Larry Williams Drive

What about Liam Lawson? A kid from Pukekohe from potato country, has just been given a Formula One seat for the rest of the season. What an absolutely amazing achievement that is. There are only 20 seats available each season in F1. 20 seats.   And the absolute best drivers around the world compete for those twenty seats.   And a 22-year-old kid from New Zealand, population just slightly over 5 million, that's just a big city somewhere, just took one of those twenty seats. I mean, talk about overachieving. Well done him.   How proud do you think his parents are right now? How much are they not regretting that move to Pukekohe so he could be near the racetrack? It's paid off, hasn't it?   I was listening to Liam talk to Mike this morning and the thing that struck me about him is how mature he is.   I mean, for a kid of 22 years old, he is unbelievably cool, calm and collected, and I reckon even more so than people, sometimes twice his age.   I mean, this kid knows what's on the li

Former industry giant Intel used to dominate the computer chip market - with significant presence in the world of PCs and servers. However, the company's market share has plummeted and it runs the risk of being bought out by rivals. Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explains what went wrong for the business. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi dairy farmers can breathe a sigh of relief following Fonterra's successful results. The dairy giant posted a $1.1 billion dollar net profit and confirmed a 55 cent total dividend for the past financial year. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains what this news means for the wider dairy sector. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leading Kiwi retailer The Warehouse Group has posted a significant net loss off the back of a tough trading environment. The company today posted it announced a net loss of $54.2 million - a contract to last year's $29.8 million net profit. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says it's unclear if the Warehouse can recover from this. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, former Labour Chief of Staff Mike Munro and Infrastructure NZ CEO Nick Leggett joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  The Warehouse has posted a record-setting net loss today - what's it going to take to bring consumers back? The Government has announced another crackdown on student attendance - with teacher only days barred from happening during term time and prosecution for parents of truant kids. Do we agree with this approach? The Dunedin Hospital project's costs have blown out, and the Government is looking to rescope it. What do we make of this? The Hastings District Council has today voted to let non-elected Youth Councillors vote in sub-committee and committee meetings. They will also be paid $500 per meeting. Is this a fair move? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

​On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 26 September 2024, fines for parents of truant kids and no more teacher-only days during school time. Northland principal Pat Newman reacts to the Government's plan to boost school attendance. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop defends changes to the new Dunedin Hospital because of cost blowouts. The Warehouse has delivered a bloodbath of a result, Interim Chief Executive tells Heather how he's planning to turn the company around. Plus the Huddle debates whether Hastings District Council was off the mark when it decided  to allow unelected Youth Council members to take part in votes. 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 Trade Minister has revealed how he managed to get the trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates over the line so quickly. Todd McClay and counterpart Minister Al Zeyoudi signed the deal this morning to remove 98.5 percent of export duties on goods. McClay says he'd been working negotiators hard for four months following an exchange earlier in the year. "We made a commitment together then that if we were going to do this - let's try and do it as fast as it has been done." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One former All Blacks captain claims Scott Robertson will want to try out new combinations in future matches. The side set to play against the Wallabies in Wellington has been revealed - with Beauden Barrett taking on the No 10 jersey, Anton Lienert-Brown replacing Jordie Barrett and TJ Perenara starting his final match in the No 9 jersey. Sir Wayne 'Buck' Shelford says Damian McKenzie - who got dropped down to the bench - hasn't lost his chance just yet. "Take test match rugby - you just don't have as much time. He has time when he plays for the Chiefs - he's just got to get used to reacting fast enough." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has been forced to go back to the drawing board with the plans for the new Dunedin Hospital. An independent review has found the project as currently planned is 'probably not achievable' within the budget of $1.88 billion. Ministers Shane Reti and Chris Bishop have asked Health NZ for solutions and warned that upgrades to other hospitals are at risk if costs don't come down.  Chris Bishop says there are two possible options to keep costs at the $1.88 billion cap. "One is that we revise the current project within its existing structural envelope - that's on the new site - that could look at reducing the number of floors - or identifying some services that could be retained on the existing hospital site." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's harsh criticism of Associate Education Minister David Seymour's push for prosecution of parents of continued truants. Seymour says parents could be fined in the most extreme cases as part of Government requirements for Stepped Attendance Response plans in schools by 2026. He's also insisting term-time teacher-only days need authorisation from the Education Minister. Northland Principal Pat Newman says this is a completely political move. "The cold, hard reality is that it's been tried, it's been on the books, it hasn't worked. That's why it's not used." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Warehouse Group says this year's unacceptable earnings have two parts. It's posting a $54.2 million net loss after tax. Last year it made a $29.9 million profit. Sales at The Warehouse and Noel Leeming are down 5.3 percent and Warehouse Stationery is down 6.7 percent. Interim CEO, John Journee says they get it right most of the time, but it needs to be all the time. "Part of it is strategy and part of it is execution. We had a strategy, set it out five years ago - it was, in hindsight, too ambitious and also distracted us from looking after our core brands." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Te Pāti Māori has warning the Government of the 'wrath of the million Māori' after a $30 million cut to a programme for teachers to learn te reo Māori. It follows a South Auckland principal teacher’s union slamming the Government’s decision to cut funding to a programme for teachers to learn te reo Māori. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi has branded this the latest move in a series of 'attacks' on te iwi Māori. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in Australia, negative gearing and capital gains tax changes are on the political agenda in a bid to reduce problems in the housing market.  The Labour Government has confirmed that the current tax concessions are set to undergo a review. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has acknowledged the complaints of younger voters hoping to get a spot on the property ladder.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two veterans get starting farewells in the All Blacks for the dead-rubber second Bledisloe Cup test against the Wallabies in Wellington on Saturday. TJ Perenara is into the number nine jersey - dropping Cortez Ratima to the bench - while Sam Cane retains his spot at openside flanker for his 100th test match. Beauden Barrett's replacing Damian McKenzie in the ten jumper, with the latter relegated to the reserves. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave recaps the lineup further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hastings District Council has voted in favour of allowing non-elected members of its Youth Council to vote in council decisions. Youth Council members will be able to vote in council committees and sub-committees - and they'll also be paid. The Council was divided on this move - but mayor Sandra Hazlehurst had the deciding vote and the issue was passed. Youth Council chair Chris Proctor says this is a first in the nation's history. "We want to bring a voice to the Council's table and we want to make sure that in areas like Flaxmere, where 50 percent of the population is under the age of 25 - we feel that's important." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

That's quite the crackdown on truancy from David Seymour today - don't expect this to go down well with the teacher unions. So the first thing David Seymour's announced is that he's coming for the parents. He's bringing in the possibility of enforcing fines on parents who don't send their kids to school. Now, it's 100 percent that the excuse-makers of this country are gonna have a problem with this because it’s picking on the vulnerable, etc. Let me tell you something - school is compulsory in New Zealand. If it's compulsory and you don't do it, you will get punished. A fine is the punishment, that's how compulsion works. There's no point in having it be compulsory if you aren't prepared to punish someone for the compulsory thing not happening. And the fine thing is not new, they already exist on the books. Parents can be fined up to $3000 if they’re recidivist offenders, it's just that the fine is not enforced. The second thing he’s doing is scrapping teacher-only days during term times. Schools now have to

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has issued a warning for Britons in Lebanon amid escalating conflict. The Ministry of Defence is sending 700 troops to Cyprus to prepare for the possible evacuation of British nationals from Lebanon and the Government has advised against travel to the region. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says it's a clear indication the Government believes this situation will get worse. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sales at Kathmandu owner KMD Brands slumped by 11 percent, with all three of its brands feeling the effect of weak consumer confidence in its latest financial year. The company had a statutory net profit after tax decline of $48.3 million for FY24, including a one-off non-cash impairment on the goodwill of its shoe brand Oboz of $40.3 million. Milford Asset Management's Sam Trethewey says investors didn't have high expectations ahead of this announcement. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Things are looking on the up for the dairy sector. Fonterra is returning a total dividend of 55 cents a share for the past financial year, off the back of a strong $1.1 billion net profit. It's also raising its forecast milk payout midpoint this season, from $8.50 to $9.00. CEO Miles Hurrell says demand from China's picking up, and data received overnight suggests that trend is continuing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Kiwiblog writer and Curia pollster David Farrar and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Do we really need a Capital Gains Tax? ANZ CEO Antonia Watson has joined the growing calls for one but Heather's not on board - what do we think? Another review into the Northland power pylon incident revealed it was completely avoidable - after it lost tens of millions in economic activity. Does Transpower need to cough up? New data has revealed Kiwis' overall satisfaction with life has held up over the last couple years, despite rampant inflation and economic concerns. Is this proof life here isn't all that bad? LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.