Larry Williams Drive

The Justice Minister's promising the right to protest is being protected - as the Government moves to outlaw action outside people's homes. Its new Bill would create a new offence for engaging in a targeted and disruptive demonstration outside a residence. It would carry a maximum fine of two-thousand dollars, or three months in jail.  Paul Goldsmith says New Zealanders value the right to protest, and also value privacy He says they're dealing with issues targeted at individuals and personal residences. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to have their summit soon, but experts have voiced concerns about what this could mean for Ukraine. European leaders appeared cautiously optimistic after holding a virtual meeting with Trump ahead of the pair's meeting in Alaska, with the US President saying his goal was to obtain a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. UK correspondent Enda Brady unpacks the mood ahead of the meeting. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners and AUT Chancellor Rob Campbell joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Israel has hit back at Chris Luxon's comment that Netanyahu has 'lost the plot'. What does this mean for the overall Gaza situation?  Should the Royal Commission of Inquiry summons the ex-Ministers? Do you think the teachers are misjudging the public mood with their strike? Or do we have patience for their demands? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crimson Education head Jamie Beaton has set his sights on a new business venture. Concord Visa is an immigration consultancy project designed to streamline how startups and talent access new markets. Beaton explained how this venture would help people reach new oppurtunites. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand has released its annual Stock Number Survey for the year ending 30 June 2025. The data shows New Zealand’s total sheep numbers fell modestly by 1 percent, and beef cattle numbers rose 4.4 percent.   The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ōtorohanga mayor Max Baxter is set to wrap up his 12-year term, and he's gotten some criticisms in about central Government before the end. Baxter says the rhetoric directed at local Government is doing 'way more harm than good' and more teamwork is needed. "I think it's about time that central Government and local Government work together rather than throwing barbs at each other." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I think what many of us are experiencing right now, re: Jacinda, Grant, Chippy and Ayesha not fronting publicly for the COVID inquiry is not disappointment, because disappointment requires us to have had a higher expectation of them. And I don't think that we did, because I think we got the measure of these people a long time ago. I think what we're experiencing right now is a sense of injustice, because these people had the power, and they used that power to do things to our lives that no other politicians in the history of this country have done. They told us not to leave our homes, they shut the border so that we couldn't leave the country or come back in. They ended some businesses through their rules, they effectively forced people out of jobs for not taking a vaccine that I would say most of us don't even bother with now. Now, we can argue about whether any of that or all of that was justified, but I don't think we can argue about how massive that was. It was huge, unprecedented power. Now, with po

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 14 August 2025, should the Royal Commission into Covid reconsider summonsing ex-Ministers Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins and co? Constitutional lawyer Graeme Edgeler reveals what he thinks could happen next. Israel's deputy foreign Minister Sharren Haskel speaks to Heather about Chris Luxon's call that Netanyahu has 'lost the plot'. Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Heather speak about the future of armed police officers after police shot two people overnight, one of them died. The overseas-born Kiwi dad on the bureaucratic nightmare getting his kids citizenship - and why he thinks those with Maori ancestry should be fast-tracked. Plus, the Huddle reacts to the Israeli foreign Minister - and are teachers losing the room with their strike next week? 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.

There's no shortage of stories where customers go crazy for free giveaways at the supermarket - and one expert has revealed why this is the case. Between coffee shops offering a free drink after you've bought 10 or beauty retailers handing out samples if you spend enough, research has explained this is all another marketing trick to hook people in. University of Canterbury marketing professor Ekant Veer says people like to feel like they've won things, especially if they're free. "We feel like we're getting rewarded for our loyalty or rewarded for our good behaviour, and then it's going to work for us. We're going to get that little dopamine hit."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister's steadfast in condemning Prime Minister Luxon for saying her leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, has lost the plot over Gaza.  Chris Luxon made the comment yesterday and says he's voicing a global sentiment. Sharren Haskel posted saying New Zealand's worst enemies are cats and possums, so it can't understand the threat from Hamas. Today, she says she stands with Netanyahu on Gaza - and it's the UN that's failed.  "And no matter how much we've been trying to work together, the Secretary General of the UN will turn it into a political issue." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Police Minister says he'd never second-guess an officer's actions during a police incident.  Multiple investigations are taking place after an officer shot two people after a domestic dispute. An officer shot a man carrying a hunting knife, with fears he'd seriously injure a woman. The officer then shot the woman dead, when she threatened officers.   Mark Mitchell says he feels for the officer.  "My thoughts go out to those police officers and their families, they have my full support. It is a police officer's worst nightmare to be placed into a situation like that." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A constitutional lawyer says the Royal Commission of Inquiry has the power to summons ex-ministers to front for its Covid enquiry.  It's called off its second week of hearings after Chris Hipkins, Dame Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall declined to appear.  It says it shouldn't diminish the inquiry - as all have privately given evidence. Lawyer Graeme Edgeler says the Commission just needs to consider if it'll miss out on key information without a summons. "If the answer to that was yes, then they should exercise it. They seem to think at the moment that they don't need need to have the summons, but it's something they have in their back pocket." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Luxon is defending saying Israel's leader has 'lost the plot' in the face of pushback. The Prime Minister criticised Benjamin Netanyahu over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where people are starving. Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister responded that Luxon can't comprehend the challenges of facing Hamas. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan says Luxon's put his own views out there - in a change of pace from factoring in Winston Peters and David Seymour.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthony Albanese has hit back against Hamas propaganda' after the Islamist group put out statements overnight welcoming his pledge to recognise Palestinian statehood. Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef claimed he welcomed the 'political courage' of the Australian Labor Government in an earlier statement. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says this situation has prompted additional concerns. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Silver Fern Maddy Gordon has revealed the ANZ Premiership's uncertain future played a major role in her decision to leave the Central Pulse after seven years and three titles. The 29-test midcourter's joining the Queensland Firebirds in next year's Super Netball in Australia, following teammate Kelly Jackson. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He’s descended from a Treaty signatory, an All Black and the ‘Voice of New Zealand’, but John Bryers Ruddock can't get his kids New Zealand citizenship - so he's taking legal action. John himself was born overseas and was dismayed to discover there was no easy way to secure Kiwi citizenship for his US-born children, in part because he was born offshore. He says it would have been easier to get approved if he was coming in as a migrant - and it feels 'unconstitutional'. "Because I'm not on a visa or applying for a visa myself, they all get charged individually. So normally, say, if I had 20 kids and I was here on a visa or applying for my residence visa, it would cost me $3200 for being all my dependent children. But because I'm a citizen and not on a visa, they charge them individually." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The number of migrants to cross the English Channel in small boats since the Labour party came to power 13 months ago is expected to have reached 50,000.  The Government says it’s an 'unacceptable number of people' but pointed to the 'one in, one out' returns deal with France as a deterrent. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says opposition MPs have been quick to accuse the Government of 'surrendering the borders'. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank is moving to cut 20 percent of its staff in a bid to unwind the hiring spree by former Governor Adrian Orr. The restructure will see the net reduction on 142 roles, including 35 vacant positions. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson 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!  Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson have all declined to be interviewed publicly by the Covid inquiry. Should they have fronted? Did Chlöe Swarbrick deserve to get booted out of Parliament today? Should she have apologised? What did we make of Debbie Ngarewa-Packer dropping the C-word in Parliament?  The Education Minister is cutting Māori words from five-year-olds' school phonics books. Is this a bad look? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US inflation held steady in July, with consumer prices rising 2.7 percent - depite the ongoing concerns around import tariffs. Figures are better than economists feared, but underlying pressures make the Federal Reserve's next move unclear. Milford Asset Management's Michael Luke explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.