Larry Williams Drive

The Crusaders don’t want Chiefs fans to bring cowbells to the Super Rugby Pacific final in Christchurch on Saturday. The final is set up as the perfect crescendo to a compelling 2025 season, with the Chiefs, the number one ranked team in the round robin and second ranked Crusaders to duke it out. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave unpacks the ban ahead of the match. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changes to allow over the counter sales of sleep drug melatonin in New Zealand - alongside relaxing rules on magic mushrooms as medicine. MedSafe's approved melatonin for sale to adults without a prescription. Psilocybin remains unapproved, but one specifically qualified psychiatrist is now permitted to prescribe it for treatment-resistant depression. Associate Health Minister David Seymour is standing by not revealing the doctor's name -  saying they could get harassed because of people confusing it with a recreational drug. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know what I’m not going to miss? The census. If there anything that showed how bad Governments can be at embracing technology, it was the census. At a time when Governments collect huge amounts of electronic data about us, it seemed ridiculous that they were also asking us to fill out a paper form and send it in. They already know what we’re earning, the IRD has that. They already know how many babies are being born and how many of us are dying and how many of us getting hitched - Births, Deaths and Marriages has that. They already know how many of us are leaving the country and coming into the country, that’s collected too. They know how many one, two or three bedroom houses there are, that’s all collected already.  And yet - they were asking us to tell them that all again on the census form. Which made the exercise a giant waste of money. The last one cost $325 million and the next one was going to cost $400 million. Now I accept that there is information we will lose.

Keir Starmer and Donald Trump today signed off a UK-US trade deal at the G7 summit in Canada. The two leaders then presented the deal, revealing that the UK aerospace sector will face no tariffs at all from the US, while the auto industry will have 10 percent tariffs, down from 25 percent. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this will come as good news for the UK's auto industry - and jobs will be saved as a result. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farmer confidence remains at a near-record high, according to the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey. Farmer confidence in the broader agri-economy was unchanged at a net reading of +44 percent following consecutive lifts in the previous three quarters. The Country's Jamie Mackay unpacks the survey results further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Food prices increased 4.4 percent in the 12 months to May 2025, following a 3.7 percent increase in the 12 months to April 2025, according to figures released by Stats NZ. Higher prices for the grocery food group and the meat, poultry and fish group contributed most to the annual increase in food prices. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen unpacks the factors behind this data. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Ali Jones from Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issue of the day - and more! Minister Chris Bishop has given the green light for the demolishing of the Gordon Wilson Flats after stripping them of their heritage status. What do we make of this? Why do we think most of Gen Z aren't interested in pursuing leadership positions anymore? Do they lack ambition? Is it fair to allow employers to sack highly paid workers without the proper process? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One expert has warned China has lost trust in New Zealand as a trading partner - and it could impact the current FTA. Prime Minister Chris Luxon is leading a trade delegation to China, with a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping set to take place this coming Friday. Mahon China Investment Management CEO David Mahon says Luxon's sending over a modest delegation over a short timeframe - and it's sending the wrong message to China. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 17 June 2025, the Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey gets a grilling following calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into forensic mental health. It comes after two shocking cases of people being killed by mental health patients.   US president Donald Trump has left the G7 summit early to deal with the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, after warning 10 million residents of Tehran to evacuate their city. Channel 9 correspondent Charles Croucher tells Heather it seems that Donald Trump has lost control of the global situation. Should people who earn over $180,000 be able to get sacked more easily? Heather thinks not! Plus, the Huddle debates about heritage rules and whether the Gordon Wilson Flats are ugly and should be demolished. 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 Government has unveiled new changes for Employment Relations Act aimed at improving labour market flexibility - but it's raised some concerns. One of the proposed changes includes introducing an income threshold of $180,000 above which a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal cannot be pursued. Director and Head of Practice at Jennifer Mills & Associates, Jennifer Mills, says this threshold seems 'arbitrary'. "I would have thought that all employees would have the right to access these grievance protections - what's worse is somebody who earns over $180,000 doesn't have a right to have any information about the decision to terminate their employment and they don't even have an opportunity to respond to a proposal." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'll tell you what I'm gonna be watching with some interest in the next few weeks -  that employment bill that ACT has just introduced to Parliament that would make it a lot easier for employers to fire staff who earn more than $180,000 because those high earning staff would not be able to take personal grievance cases for justified dismissal. Now, I say high earning with air quotes, because while yes, these people do earn a lot more than the average wage, I don't think that they earn so much that they can be considered, I don't know, rich pricks and treated so callously as to simply fire them without them having any recourse. Many of these people, I think, will probably be raising families - because you don't earn $180,000 plus if you're in your early 20s, do you? These are people who are in management, maybe even in upper management, and I'd imagine that they've got families to feed and families to look after, so I imagine these people would be amongst the most stressed if they could just lose their jo

New research indicates most of Gen Z aren't aiming for leadership roles in their future careers. An annual Deloitte survey says only six percent of Gen Z respondents stated they had leadership aspirations.  Nelson's deputy mayor Rohan O'Neill Stevens is within the Gen Z age range - and he says this survey shows this group has different goals to their predecessors. "When you look at the top scoring results there, it's things like maintaining a good work-life balance and achieving financial independence - which doesn't necessarily exclude leadership as a part of that."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An architect is pushing back on plans to demolish Wellington's Gordon Wilson Flats - on the Terrace. They were built in the late 1950s and have heritage status for being relatively unique social housing. Housing Minister Chris Bishop has intervened to let owners, Victoria University, demolish the building, which it'll replace with student accommodation. Architect Ken Davis says it's part of our cultural heritage. "If we pull it down, we're destroying some existing viable housing units that already exist - they only need to be refurbished."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ardie Savea's urging Moana Pasifika fans to stick with the team - after confirming he won't play Super Rugby next year. The All Blacks vice-captain is taking up a second Japanese sabbatical in 2026 - returning to the Kobe Steelers team he played for last year. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Minister Deborah Russell raised a few eyebrows after dropping the f-bomb in the House. ACT's David Seymour has been quick to criticise this - and it's sparked further discussion. Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls wonders if this is an attempt to grab attention - in line with similar scandals. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese missed out on an upcoming meeting with Donald Trump after the US President left the G7 summit early. Trump completed an earlier meeting with UK Prime Minister Starmer, where the pair were able to discuss the future of the AUKUS alliance. Australian correspondent Murray Olds said Albanese will have other chances to meet with Trump. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Royal Commission of Inquiry into mental health care is looking unlikely - despite pressure over repeat killings by two patients. Hillmorton Hospital resident, Elliot Cameron, murdered his 83-year-old Christchurch gardening client in October, with new revelations he killed his brother 50 years ago. This year, another man was found not guilty on insanity grounds - for killing a second time.  Minister Matt Doocey says questions are being asked on clinical decisions.  Doocey says he expects the external reviews and coronial inquests to be answering these questions, as that's why they take place.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's concerns the Israel and Iran conflict is about to escalate, as Donald Trump leaves the G7 summit early. The US President's cut his time in Canada short - not long after telling people to evacuate Iran's capital, Tehran. Channel 9 chief political editor, Charles Croucher, says the whole world is watching. "It seems, from what's coming out of America that the US aren't directly involved in whatever happens next, but it's clear that they've been told - or at least it appears they've been told - that something is about to happen." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A housing advocate says New Zealand's homelessness is the worst she's seen in 20 years.  The Government's celebrating one-year of its Priority One policy - which moves families out of motel rooms into secure housing.  Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka doesn't believe any increase in rough sleeping is due to Government policy.  Lifewise chief executive Haehaetu Barrett says she disagrees.  "We didn't have appropriate pipelining happening for people coming out of the motels who had been stuck there for more than two years - and a lot of the habits we've been seeing on the streets today actually started in the motels." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Large protests are held in Spain, Italy and Portugal calling for a curb on mass tourism - with Barcelona organisers telling demonstrators to bring water pistols to shoot at holidaymakers.  Campaigners say excessive levels of tourism are forcing locals out of affordable housing, raising the cost of living and making the city centres 'unusable'. UK correspondent Gavin Grey unpacked the protests further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.