Larry Williams Drive

Australia has announced plans to force gas companies to keep more fuel onshore.  The Labor Government is set to announce an east coast gas reservation scheme in the coming weeks with the hopes it will lower gas and energy prices in the country.  Meanwhile, raising tobacco prices has come back to bite the Government as the black market grows exponentially. Australian correspondent Murray Olds told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "here's the thing ... a packet of durries can be bought for $10 or $12 so the government tax take is down dramatically to $7 billion this year." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government announced some changes to retirement villages today following thousands of submissions.  The changes aim to support residents by giving the villages a specific timeframe of 12 months to repay residents after they vacate a unit.  Until now there was no repayment deadline.  Retirement Village Residents Council spokesperson Carol Shepherd told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "to be realistic and pragmatic we wanted some definition, some definite time frame about when we could get our money back, and 12 months seems to be a logical time frame." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Prince Andrew will get to stay in the Royal Lodge for another year, but likely won't receive compensation for the early termination of his lease.  A shipment of German ammunition, thought to be 20,000 rounds, has been stolen from a delivery lorry after the driver for a civilian transport company left his truck in an unguarded parking lot. The Bank of England has warned of a potential "sharp correction" in the value of major tech companies amidst fears of an AI bubble. UK Correspondent Gavin Grey told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "the bank is outlining that the growth of the AI sector in the next 5 years will be fuelled by trillions of dollars of debt, raising financial stability risks if then companies go bust." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the end, I think Andrew Coster had to go. Look, you realize he's won a big victory today, don't you? Cause it's a big admission from the Public Service commissioner today that Andrew Coster didn't do anything wrong himself. He hadn't committed any personal wrongdoing and it's a big admission also that there was no cover-up. And the reason that it's a big admission is because of the number of times lots of ministers and also the new police commissioner went out there in media and said cover up, cover up, cover up, and then also in some cases said corruption. Now what I think this proves is exactly what I had intimated a few weeks ago. Yes, this was a scandal, but it was not the A plus plus plus plus plus plus scandal that these guys were kind of racking it up to be. That was politics. They wanted to play the game of the bad guys are out, we're the new guys, it's a new broom, that kind of thing. I didn't rate Andrew Coster as a police commissioner. I think he was rubbish at that job, but I always thought tha

Tonight on The Huddle Auckland councillor Maurice Williamson and Ali Jones from Red PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Andrew Coster has quit his role as CEO of the Social Investment Agency. He'll get paid three months notice, like a few other high profile servants who have recently "resigned". Are you uncomfortable that we're paying people out to quit rather than just sacking them? The school lunch drama between principal Peggy Burrows and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour continues. Who do you think is telling the truth here? Do you care at all? Half of us apparently drive around with lapsed car registrations and WOFs. Is your registration and WOF up to date? Is it too much admin? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 3 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.

Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster resigned from his position as CEO of the Social Investment Agency following an Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report into how police handled complaints against former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming. Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche said the result was 'appropriate', but shared positive experiences working with Coster.  Roche told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "I believe him to be a person of integrity and very values-driven." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2021 retired veterinarian and ex-mayoral candidate Leo Molloy was convicted for knowingly publishing a name in breach of a suppression. In a forum on the NZ Premier Racing Community’s website called “Main Street Cafe” Molloy made a post identifying Jesse Kempson as Grace Millane's killer before he was publicly named.  The Veterinary Council is now seeking censure and a $23,000 fine. "Not one veterinarian ever complained about what I did, and not one member of the public complained for that matter," Molloy told Heather du Plessis-Allan. 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. Ex-Police Commissioner Andrew Coster resigned from his role as the CEO of the Social Investment Agency amid an inquiry into his involvement in the McSkimming case. The Treasury is over halfway through a review of state asset ownership, but they say the review is not driven by hope of asset sales.  And, Donald Trump says he can abolish income tax because of how successful the tariffs are.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Accusations of mouldy school lunches from Haeata Community Campus has caused much back and forth between principal Peggy Burrows and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour as blame is passed around.  In an effort to get to the bottom of who is telling the truth Heather du Plessis-Allan grilled Seymour about the facts of the situation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grammy award winning popstar Sabrina Carpenter has slammed the White House after using her song 'Juno' in a video of immigration raids.  She called the video 'evil and disgusting'. US Correspondent Jonathan Kearsley told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "I think the administration posts these videos, with music from vocal critics of their own campaign and administration, knowing full well the response they're going to get." Kearsley also chats about the backlash to US strikes on Venezuelan boats, and Witkoff and Putin's unsuccessful meeting in Moscow. He summed up the meeting saying, "essentially there is no compromise, there is no deal." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An estimate from vehicle admin app Bonnet puts half of New Zealanders behind on their WOF or registration. Bonnet CEO Steph Kennard told Heather du Plessis-Allan the cost of living crisis is likely a contributing factor, alongside forgetfulness. Further concerns of financial pressure and forgetfulness are added when considering the incoming implementation of road user charges. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Monday, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown revealed his plan for a 7.9% rates increase to pay for City Rail Link running costs of an estimated $235 million annually.  This is the largest rate rise since Auckland Council was formed in 2010. Questions have begun arising of the legitimacy of Wayne Browns calculation of City Rail Link's projected running costs. Auckland Ratepayers Alliance spokesperson Jordan Williams told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "you're entitled to your own opinion or your political strategy, but you're not entitled to your own facts. And the facts are Auckland Transport have have called this out as being absolute nonsense." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown defends his annual $235 million operating cost calculation for the City Rail Link as scepticism arises.  He told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "most of when you pay your rates, is paying things off. They're not free. "It's not free to have a road. It's not free to have a train. It's not free to have a bus." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

University of California professor and political analyst Dan Schnur talks to Heather du Plessis-Allan on the realities of doing international trade with the US in Trump's America. He explained that leaders must remember that Trump is first-and-foremost a businessman. "The city of San Francisco ... when they were worried that the Trump administration was going to send the Department of Homeland Security into their streets, they didn't deploy their congressional delegation. They sent business leaders." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The woman at the centre of the Jevon McSkimming scandal has called for an inquiry into Police culture.  Commissioner Richard Chambers denied that the Police have culture issues. Police Minister Mark Mitchell told Heather du Plessis-Allan that although a lack of values was shown by the previous commissioner, "you also had four very senior police officers that stood up with bravery and stuck to those police values and showed enormous integrity." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 2 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.

The big health news today is that the WHO is essentially calling for the funding of weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic for people who would otherwise not be able to afford it. So basically, make it not just for the rich, but for the poor as well. The WHO doesn't actually say governments should be the ones funding the drugs. An alternative interpretation of what they've said is that the people who make the drugs should drop the price to make them more affordable, but that's obviously not going to happen because profits. So you can probably assume, the bill lands with governments around the world. Now, that's a nice idea. And given how effective these drugs are in dropping weight off people, it would probably make a massive difference to the obesity rates in New Zealand, but it is simply not affordable for New Zealand. We have done the numbers before on the show. I'll run you through them again, OK? The drugs cost $500 a month. There are 1.5 million Kiwis who are considered obese. If we funded

The UK Government has announced plans to restrict the right to a jury trial in England and Wales to solve a backlog of 80,000 cases. Serious crimes like murder and rape will continue to be sent to jury trial, but minor crimes like shoplifting will be dealt with directly by a judge or magistrate.  UK Correspondent Edna Brady has seen the need for reform first hand. "I've spent three decades going to court cases all over the UK and it never has ceased to stagger me. The inefficiency, the delays, just how slow everything is," she told Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle host of Q&A and Saturday Mornings Jake Tame and Iron Duke Partners managing director Phil O'Reilly joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! New South Wales is considering a plan to halve the power and top speed of e-bikes after a rider died in a collision with a garbage truck. Are e-bikes and e-scooters too fast? The World Health Organization officially backs Ozempic and says it should be made affordable. Should we publicly fund Ozempic? And they revisit the local government rates cap after letting the idea sit for 24-hours.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.