Larry Williams Drive

A Waterloo-based pub has raised eyebrows among Londoners after it introduced an extra service charge for all purchases.  Drinkers at the pub will be expected to pay an extra 4 percent on their purchases going forward. UK correspondent Enda Brady outlined the terms further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank is widely expected to cut the OCR tomorrow, according to new reports. The OCR is currently sitting at 3.25 percent and the major banks have already been dropping their mortgage interest rates in anticipation. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham outlined his predictions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the cogs of Cabinet. The Labour government banned the trade two years ago, but National and ACT campaigned on bringing it back.  The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and former Labour MP Stuart Nash joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Winston Peters confirmed Trevor Mallard is coming home from his post as Ambassador to Ireland. He says the appointment was a case of 'jobs for the boys'. Should former politicians ever become ambassadors? What did we make of the scenes from the big White House meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy? Do we think we're getting closer to a deal being formed?  The Cambridge Dictionary added 6000 new words - do we know what 'skibidi', 'tradwife' and 'delulu' mean? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 19 August 2025, Donald Trump's big meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky and seven European leaders was a bit of a love fest - but are we actually any closer to peace in Ukraine? Energy Minister Simon Watts gets a grilling from Heather over the Government's plan for our energy security. AI deepfake scams are getting so good - even the people being imitated can't tell the difference. Businessman Gareth Morgan tells Heather the scam that features him is so good even he couldn't tell it was fake. Plus, Trevor Mallard is coming home from Ireland and the Huddle weighs in on the debate about whether former politicians should be appointed to ambassadorships. 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 here's a little bit of happy news for anyone still feeling injustice over the petty way that Trevor Mallard turned the sprinklers on the Parliamentary protesters and made everything worse - he is coming home from his plum job in Ireland as the ambassador. As Winston Peters says, quoting The Seekers - the carnival's over. And it's a good job too, because it was always deeply unfair that Mallard could behave like a child and basically torment fellow Kiwis, and then be rewarded by his mates with a job that was funded by Kiwis. Now Winston's trying to spin this like he's bringing Trevor Mallard home early. He's actually not really at all. Trevor's due home in January. It's understood that he's gonna be back in November. Whoop dee doo- two months early in a three-year term is hardly a punishment or a massive recall, isn't it? I mean, if Winston wanted to bring him home early, he could have brought him home at any point in the last two years that he's been the Foreign Minister. But I will agree with Winston on s

Mercury Energy's earnings have fallen on the back of weaker renewable electricity generation, and its bottom-line profit has taken a hit. The company's profit has plunged from $290 million to just $1 million, due to tough power generation conditions. Despite this, Mercury Energy CEO Stew Hamilton is hopeful ahead of another financial year. "We're investing heavily in new power plants - we're investing about $1 billion in new power plants at the moment. That's from the top of the north to the bottom of the south." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former economist and investment manager Gareth Morgan was caught off-guard by an AI deepfake using his voice and likeness, and he's warned people to be careful. The investment scam made the rounds on Facebook and Instagram and encouraged Kiwis to invest in a vaguely-defined US-based scheme. Gareth Morgan says his daughter showed him the scam - and it almost had him fooled.  "The only giveaway is the backdrop, I don't recognise the house behind me. But everything else - the face, the lip movements, the voice, obviously - I can't tell." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A foreign policy expert says it's not clear if Donald Trump can deliver peace in Ukraine. The US President's hosted talks on ending the conflict with UK and European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump says he's working on holding two-and three-way talks with Russia and Ukraine.  But American University's Gordon Adams says Trump doesn't have an actual strategy.  "Hang on to your seatbelt if you want to know what's coming next, because the changeability of this particular President is rampant. Which means tomorrow, it could be a different approach altogether." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's Government confidence new energy sector regulations will pressure down power prices. Under Electricity Authority rule changes, our big four power companies must charge everyone the same price for supplying energy. It's to stop the big gentailers giving themselves power discounts - and getting a competitive edge. Energy Minister Simon Watts says it levels the playing field. "The fact that these big gentailers can, in effect, cross-subsidise themselves means that the smaller players aren't getting a fair deal. These rules will stop them doing that, and as a result, we'll see more competition." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker Trevor Mallard is returning early from Ireland - ending his job as Ambassador. Winston Peters has appointed senior foreign affairs staffer Angela Hassan-Sharp to replace Mallard. Peters claims Mallard's behaviour during the anti-mandate occupation at Parliament should've disqualified him from the role.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Mallard's behaviour during the anti-mandate occupation at Parliament should have raised concerns. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian federal government has cancelled the visa of Israeli politician Simcha Rothman days before he was set to arrive for a speaking event. Rothman, whose party is part of  Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, previously advocated for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, and denied claims of starvation in the territory. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke claimed Australia would not accept people travelling to cause division. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Blues are poised to head across town to Mount Smart for two Super Rugby games next year. The New Zealand Herald reports the Blues are still planning to play most of their games at their usual Eden Park base, but are looking closely across town. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Minister of Education says much more needs to be done, as more Kiwi kids fall behind in school. New data shows just 24 percent of Year 8 students have achieved the curriculum level in writing. The Government's hoping to turn that around with a writing action plan, which includes tools for handwriting, literacy and reading for teachers and students. Erica Stanford says the Government's new English curriculum aims to 'plug the gap' among Kiwi students. "This is for those children that are in Years 6 to 8, who will not have all of the benefits of those things coming through primary." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's gearing up for his second meeting at the White house, but he won't be carrying this out alone.   The leaders of the UK, France and Germany and the European Commission will be joining Zelenskyy to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine. UK correspondent Gavin Grey spoke ahead of the meeting, and weighed up multiple possible outcomes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 18 August 2025, big changes are coming for building consents and who is liable when things go wrong. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk tells Heather some details still need to be ironed out. Ukraine's Ambassador to New Zealand Vasyl Myroshnychenko speaks to Heather ahead of the pivotal meeting between Donald Trump and Ukraine's president Zelensky and his EU-leader bodyguards. Finance Minister Nicola Willis reveals the PM has called a high-powered meeting on energy security this evening. Why does the bike lobby want to get rid of the helmet mandate? Patrick Morgan from the Cycling Action Network explains. Plus, on the Huddle, Trish and Josie debate whether they would go on a working holiday in their 40s.   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.

Financial results are coming in thick and fast. a2 Milk is reporting a 21 percent rise in profit - alongside announcing it bought the Yashili plant in Pokeno. It's also sold its majority stake in the Mataura Valley plant in Gore - to Open Country Dairy. Contact Energy's profit is up 13-percent, after a surge in geothermal generation, and Freightways' profit is up 12.9 percent. Harbour Asset Management's Shane Solly unpacks the mood of the markets. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mānuka honey exporter Comvita has received a takeover offer from a subsidiary of Christchurch billionaire Mark Stewart’s Masthead Limited - Florenz. It's offering 80 cents a share, equalling $56.4 million. The offer has received unanimous support from Comvita’s board and its two largest shareholders, which own a combined 18.3 percent stake. Oliver Mander from the NZ Shareholders Association explains what this could mean going forward. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So if anything, tonight's meeting at the White House is actually more important than Saturday's meeting was in Alaska - because this is the meeting with Zelenskyy. This is the meeting where the guy who has been invaded has to spell out how much land he is prepared to give up to Putin. And that is a lot harder than what happened in Alaska, which was just Putin laying down his dream scenario. And you can see that the European leaders realize that this is more important, because they're coming with Zelenskyy. You've got Keir Starmer of the UK, Emmanuel Macron of France, Friedrich Merz of Germany and a whole bunch of others - and they're going to be Zelenskyy's hype squad at the White House to try to stop Trump bullying him, which is actually fair enough after what happened last time. But I have to be honest, I find Europe endlessly frustrating over Ukraine. I mean, here they are dropping everything to rush over to Washington with Zelenskyy, to presumably stop Trump from taking too much of Ukraine's lan

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!  There's growing calls to change the working holiday age limit from 30 to 50 to boost tourism. Is this a good idea? Would you go on a working holiday in your 40s?  Volodymyr Zelenskyy - alongside a group of EU leaders - are set to meet with Donald Trump at the White House tomorrow. How do we think this meeting will go?  David Seymour reportedly asked the Ministry for Regulation to look into removing bike helmet requirements. Should we change the rules?  Will any of us be reading Grant Robertson's book? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.