Whakahono ā Rohe, between councils and local iwi will be scrapped, replacing them with 'iwi participation agreements'. He told Heather du Plessis-Allan the one main goal is protecting Māori land, "and so the question is how you go about doing that in a streamlined way in the system where you don't have co-governance and you don't have broad cultural rights that are asserted". LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ryan Fox has become the third New Zealand golfer to win a men's major title with his victory at the men's Open Championship, 63 years after Sir Bob Charles did it the first time. "I think all New Zealand golfers will be proud of his effort and let's hope that it, makes a lot of younger people, consider getting into the golf game," he said on Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive. "It's a game of a lifetime, the greatest game of all." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's carbon credit trading scheme could have shut New Zealand's only cement manufacturing plant, but Fletcher Building announced today it got a $60 million bailout to keep it running - the $60m is not a loan. NZ Initiative Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the bailout doesn't address the root cause of the issue. "It's a mess that's trying to solve what's actually a real problem in how the government's industrial allocations in the emissions trading scheme work - the design of those is not good, and they are particularly not good when it comes to cement manufacturing," he said. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 17 July, 2026, we talk to Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard about a second case of bird flu - this time in a native hawk. Rail Minister Winston Peters on why the new interislander ferries will be named Kupe and Cook. We ask Parking Association chairman Mike Kelly about the best excuses he's heard for getting off parking tickets. And on the Sports Huddle, Nick Bewley and Matt Brown tell us who they'll watch - the All Blacks or the Warriors. 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.

Trade Minister Todd McClay addressed media with his Swiss counterpart Helene Budliger Artieda at the Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership ministerial meeting in Auckland to announce trade partnership talks. Limited details are available as the talks are in the early stages. "What we've agreed today is to start a formal trade investment dialogue," McClay told Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Question for you: was Donald Trump's speech to the American people a classic case of muddying the waters? For Trump, it was a relatively short speech, about 40 minutes, in which he claimed there had been Chinese interference in the 2020 presidential election, that there were extreme vulnerabilities in the election system that need to be closed and that China obtained more than 200 million American voter registration records. He then released a trove of documents that he claims back up these allegations. Now, the allegation that China interferes in the elections of Western liberal democracies is not new and, frankly, isn't even controversial. We know the Chinese do this. They've been doing it for years across multiple countries: the United States, Canada, Australia and even here in New Zealand. We've been subjected to interference as well. The claim that China somehow involved itself in the 2020 presidential election is also neither new nor controversial. That allegation has been made before. The question then is: if none of this is new or controversial, why give a speech? Why set aside time to address the American people and revisit it all over again? Whichever way you look at it, I think it's probably safe to assume it's because he's concerned about the midterm elections coming up later this year. He is either trying to rally support for the Save America Act, which would effectively return the United States to in-person voting with voter ID requirements, a system that would likely favour Republicans, or he's laying the groundwork for an excuse in the event Republicans perform poorly in the elections anyway. Or it could be both. And, given it's Trump, you can't rule out the possibility that he's going through this whole exercise so that, a few months from now, he can blame someone else, perhaps the Chinese, if Republicans underperform at the ballot box.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a speech to the American people Donald Trump has once again claimed fraud in the 2020 election, this time alleging Chinese interference. Former Republican Communications Director, Doug Heye, told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "I think trying to make any sense out of this speech is a fool's errand." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rail Minister Winston Peters revealed the names of the two new ferries headed for New Zealand in 2029. The new ferry names are Kupe, after the first Polynesian navigator to discover New Zealand, and Cook, after Captain James Cook, who led an expedition to New Zealand with the Endeavour in the 18th century. Peters confirmed that KiwiRail would continue to own the Interislander ferries once they arrive, the Government had refused to commit to full KiwiRail ownership. He told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "we're just gonna get on and do the job, but most people will be delightfully happy with it." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A native hawk in the Wairarapa has been confirmed as the second case of bird flu in New Zealand. The animal was sent to a wildlife hospital after suffering a head injury where the disease was found upon routine testing. Minister of Biosecurity Andrew Hoggard told Heather du Plessis-Allan that they are working with farmers in the region. "From an MPI perspective, we are touching base with all, I think there's about 13, egg producers or poultry producers in the Wairarapa. So, teams getting in contact with all of them just to check, are they confident in their biosecurity measures they've got?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to chat the latest news out of the USA. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, has announced that US troops aged 30 or older will have to undergo testosterone testing as part of annual health screenings. Mitchinson said, "there are, you know, studies that show 1 in 4 men over 30 have low testosterone, and only 1 in 20 recognise the symptoms, but really this just seems like, why are you doing this?" "What is the point?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says that cases of unauthorised employees snooping on private information are growing. He told Heather du Plessis-Allan "it looks like at least 1 in 10 cases are employee browsing, and a greater percentage, up to a third, are, are what we call unauthorised access. So, people who have a right to look at material, but only for work purposes, and they're using it for their personal purposes." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wait for England's next Football World Cup final appearance will extend beyond 60 years. The Three Lions have lost 2-1 to defending champions Argentina in the semi finals in Atlanta...after conceding two late goals in seven minutes. Manager Thomas Tuchel is already under scrutiny for his second half tactics after leading 1-nil. Argentina and Spain will contest the final in New Jersey on Monday. UK correspondent Enda Brady unpacked the collective disappointment from England. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The major US banks have reported their earnings, and experts say these results can offer a clear snapshot of the state of the US and global economy. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Citi were among the major banks reporting their results, leaving investors to speculate about the wider implications. Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meat industry leaders are disappointed with the United States' move to initiate a safeguard investigation into lamb imports from New Zealand and Australia. The investigation, to be carried out by the US's International Trade Commission, is expected to take up to six months to complete. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and former Labour Minister Phil Goff joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Councils have been signing iwi partnership agreements before the RMA is replaced - are we worried about this? What is Chris Bishop trying to do? ACT leader David Seymour is looking into banning smartphones for under-16s. Do we think this is the way to go? Should we wait and figure things out? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 16 July, 2026, Auckland University professor Dianne Brunton tells us why the spread of bird flu is now inevitable. Greens co-leader Marama Davidson on why the party believes new employees should automatically join the union. We talk to a university student leader about why those who have part-time jobs are doing better. And on The Huddle, Phil Goff and Jordan Williams on whether they think smartphones should be banned for under-16s. 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.

If anyone on a council at the moment can't understand why so many of us ratepayers are so hostile towards them, sometimes bordering on hatred, can I just suggest they take a look at what's going on with these agreements with iwi? That might actually give them a bit of an idea. If you haven't followed this, Chris Bishop is planning to replace the Resource Management Act shortly and his replacement law will not allow councils to sign any more of these agreements. These agreements are called Mana Whakahono a Rohe agreements. In some cases, and certainly in the more extreme examples, they effectively cede significant decision-making power to iwi. The new law will not allow any further agreements to be signed but it will allow existing agreements to continue. So, of course, what's happening is that councils are rushing to sign as many of these things as they can before the law changes. The Far North District Council is trying to sign five of them, apparently without involving elected councillors in the process. They're reportedly not even allowed to see the detail. I've had a letter today from the Mayor of Carterton drawing my attention to the fact that Greater Wellington Regional Council, which covers Carterton, is doing exactly the same thing, despite objections from two of its constituent councils: Carterton and Kāpiti. Environment Canterbury tried to rush one through this week, then got busted and pulled it from the agenda. The fact that councils are being cynical like this will come as no surprise to anyone because they did exactly the same thing with Māori wards when they knew that, in many cases, their own ratepayers did not support them. But this gets much more difficult for the Government because it, particularly the National Party and ACT, said this co-governance stuff would end. Yet they are allowing it to continue under their new RMA laws by permitting these agreements to carry over. They need to change that law. They need to change it before it becomes law if they really meant what they said. Importantly, if they want to retain the faith of the voters who backed them to end this stuff, then they need to act when they have the chance next week, when the select committee report on the RMA reforms comes back. They need to say that these agreements will be rendered void under the new law and that whatever has been signed in a last-minute rush will count for nothing. This is the Government's big test. It's the chance to prove that what it said about co-governance wasn't just hot air. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwis are often told to look for the best deals on power, and they're not afraid to swap providers for a better price. So who's winning and who's losing the battle for those customers? Data from the Electricity Authority shows that Genesis Energy is the biggest loser here, with the company losing a net 35,015 customers in the year to June. Nova lost 9059, Manawa 3329 and Mercury 2706. On the opposite end, Contact gained 20,577, Electric Kiwi gained 11,590 and Meridian gained 10,288. Consumer NZ Paul Fuge says the energy market is quite volatile, and many companies have been making changes to keep up. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Far North Councillor is accusing the council of keeping details of iwi agreements under the rug. Davina Smolders says the council is in the process of negotiating and signing Mana Whakahono ā Rohe with five iwi and one hapu. She is demanding these agreements be made public so voters and other elected officials can have their say. Smolders says the deals are binding statutory agreements. She says they establish permanent Māori governance and are completely 'uncosted'. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report by the Education Ministry shows more tertiary students than ever have been working while studying and most had better pass rates than the ones who didn't work. The report said that in 2024, students in low-intensity work had a course completion rate of 88 percent while those in moderate-intensity work had a slightly lower pass rate. Meanwhile, those who did not work at all had the same pass rate as those in high-intensity work - about 83 percent. Victoria University Students Association Engagement Vice President Aidan Donoghue says this is surprising - and he'd be interested into a deeper dive on these stats. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Greens have made an election pledge to make union membership automatic for new employees. Co-leader Marama Davidson says this members bill and policy would make union membership the default setting for new employees, who could choose to opt out. Davidson explained that unions are a critical way for workers to get better pay and conditions and this bill will make it easier for them to get involved. "This is a good idea, and of course we need to protect privacy - at the same time, normal accountabilities will apply." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More cases of bird flu seem inevitable here, according to some experts. Our first infection with the globally spreading H5N1 strain has been confirmed in a migratory brown skua, found on Wellington's Petone Beach last Friday. Auckland University Professor Dianne Brunton says it's not even clear if our next likely case will be linked. "New Zealand is kind of in the middle of nowhere, of course, but we are surrounded by seabirds - we're the seabird capital of the world." MPI is asking people to stay vigilant and report any groups of sick or dead wild birds. The illness is a low risk to humans, and our poultry and eggs are safe to eat. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Green Party says unions are to thank for workplace rights Kiwis now see as a given. Co-leader Marama Davidson's announced a members bill to make union membership the default, which is also a Party election policy. Membership would still be optional, but workers would need to opt-out, not in. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says this proposal feels like a step backwards, given which other countries have compulsory unions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A federal police investigation into a Sydney childcare worker who allegedly abused 136 children has expanded to a remote Indigenous community in South Australia. Hamish Tait is facing 329 charges related to the alleged abuse of the children over a 16-year period. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says police have released additional material related to the case in order to encourage more impacted families to come forward. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT leader David Seymour wants New Zealand to become a testing ground for emerging technologies - by allowing companies to temporarily bypass regulations through a regulatory exemption scheme. Seymour says the existing rules are 'prohibitive' and that the 'innovation trials' will help get new technology like self-driving vehicles, agricultural drones and crypto going into New Zealand faster. He says it's important we start experimenting more if we want to see technology appear in New Zealand, instead of overseas nations overlooking the country. "We've talked to people - we don't want to say exactly who - but there's certainly people who would be interested in bringing autonomous taxi services to New Zealand." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks have moved the big frame of Tupou Vaa'i to blindside for the Nations Championship test against Ireland on Saturday. Looking to add more size to his backrow - coach Dave Rennie has picked Vaa'i in the 6 jumper he wore in four of last year's opening five tests. Loose forwards Anton Segner and Peter Lakai have both been named in the reserves, with the All Blacks not requiring further second row cover. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.