Larry Williams Drive

I’ve had it with people running around pretending we’re going to solve big global problems. Australia’s banning kids from social media on Wednesday. They’re going to lead the world. Sounds very appealing. Stop the brain rot, etc. Except kids will be kids and will get around it. They’ll do this the same way I was able to use Facebook in China—despite the big firewall—by using a VPN. You just log in to an app and piggyback off another country’s internet. Or they might get a fake ID, or set up a fake account in another jurisdiction. Good luck with this actually working. Same goes for climate change. Remember when we were once world-leading? Well, the problem with being world-leading is that you actually need others to follow. Otherwise, you’re not world-leading—you’re just an anomaly. What’s the point in stopping your cows from burping if the Aussies keep mining, the Chinese keep burning coal, and the Saudis keep drilling for oil? Climate change and the internet pose similar problems because they are global

A geopolitical expert says it's a good thing a New Zealand navy ship was on its own in waters around East Asia - when it was shadowed by seven Chinese warships. The vessel was patrolling last month as part of international efforts to monitor and restrict North Korea’s nuclear and missile activity. The Defence Force says the Chinese ships followed at a safe, professional distance. Geoffrey Miller told Ryan Bridge we'll have to wait and see if there are further repercussions. He says China's usually more offended by joint actions with other Five Eyes countries - so it's probably better our Defence Force was alone. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Falls for the Greens and Te Pati Maori in the latest 1 News Verian Poll - which gives the coalition more than enough seats to govern. National is on 36 percent, up two - while Act is also up two to 10 percent, and New Zealand First steady on nine. In the left bloc, Labour was up three to 35, but the Greens dropped four to seven, and Te Pati Maori - after weeks of infighting - fell two points to one percent. Finance Minister Nicola Willis told Ryan Bridge they're focused on doing things to make sure people are better off, can get ahead, and have strong public services. She says it's positive to see that most people, if given the chance to vote tomorrow - would re-elect the current Government. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Employers and Manufacturers Association has high hopes for tomorrow's reveal of the Resource Management Act overhaul. The Government's announcing significant changes tomorrow, foreshadowing it as one of this term's biggest pieces of reform. It says it'll be introduced this year - and pass before next year's election. EMA Advocacy Head, Alan McDonald, told Ryan Bridge councils interpret the current RMA for themselves - letting planning differ from region to region. He says the old RMA system did not protect the environment. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talked to Ryan Bridge about today's political hot topics. Luxon sold the RMA reform we'll see tomorrow from Chris Bishop and Simon Court. Minister of Police Mark Mitchell is at odds with former police commissioner Andrew Coster over who knew what and when in the McSkimming scandal. A New Zealand war ship is being shadowed by a Chinese fleet near Taiwan.  And, Helen Clark's father passed away. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netflix is set to acquire Warner Bros Studios in a Netflix agrees to acquire Warner Bros Studios in a $125B deal including HBO Max.  Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said theatrical releases will become more limited, as Netflix sees them as not 'consumer friendly'. Media commentator Duncan Greive told Ryan Bridge: "historically, Netflix has been at best tepid, probably more accurately hostile, towards movie theatres." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 5 December. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

HSBC Chief Economist Paul Bloxham joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to consider the question, will New Zealand ever be a rockstar economy again? The phrase 'survive until 25' promised economic prosperity this year, but in reality little growth was seen.  But, Bloxham says the key is to "aspire to try and be a rock star." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Sports Huddle sports journalist Nathan Limm and Jeff McTainsh from Sky Sport joined in on a discussion about the sports issues of the week - and more! TVNZ cricket commentator Scotty Stevenson called Christ College students 'syrup suckers' on live TV. Was he out of line? A proposed cricket league is causing a stir. Are former cricketers right to be concerned about the NZ20 league? And, should Etzebeth have to miss international tests for his eye-gouging incident? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talked to Heather du Plessis-Allan about today's political hot topics. Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has been reinstated to Te Pāti Māori, for now, after she took her expulsion from the party to court. A leaked phone call between European leaders shows confidence in Trump's loyalty to Ukraine is not strong. And, ten years ago we voted against changing the flag. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s membership of Te Pāti Māori has been reinstated after she took her expulsion from the party to court. Although, the decision is an interim measure ahead of a substantive hearing on February 2, where legal expert Graeme Edgler believes her reinstatement will be reversed.  Edgler told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "ultimately, if Te Pāti Māori wants to get rid of this person from their party, they'll probably be able to do it, and the courts will probably let them." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2021, the night before the infamous January 6 insurrection, bombs were placed at Democratic National Convention and Republican headquarters. Police were able to deactivate the bombs, but, until now, the culprit was a mystery.  On December 4, the FBI arrested a 30-year-old Virginia man, Brian Cole Jr., for the crime. And, the US continues to target alleged drug boats, yesterday killing four people in the pacific.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's a question for you... is our summer holiday too long? Are we going to the beach and staying away from the office for too long? There's a chap called Toss Grumley who thinks so, he's written a column about it. He's a young mover and shaker, business advisor, director, investor in multiple New Zealand entities. He reckons that our summer breaks are so long now that we're pretty much winding down from November and then we're only sparking up again in February, which means that we're taking about 10 weeks of productive conversations out of the business calendar and it's hurting our productivity. And we have no retail spending in January really to speak of, and businesses have poor cash flow at the start of the year when they come to have a look at it in April, May because they are taking excessively long shutdown periods. Now, I think Toss has got a point here. We do this. This is why you'll see the Reserve Bank leaves the economy basically in park for two months until they come back in February. But then

German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier is currently visiting the UK, marking the first UK state visit by a German head of state in decades. "The overriding two themes from this state visit is the brilliant relationship between Berlin and London now, and strength and solidarity for Ukraine from these two countries," UK Correspondent Edna Brady told Heather du Plessis-Allan.  Brady also touches on the large sum of seized Russian money, which Europe hopes to use to rebuild Ukraine.  LISTEN HERESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! We could be looking at the next Netball scandal... at NZ Cricket. A bunch of ex Black Caps have signed an open letter highly critical of a new independent T20 competition. What do you make of their concerns? Ikea is open, and people either hate the hysteria or are totally buying into it, while The Warehouse is trying to remind people to buy local. What have you made of the whole drama?  And, are our summer breaks too long? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday 4 December. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next week a social media ban for anyone under-16 will take effect in Australia. Some Meta accounts have already been deleted as the deadline looms.  Former Facebook Australia New Zealand CEO Stephen Scheeler told Heather du Plessis-Allan he believes an under-16 ban will become the 'new normal'.  "Now there are benefits to social media for many teens as well, but the negative effects, I think, are just too pronounced," he said. LISTEN HERESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) members voted to accept the Governments recent pay offer, officially bringing an end to the striking... for now. The settlement includes a 4.6 percent pay increase over two years, and increased allowances for teachers who have management roles or other special responsibilities. PPTA president Chris Abercrombie told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "we're pleased that we're going to be able to start the new year in a settled environment." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talked to Heather du Plessis-Allan about today's political hot topics. Expelled MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was heard by Justice Radich in the Wellington High Court in regard to her interim injunction against Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attended the IKEA opening in Auckland today. And, head of the Justice Ministry, Andrew Kibblewhite, defended Sunny Kaushal’s work as chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) for victims of retail crime, including more than $227K in pay and a $3200 morning tea. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swedish flat-pack furniture giant IKEA opened in Auckland today with a more mild turnout than expected. But, as customers are expected to flock to the new store in the weeks leading up to Christmas, questions over it's potential market domination arise.  Forsyth Barr retail analyst Paul Koraua believes IKEA may put positive pressure on other companies to perform better for their customers. "I think it's a good thing for the end consumer because a lot of these retailers are going to be working on their products, working on their pricing, working on the ranging," he told Heather du Plessis-Allan.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.