Larry Williams Drive

A new $35-million-dollar supercomputer is levelling up the country's weather predictions. Earth Sciences New Zealand says the new Cascade system is three times more powerful than its predecessor - helping provide earlier and more frequent forecasting. It's hoped the computer's advanced modelling capabilities could mitigate the impact of severe weather events. Spokesperson Jess Robertson says the machine is an 'absolute beast'. "It'll do more calculations in a day than you could do in 30 million years, and that mean's we're going to be able to run higher resolution forecasts quicker and get them out to people sooner." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former supermarket leader agrees New Zealand's lacking competition. The Government's aiming to put supermarkets that would improve competition up for being fast-tracked in new reforms. It comes as the Minister of Finance confirms there's been talks with Costco to potentially expand across the country in the coming years. Former Costco NZ managing director Patrick Noone says their West Auckland store's provided some savings. "In that same precinct, we had Pak’nSave, we had Woolworths across the street and we were able to operate and be extremely competitive with the local market." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Victoria police say the search for a man who shot and killed two officers will take longer than expected.  The two men were gunned down on Tuesday while attempting to serve a search warrant at a rural property in Porepunkah - 300 kilometres outside of Melbourne.  A major police operation is underway to find accused gunman Dezi Freeman - who could still be armed.   Australian correspondent Murray Olds says hundreds of officers are tracking the suspect down - and helicopters are on the scene. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A change of luck for Super Rugby playoff sides. The 'Lucky Loser' format for the top-six has been tweaked after just one season, with the highest-ranked first round loser sliding to bottom seed for the remainder of the finals. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The boss of Air Zealand says he's proud they've made even two cents of a dollar this year - as profits drop 13.7 percent.  The airline's being hit hard by a sluggish domestic economy, with costs like landing charges, wages, and engineering material rising much faster than inflation. Outgoing CEO Greg Foran says he appreciates it's been a difficult few years.  "Whether it was starting when Covid began and doing capital raises and then hurriedly having to restart the business, and then a parade of engine challenges and now we've got a few other headwinds - but you learn." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nigel Farage recently unveiled his controversial plans to deport asylum seekers, but the Taliban have already voiced their support. The Taliban claimed it was 'ready and willing' to work with Farage to accept Afghans who have been deported from the UK. UK correspondent Gavin Grey explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 27 August 2025, Finance Minister Nicola Willis is slashing red tape in the hope it will attract another supermarket player to expand into New Zealand. Insurance costs have risen 900% in the past 25 years. Heather asks Kris Faafoi from the Insurance Council whether it's company greed or necessity. AT tries to defend its $63 million roadcone bill. The Huddle debates whether the Prime Minister was being cringe with his Facebook video inviting Taylor and Travis to get married in New Zealand. Plus, HE DID NOT! Heather reveals the outrageous thing her husband asked her. 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.

If I'm honest with you, the passing of John Barnett on Sunday has actually hit our house quite hard over the last three days - because at the start, nobody knew anything about what had happened. And as the information has come out, we've realized that when my husband bumped into him on the street on Sunday afternoon, it was literally just before he died They stopped for a chat, husband went in one direction, Barnett went in the other direction, and it wouldn't have been another 200m or so beyond that, that John collapsed. Now, I don't think the full force of it actually hit me until I was watching the television news about this last night, because, you know, you're watching somebody alive on TV in the footage, but not alive in real life anymore. And what struck me last night was that I never realized how big a force John Barnett was for us in New Zealand.  I knew what he'd done, we all knew what he'd done - Shorty Street, Whale Rider, all of that. But it wasn't until I heard the list rattled off tha

It's been revealed the Reserve Bank chairman sent a warning letter to Treasury in the wake of Adrian Orr's resignation. Neil Quigley warned that it would  'immediately destroy the goodwill' between the two entities if it publicly released details of the fateful meeting. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, lawyer and political commentator Liam Hehir 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!  The Government announced some new changes designed to get overseas retailers fast-tracked in a bid to boost competition in the grocery sector. Do we think these changes will make a difference? Do we need to axe the Ministry for Women? With the gender pay gap dropping, what else could it really do?  Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement today - what do we make of Chris Luxon encouraging them to have the wedding here?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The state of the US Federal Reserve has always prompted responses from financial markets, but recent actions from the Trump administration have raised eyebrows. Trump recently came out and said he was going to fire Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook earlier in the week. Milford Asset Management's Andrew Curtayne unpacked the market reactions  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The recent energy crisis has rippled out to the big companies, with Meridian the latest to take a significant financial hit. Meridian Energy recently confirmed a $452-million-dollar loss, after being hit by periods of low wind, two major droughts, and a shortage of gas. CEO Mike Roan says the company's been through a tough year, but they managed to shield customers from the high prices. "We took a hit, no question about that - but we kept the lights on, so electricity flowed to people." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States Government has been pushing for more full-fat dairy products, and one Kiwi expert confirmed there's health benefits. Robert F. Kennedy jnr has said for months that he wants the Government to endorse whole milk, reversing its earlier claims that Americans should consume low-fat milk and cheese to reduce the health risks. Nutritionist and AUT professor Caryn Zinn says there's a 'substantial' body of evidence that shows full-fat milk is healthier.  "Full-fat dairy products actually outperform low-fat dairy products when it comes to a number of chronic diseases - including lowering risk of childhood obesity, cardiovascular disease and type two diabetes." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Transport has spent more than $63 million dollars on traffic management and road cones in the past year.  Mayor Wayne Brown is criticising the figure - saying it equates to about 3 percent rates rises across the city.  But AT says it isn't too much considering its over $1.2-billion infrastructure programme.  Road Corridor Access and Coordination Group Manager Tracey Berkahn says new Government guidance may lower costs.  "Now there's a lot more thought put into a principles-based approach to it. And so, necessarily, you'll have fewer devices out there." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government expects new supermarkets to pop up in months, rather than years - with planned reforms. It's introducing legislation to pass before the end of the year to allow supermarkets that boost competition to be up for fast-track approval. Finance Minister Nicola Willis says supermarkets can also apply for streamlined building consents. "Really, it's just a matter of how quickly they can build."  Costco's confirmed its looking at opening new stores in New Zealand, after success in West Auckland. Meanwhile, the Government's looking at the costs and benefits of breaking up the supermarket duopoly. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A build-up of industry income changes could have driven the pay gap between men and women to a historic low.  The pay gap for the June quarter is sitting at 5.2 percent, down from the 8.2 percent seen a year ago. It's the smallest margin seen since Stats NZ began collecting the data in 1998.  Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says sectors like transport, IT and finance have been pushing through higher incomes for female workers.  "We've also seen continued larger pay increases for a number of quite large female-dominated industries alike - of education and health." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government hopes more progress on competing with the supermarket duopoly will bring down prices. It's announced what it calls an express lane, allowing for new supermarkets to open in New Zealand. If a supermarket will boost either regional or national competition, it will be considered to be fast-tracked. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says these changes are set to be pushed through quite quickly. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a big day for Swifties - as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement. The multi-Grammy winner and NFL star took to social media this morning, sharing photos of the proposal. US correspondent Jonathan Kearsley says this story interrupted the US Open coverage - and even made its way into President Trump's cabinet meeting. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data from Consumer NZ reveals insurance costs have soared over the last two decades, and there's concerns less households could access it going forward. The report notes the cost of insurance has gone up 916 percent since 2000 - ahead of the increase in the price of cigarettes and tobacco, which went up 608 percent. Insurance Council Chief Executive Kris Faafoi says there's been many high-profile disasters over that timeframe, which have helped drive up premiums. "Inflation affects us too - when it costs more for building costs, then rebuilding a house ends up being more expensive." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Māori All Black Shane Christie has died in Nelson, aged 39. Friends of Christie have told NZME it was believed his death was self-inflicted and came after a period during which concern over his wellbeing had increased. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave paid tribute. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.