Larry Williams Drive

Momentum's sky-high for state-owned farming enterprise Pāmu. Landcorp's half-year net operating profit jumped $28 million - from a $2 million loss in December 2024 to a $26 million profit last December.  It's forecasting a record full-year net operating profit of up to $107 million. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland councillor Maurice Williamson and former Labour Chief of Staff Mike Munro joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Early childhood education fees have soared, which could see more facilities closing their doors. Do we need the Government to intervene and help keep these facilities going? The People’s Select Committee of former MPs has written a report criticising the Government for scrapping the pay equity law last year. Do we agree with this? Private medication platform MediMap was reportedly hacked, with unauthorised changes made to people's records. What do we make of this? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 24 February, 2026, we talk to former National MP Marilyn Waring about the Unofficial People's Select Committee report on pay equity changes. We ask Ukraine's ambassador what it would take to end the four-year war with Russia. A third of New Zealanders have savings of less than $500 - but South Islanders are better savers. And on The Huddle, Maurice Williamson and Mike Munro argue about parents facing increasing charges for early childhood education. 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.

So, the People’s Select Committee of former MPs has reported back today and, completely unsurprisingly, has slammed the Government for scrapping the pay equity law last year. Which is fair enough in some ways, it was a shoddy process. The MPs say it offends the rule of law and they’re probably right. It was done in a hurry to save last year’s Budget, rushed through under urgency and changed the rules retrospectively. It’s all really cynical stuff from a Government and too much of that sort of behaviour undermines confidence in the way the system works. But even though they make some fair points and mount some fair criticism of the way Nicola Willis and Brooke van Velden ran this thing out, I can’t get past the next question I have, which is: so what? What do these former MPs think will happen as a result of this report? The pay equity scheme is not going to be brought back in the form it previously existed. It’s far too expensive. The cost to the Government was estimated at $13 billion over four years. The co

Media company NZME's remaining cautious about the economy despite a positive financial year. The owner of The Herald and Newstalk ZB reported a $13.1 million net after tax profit - turning around the previous year’s $16 million dollar loss. Its operating costs were four percent lower annually - reflecting the closure of community publications in December 2024. CEO Michael Boggs says it's a grind to recovery. "There's still been inflationary pressures, they're not feeling the best, they're not feeling confident yet to go and invest. And advertising is probably one of the first levers you can pull." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More early childhood education centres are expected to fold under rising costs. The Household Economic Survey shows the average weekly ECE fee has jumped from $25 in 2007, to $90 in 2023. Early Childhood Council CEO Simon Laube says pay parity rules have driven 443 centres to shut in the past three years. He says it drives up teacher salaries. "But the funding from the Government doesn't follow suit, so as the salaries increase, the providers are paying more and more to pay the teachers - but the funding stays the same." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The cost of living is hitting Kiwis hard, with new data showing Aucklanders are more likely to be worse off. More than a third of New Zealanders have a savings balance of less than $500, according to new data from Westpac. Westpac's Financial Wellbeing programme manager, Warren Ngan Woo, says Auckland is a big city where things cost more, which eats into people's ability to save money. "This is just a snapshot in relation to savings, but it certainly doesn't take into account what other people have in options with their savings." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mercury's achieved a strong return to profit.  BusinessDesk says the energy company's half year earnings before interest to December 31- reached $537 million. It recorded a net $20 million dollar profit - up from a $67 million loss last year.  Chief executive Stew Hamilton says they're doing well and don't need to raise capital.  "We've been disciplined in how we manage our money, how we earn our money and spend it, so we're investing wisely, performing strongly - and I think that gives us options." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Findings claim the Government extinguishing pay-equity claims destroyed an earlier system that was fit for purpose.  The People's Select Committee - a group of 10 former women MPs - has released its final report on the changes rushed through by the coalition under urgency last year. It held three months of hearings and almost 1400 submissions. Group chair and former National MP, Dame Marilyn Waring, raised questions about the 'urgency' that this legislation was rushed under. "This wasn't an emergency war regulation, it was an equal pay amendment. It's just quite unnecessary, you don't do that. And so, it was all done simply for the Budget." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's calling for caution, while agreeing with National that Auckland needs a new harbour crossing.  The Infrastructure Commission last week suggested a toll as high as $9 to fund the new crossing - and also tolling the existing bridge.  But Chris Hipkins ruled out tolling Auckland Harbour Bridge at his State of the Nation speech yesterday.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained why this position doesn't quite match Labour's earlier stance on extra costs for road users. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has written to his British counterpart Keir Starmer to confirm Australia would support the removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession. Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne - despite being stripped of his titles amid pressure over his ties to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Albanese is the first Commonwealth leader to openly voice support for Andrew's removal from the line of succession. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Rugby will open applications for a rescoped high performance director role, to replace Chris Lendrum who is leaving after 20 years. Lendrum, who is NZR's general manager of professional and performance, will leave at the end of May. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave speculated further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's concerns among experts following the latest medical platform hack that's left an impact on Kiwis. MediMap is widely used across New Zealand, particularly in aged care, disability, hospice, and community health. Some users' information had been changed, including altering ages, changing patient's names to Charlie Kirk - and claiming living users were deceased. CISO Lens Country Manager Nadia Yousef says it's unclear why this happened, and there's nothing hinting towards extortion or blackmail just yet. "It's not clear who did it, it's very unclear why - there's, I think, a lot more to follow over the next few days." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump recently took to Truth Social to offer to send a hospital boat over to Greenland - an offer Greenland's  prime minister has criticised. Trump claimed in the post that 'many people' on the island are sick and 'not being taken care of'. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Trump has long coveted Greenland, and it's unusual that Trump would want to send extra medical help to a country with free healthcare. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump remains steadfast in his pursuit of sweeping global tariffs - slamming a US Supreme Court decision outlawing them as anti-American.  The President's now taking advantage of a never-used trade law to enact 15 percent temporary levies, under the guise of a balance of payments deficit. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly unpacked the market reactions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comvita’s half-year result shows the company is seeing a noticeable financial turnaround. Its result for the six months ended December 31 had revenue up 18.3 percent to $118 million, EBIT up 10.7m to $10m, and debt reduced by $32.9m to $48.7m. Comvita CEO Karl Gradon says he's proud to see the company return to profitability and he's confident the company's been through the worst of it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  The Remuneration Authority says more responsibility attracts more pay, as more local councillors see bigger pay rises. What do we make of this?  The Government has proposed giving police more powers to move rough sleepers along. This has generated some backlash, but do we think this change is needed to improve New Zealand's city centres?  Labour's Chris Hipkins has delivered his State of the Nation address in Auckland at a Business Chamber event. Did this make you feel more or less confident in Labour?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 23 February, 2026, the Genesis chief executive tells us why the energy company needs nearly $200 million from the Government. A Wellington councillor on whether the Government's "move-on" orders for homeless people will work. Chris Greenacre becomes interim coach of the Wellington Phoenix for a fourth time - should he just get the job? And on the Huddle, Trish Sherson and Josie Pagani give us their assessment of Chris Hipkins' State of the Nation speech. 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.

Listening to Chris Hipkins' State of the Nation speech today, I found it really hard to take him seriously. The speech was mostly just a list of things wrong with the country right now, most of which anyone who can remember back five, six, seven years, knows were caused by him, Grant, Jacinda and Adrian Orr. Take this line, for example: “I see young New Zealanders - smart, hardworking, full of potential - making calculations that no young person should have to. Do I stay in the country I love, or do I leave to build the life I've worked for? It breaks my heart.” Well, it shouldn’t break his heart - because he was warned about this. When he, Jacinda and Grant were contemplating those long Auckland lockdowns at the tail end of the pandemic, Treasury explicitly warned that young people would suffer the most. I quote: “The negative consequences are that low employment and income rates are shown to persist for young people well after recessions have waned.” - Treasury advice, 13 May, 2021. Now, we’ve already

Still no clarity about whether Wellington's second Mt Victoria Tunnel will begin construction this year.  National promised to begin work on the tunnel this term, but Transport Minister Chris Bishop last week suggested that wasn't firm.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis says geotechnical work is underway - but Cabinet hasn't decided when construction will start.  "We're looking at all the Roads of National Significance to determine what order do we sequence these in, and how do we make sure that we fund them in the most appropriate way - and how does that sit alongside our really important obligation to be maintaining the roads?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.