Larry Williams Drive

Jetstar is on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit over its decision to hand out travel vouchers to customers who were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuit filed in the Federal Court claims the airline was legally obliged to refund tickets and is pushing for the money to be returned directly to customers with interest. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says tens of thousands of customers could potentially receive compensation.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rugby philosophies going in different directions. That's what All Blacks coach Scott Robertson is singling out as the main reason for Leon MacDonald's surprise departure as one of the team's assistant coaches. The former Blues mentor was part of Robertson's original pitch for the job back in 2019 - while the pair played together for both the Crusaders and All Blacks. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave hinted there might be more to Leon MacDonald's abrupt departure. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Deputy Prime Minister has muddied the waters around the conditional Government support of ACT's Treaty Principles Bill. Answering on behalf of the Prime Minister in the House, Winston Peters seemed to suggest he was open to changing his mind after the first reading. Peters clarified he would not be supporting the Bill. "We voted to have a first reading, and therefore - we will not be supporting it from the second reading." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don't know if you remember - but not long ago on the show we had a debate about screen time and how bad it is for kids.The question we were asking is - are we all just having a moral panic over screens, or are they as bad as the experts say they are?And I think we’ve just got more evidence that the latter is true - that screens are a particularly pernicious problem of our age for the little ones.Teachers are saying there are kids turning up at 5, sometimes 6, at school - and they just can't put sentences together. One teacher said a 6-year-old might say, for example, 'Me go pee' instead of 'I need the toilet'. And frankly, that's pretty alarming for a 6-year-old. That is what my 2-year-old talks like, a 6-year-old should be way past that situation.The teacher said that they had been teaching for 24 years, and they've never seen this low level of language. And what they’re putting it down to is too much screen time. Just too much TV, too much iPad.And apparently, it's gotten worse since Covid, where screens

Divers have resumed their hunt for the six missing people who disappeared after a luxury yacht sank off Sicily's coast. The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long superyacht, was carrying 22 people and anchored off the port of Porticello when it was hit by a fierce, pre-dawn storm on Tuesday. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says hopes are dwindling - and this is more likely to be a recovery mission than a rescue.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A grim warning from New Zealand's largest construction company. Fletcher Building is reporting a group net-loss-after-tax of $227 million dollars, following a $235 million profit last year. Its residential building arm has been doing well, but it's had losses from its civil business Higgins and Australian plumbing company, Tradelink. Milford Asset Management's Sam Trethewey unpacks a tough financial year for the construction sector.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Commerce Commission has detailed several potential changes in a new 389-page report designed to improve competition in the banking sector.  One change involves establishing a deposit compensation scheme that insures the first $100,000 of an individual or business’s savings at a bank, credit union, building society or finance company. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny examines whether or not this is the way forward. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and Kiwiblog's David Farrar joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  Insurance companies are bringing in extra money - IAG posted a profit increase of 1000 percent. Whar do we make of this. Police will be cracking down on parents who smoke in the car with their kids after three years of looking the other way - do we agree with this change? Do police need to focus on this? Staffers in David Seymour's Ministry of Regulation earn on average $150,000 a year. Does this seem fair following all the public sector cuts? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 21 August 2024, Philip Polkinghorne's finances have been laid bare during his murder trial today. Chelsea Daniels tells Heather the court was told the eye-watering amount he spent on sex workers. IAG insurance has seen a 1000% rise in profit - Heather grills IAG NZ chief executive Amanda Whiting on whether we're going to keep seeing huge rises in insurance premiums. Sky TV is bleeding customers, its chief executive Sophie Moloney tells Heather whether TVNZ is going to become a more serious challenger to the business. Plus, the Huddle debates whether the police is wasting its time cracking down on people smoking in cars with kids. 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.

Sky TV is recording a 3.7 percent drop in net after-tax profit, with its customer base at the lowest level in five years. The provider says it's dealing with challenging market conditions - and had to slow down marketing while it sorted out technical issues with its Sky Box. Chief executive Sophie Moloney says they've lost a 'disappointing' number of subscribers. "I want New Zealanders to keep enjoying their Sky Sport and Sky entertainment content - so we're working hard to get them back." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IAG, the country's largest insurer, has reported a significant increase in insurance profit in the 12 months to the end of June. The company, which owns the State, AMI and NZI brands, said it had collected 19 percent more in premiums from retail customers in New Zealand than in the previous year. Chief executive Amanda Whiting says the company has worked through a big year for the sector.  "We've been focusing on supporting customers who we know have been experiencing cost of living challenges - so we've been doing a fair bit around that, we've been making sure that we're bolstering our customer care." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should New Zealand adopt Australia's stricter licensing approach? The AA's pushing for change, prompted by figures showing 18 to 24 year old drivers in New Zealand are three times more likely to die on our roads than the same cohort in Australia. It has commissioned research by Adelaide University - which suggests Australia's tougher penalties and additional testing could work here. Study lead Lisa Wundersitz says it could have a real impact. "Young drivers tend to have more crashes than any other age group - and I guess we need to consider that they're inexperienced as well. It's important to put a good foundation in." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A legal expert is rejecting the legitimacy of research into police bias. A two-year inquiry commissioned by police suggests there are ongoing inequities in treatment depending on people's race, sexuality, gender, and mental health. It's found Māori men are more likely to be stopped, tasered, and prosecuted, compared with Pakeha. Lawyer Steve Cullen says it's a 'bizarre' allegation. "There might be individual cases that might seem to have that as a bias in relation to the parties involved in the case - but that doesn't support an allegation of fundamental corruption within the police nationwide." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm very much on the side of the cops over whether they should be pinging people for smoking in cars with kids. You'll have caught up on this by now - we've found out police have not been enforcing the law since it was passed three years ago, they haven’t issued a single fine over it, and it's deliberate.And the Police Union says the reason is because, frankly, cops are busy. And this is not a cop problem, this is a health problem. I could not agree more. We know police can only do so much, so let's prioritise it. I would personally prefer they were preventing crimes, catching bad guys and putting them in jail, getting stolen stuff back, putting pressure on gangs and keeping our roads safe with booze buses and drug tests.I could go on and on with my list of priorities for what I want the police to do, and I would go on for a very long time before my list ever hit - stopping stupid parents smoking in their cars with their kids inside. How is that a police job? Frankly, if parents are that dumb that they're hot

A deep dive into Philip Polkinghorne's finances - and payments for sex - was carried out as his murder trial hits its halfway point. The eye surgeon is accused of killing his wife, Pauline Hanna, in their Remuera home in 2021. The Court today's heard about the large sums Polkinghorne paid to numerous sex workers. Newstalk ZB's Chelsea Daniels says he was largely in control of the couple's bank accounts. "All up, the total amount he spent on women between 2016 and the beginning of 2021 was $296,645." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama drew in a standing ovation during her speech at the Democratic National Convention. She and Barack Obama turned up to the Chicago event to endorse Kamala Harris and get some jabs in against Donald Trump. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Michelle stole the show before the former president delivered his address. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Obamas turned up to address party faithful at the Democratic National Convention. The former President and First Lady together endorsed Kamala Harris at the event, ahead of Harris formally accepting the presidential nomination. US correspondent Logan Church says Michelle Obama came out with some fiery language in her speech. "She's always been somewhat of a reluctant campaigner over the years, but she spoke for almost 20 minutes - and spent most of it focusing on Trump, dealing out some absolute zingers." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The coach of world tennis number one Jannik Sinner admits the cloud of a potential doping ban has taken its toll on the young Italian star. Sinner's been fined and stripped of ranking points - but cleared of any suspension for a pair of positive tests for an anabolic steroid in March. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave unpacks the controversy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington-based iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira has asked ACT leader David Seymour to front up and debate the Treaty Principles Bill. Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira chief executive Helmut Modlik has labelled Seymour's suggestions to have a national conversation about the Treaty a 'charade'. Modlik says he hopes this debate will receive plenty of media coverage. "The audience for the debate I'm hoping for isn't David, it's actually our fellow citizens. I'm really wanting to surface, for New Zealanders, the issues that keep getting alluded to, but never really directly addressed."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new book has revealed what the late Queen Elizabeth really thought of former President Donald Trump. According to A Voyage Around The Queen, the deceased ruler found Trump to be 'very rude' during his visits to the UK in 2018 and 2019. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this contradicts Trump's claim that he was her favourite guest hosted at Windsor Castle. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.