Larry Williams Drive

There's yet another, frankly welcome, sign that the world's climate overhype may be over, or at least correcting. The latest is that the Government has announced it's now easing the rules on how much compulsory climate reporting the big listed companies have to do. Now, I don't blame you if you feel at this minute like your eyes are about to glaze over, but do not let that happen. Because this is actually much more important than it sounds. This goes back to the bad old days of Jacinda and Grant in 2021, when the Ardern administration brought in rules forcing large, publicly listed companies to report to shareholders the impact that climate change may have on them. It was world-leading, it was ground-breaking - and it was incredibly expensive. Turner's, the car company, reckons that their first report, which only runs to seven pages, cost them $1 million to produce. Some companies have told the relevant minister, Scott Simpson, that it cost them $2 million to produce their reports. And the ones who are gettin

Air New Zealand says it now expects to make a first-half loss of about $30 million to $55 million, before tax. It's just provided a trading update to the NZX. The national carrier says it expected a two to three percent uplift in revenue across domestic and US-bound bookings. However, this hasn't materialised and isn't evidenced in future bookings. NZ Shareholders Association head Oliver Mander says the engine issues and ongoing economic downturn are the main factors behind these changes.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A fund manager says Kiwis deserve to know the impact of their investments.  The Government plans to scrap annual climate disclosures for KiwiSaver funds, and raise the reporting threshold for listed companies from $60 million dollars to $1 billion. Mindful Money founder Barry Coates says these rule changes will reduce transparency.  "We're stepping backwards on what should be information that should be disclosed by companies. If you're investing in a KiwiSaver fund, do you want to know whether that KiwiSaver fund is bearing a high climate risk? I would want to know."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Kiwi company is investing in drone boats able to be used for defence - on home shores and beyond. Robotics company Syos has acquired Tauranga business Bay Dynamics.  Syos CEO Sam Vye says it will strengthen their position in the surveillance and defence market.  He adds underwater sabotage is a growing concern overseas.  "Particularly in the EU around potential sabotage by hostile vessels or vessels from certain countries that might accidentally drag anchor or intentionally disrupt seafloor infrastructure."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's growing worries measles is spreading undetected through the country. Three new cases in Manawatu and Nelson were announced yesterday, bringing the total of current infections to four. Health New Zealand hasn't been able to confirm how each became infected - and is warning of a potential national outbreak. Immunisation Advisory Centre medical director, Dr Nikki Turner, says four cases might not sound scary - but measles is highly infectious. "If we don't know it came from travel - then where did it come from? We do not want this bug spreading through our communities." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Public Service Commissioner is suggesting unions are striking to get it out of their system.  At least 100,000 workers in health, education and public service are walking off the job tomorrow, protesting pay and conditions.  Some picketing's moving indoors and some rallies cancelled in Wellington and Canterbury - with extreme bad weather looming.   Commissioner Sir Brian Roche says despite him being willing, unions haven't stepped up to negotiate for the most of the past two weeks.  "It just seems to me, based on my engagement with the unions, that they had to do this for reasons that escape me. I think it was all avoidable, it's extremely regrettable."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Public Service Commissioner's again sounding a negative note over New Zealand's major health and education strike tomorrow. About 100,000 union members across various sectors will stop work across the day - expressing frustration over pay and working conditions. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says this is expected to be the biggest strike in New Zealand's history since the 1970s, with many unions expected to take part.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plans for a second Trump-Putin meeting to discuss the Ukraine war have been shelved, days after they were proposed. Last week, Trump said he and the Russian president would hold talks in Budapest to discuss the war in Ukraine. US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says reports claim Russia isn't happy with some proposed terms. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

High Performance Sport NZ has quietly footed the bill for an independent review and player wellbeing support in the Silver Ferns' camp amid the ongoing Dame Noeline Taurua saga. While Netball NZ grapples with the fallout following Taurua's suspension, HPSNZ has offered funding, strategic advice, and resourcing behind the scenes. Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With gas prices going up all over the country, there's debate over whether households should make the switch to electricity.  Contact Energy recently revealed it's hiking gas prices by an average of 17 percent, as the decline in production has hit faster and harder than expected. Master Plumbers CEO Greg Wallace says making the switch is a big decision - and could set households back by thousands of dollars. "The costs are anything between five and a half to $10,000 dollars to change over, so that capital investment is a considerable investment, and that payback takes some time." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prince Andrew has not paid rent on his Royal Lodge for more than two decades, according to a new release by The Crown Estate. The release of this tenancy agreement follows calls for transparency on Andrew's residence, on top of another week of scandal. UK correspondent Enda Brady says it's suspected William wants to get ahead of a bigger mess before he becomes King. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour unveiled their first major policy a year out from the 2026 election, and it's prompted mixed reactions from experts. Some have lambasted the proposed New Zealand Future Fund for being light on details, and Labour has yet to confirm which public assets will be managed by this fund. BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie offered his take on the proposed idea. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and Tim Wilson from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day, and more!  Should the Public Service Commission be putting out ads about Thursdays' mega strike, in a bid to attack the unions? Should we be concerned here?  Sports Minister Mark Mitchell is weighing in on the Netball New Zealand v Dame Noeline Taurua saga, after Labour's Willie Jackson asked the Government to freeze Netball NZ's funding. What do we make of all this? A coroner is concerned no member of the public stepped in to help a girl that drowned in a public fountain in a busy park. What happened here? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Partially selling one of New Zealand's largest meat companies should give it much-needed capital, according to some. Farmer shareholders of Alliance Group voted to let Ireland's Dawn Meats buy a 65 percent stake in the company, for $270 million. The remaining 35 percent will still belong to the co-op. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Problems with Amazon's cloud services in the US have been felt around the world. Thousands of websites and apps were affected by an outage during the night, including TVNZ Plus, Neon, Sky TV, Snapchat and Wordle. Tech commentator Paul Spain says a lot of things got broken in the process of trying to undo the damage, and some businesses are still trying to recover. "When you break a lot of technology, sometimes it takes quite a bit of effort to actually get that fully back to operation, and possibly Amazon have been a bit cautious about putting thing back up to full speed, but they haven't officially indicated that from what I've seen."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 21 October 2025, former attorney general Chris Finlayson is not on board with the Government's law change to make it harder for iwi and hapu to gain customary title over coastal areas. Sports Minister Mark Mitchell says he won't freeze Netball NZ's funding but wants a fast resolution of the Dame Noeline Taurua saga - and that he wants to see her back in the job. Six60 frontman Matiu Walters tells Heather why his band has decided to put on a new country and roots festival. Heather and the PSA's Fleur Fitzsimons have a fiery exchange over the Public Service Commission's decision to place ads against striking union members this week. Plus, the Huddle debates strike ads, why nobody rescued a toddler drowning in a public fountain and Heather's Wordle dilemma. 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 inf

I think it's fair to say, don't you think, that Labour's first policy has been a flop? It's been panned by pretty much everybody worth listening to or worth reading. I mean, I see Maiki Sherman over at TVNZ liked it last night. She called it a 'solid first hit' on telly, but I think everyone else seems to have seen through what Chippy's trying to do here. Let me quote you some. Tom Pullar-Strecker at The Post: Labour's Future Fund hits the buzzwords, but the rationale is hard to follow. Pattrick Smellie at BusinessDesk: This suggests either that Labour is economically illiterate or that its target audience is presumed to be. Radio New Zealand: The distinct lack of detail has left Labour somewhat exposed, evoking echoes of other ambitious projects that fizzled like KiwiBuild or the Green Investment Fund. Jenée Tibshraeny at the Herald says this is actually less about making New Zealand wealthy and really more about having a crack at National and possible asset sales at the next election. Henry Cooke at Th

The Labour Party says there needs to be a probe into the Public Service Commission posting ads about Thursday's mega-strike.   About 100,000 workers in health and education are set to walk off the job later this week. Several commission adverts have appeared on social media - outlining how it'll disrupt services. PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the Commission is running political lines espoused by the Government. "What they are doing is attempting to position themselves favourably with the public when it comes to a collective bargaining matter that is subject to good faith."  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six60 have unveiled a new country and roots music festival in Matakana, which is set to take place this January. The 'Sweet Home Aotearoa' festival line-up will be curated by Six60 and promises to feature big names to bring a taste of Nashville to New Zealand shores.  Six60 lead singer and guitarist Matiu Walters says he's felt a strong connection to country and roots music every time he goes to Nashville - and he thought it would be a cool idea to bring that to New Zealand. "Roots and country have this cross-section that I really love and I think it's just going to be really fun...it's just something new that I think people are going to really love." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sports Minister Mark Mitchell has outlined why he feels it was time for the Government to step in with the ongoing Netball New Zealand v Dame Noeline Taurua saga. The side-lined Silver Ferns coach and the national body remain at an impasse concerning issues with the high performance environment. Mitchell says the situation has simply dragged on for far too long. "Everyone involved loves netball, but the fact of the matter is that this is not good for netball. It's one of our iconic games and so many people participate and enjoy the sport. This is not good for anyone, and so I've asked Sport NZ to give me advice and send a clear message." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.