Larry Williams Drive

Fears of a new political crisis swept through France - as it looks likely Francois Bayrou will be ousted in a crucial confidence vote. France’s embattled Prime Minister stunned the country when he asked President Emmanuel Macron to convene an extraordinary session of parliament in September. UK correspondent Enda Brady speculates ahead of the big day. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luxury spending has been booming over the last couple of decades, but many high-end brands have been taking a financial hit. Gucci, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton have been seeing significant revenue falls since the Covid-19 pandemic. Fisher Funds' Sam Dickie reveals what could be behind the downturn. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pāmu, formerly Landcorp, recently reported a net profit after tax of $120 million for the year ended June 2025, which will see it return a $15 million dividend. It's a significant turnaround compared to last year, when the company posted a loss of $26 million. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland Council's Maurice Williamson and Ali Jones from Red PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  We've got councillors laughing at rate rises in Grey District - how outrageous is this? Or was it out of context? The Government has made moves to loosen liquor laws. They're not cutting the hours, but they're making it easier for bars to operate. Is this the right move - or opening us up to more harm? AT recently defended its $63 million dollar spend on road cones, claiming it takes two years to implement the new safety guidelines. Do we believe this?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 28 August 2025, Nicole McKee tells Heather why the Government is loosening liquor licensing rules. Air NZ boss Greg Foran has delivered his final annual result before he leaves the airline - and he hints at his next job. Will a few new Costcos around the country really result in cheaper groceries? Former Costco NZ Managing Director Patrick Noone speaks to Heather. Plus, the Huddle debates whether Grey District Councillors were completely out of line for breaking out in laughter after a question about critics of the 13% rates rise. 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.

Well it's fair to say World Rugby's copping it today, even more so than yesterday. This is following the death of Shane Christie, the former Highlander who had the headaches and the memory loss and all those other symptoms that were consistent with CTE from too many head knocks. A former Wales #8 with early onset dementia, Alex Popham, has gone straight to World Rugby and the All Blacks' Twitter accounts and told them they've got blood on their hands.  And our very own Scotty Stevenson has written a piece saying it's time to stop spending money on PR - this is obviously for rugby - and start spending money on helping the former players with these symptoms. Absolutely. I mean, there is no doubt that World Rugby could be doing more, right? The stand down period for a professional rugby player for a suspected concussion is - what do you think? 12 days. That's ridiculous.  In boxing, it's 30 days. And if they actually lose consciousness and they know they've lost consciousness, it co

Pāmu, formerly Landcorp, is seeing a significant financial turnaround, having reported a net profit after tax of $120 million for the year ended June 2025, which will see it return a $15 million dividend. It's a significant turn compared to last year's results, where the company posted a loss of $26 million. Chief executive Mark Leslie says he's 'thrilled' to be reporting these results. "It's great to post the result - but equally, I'm thrilled for all our people as well because there's a lot of people right through the organisation who work hard every day." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's frustrations over yet another delay to a possible extension of the Port of Tauranga wharves.  The Stella Passage development fast-track application has been halted, days before an expert panel was due to begin discussions.  A High Court judge has directed it must not be considered, pending further orders from the court. Tauranga Business Association CEO Matt Cowley says this is down to the application missing a few words.  Cowley explained the judge therefore ruled it didn't fit the scope, adding it's amazing a sand dune has impacted millions coming into the economy.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's new reforms are being welcomed by the alcohol industry body. The Government's proposing making businesses have further zero and low alcohol products on sale, to meet growing demand. It's also allowing businesses to respond to objections on licensing, and permitting wineries and breweries to have both an on and off license. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explains why many are welcoming these changes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government hopes businesses will be in favour of an alcohol regulation shake-up. It's allowing breweries and wineries to have both an on and off license - and is also letting businesses respond to objections around them having a license. Objections need to come from the local community. Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says it's important for people to have concerns to have a real voice - but there's been plenty of outside perspectives. "The majority of New Zealanders that drink, drink responsibly. And I want to make sure they have the opportunity to do that. We want to re-grow our sector, it means also having tourism and having people being able to go out there and enjoy a night out." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.