Larry Williams Drive

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 23 January. 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.

Now, have a listen to this. This happened in Thames this morning as the Prime Minister arrived to go and check on the damage to the properties and check out the roads and to meet with the victims' families.  It's a disgrace what you're doing with your climate positive, Prime Minister. It's an absolute disgrace and we're suffering now. You're listening to a bunch of protesters heckling the Prime Minister. They're yelling shame as he gets into his car. And yesterday, Chris Hipkins mentioned climate change in his message to victims' families. Now, everybody in this country knows how political climate change has become. Well, not, no, that's wrong. Not so much climate change, but how we respond to it. So to wave banners and bring into the debate about climate change, absolutely they're right. The protesters, they have the right to do that. It's also the right of the Leader of the Opposition to mention it in his address as well. But the question is whether it's in good taste. And I reckon it's a bit off for a

A large insurance bill is looming from the latest weather-related disasters. The landslide at Mount Maunganui combined with flood damage in Northland, Coromandel and Gisborne means that the claims are set to roll in. Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman Karen Stevens told Ryan Bridge that people affected can expect delays given the high number of claims being made.  "I think everybody understands that with a significant weather event, there are going to be more delays than if it's just business as usual." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shoppers may be hit with a new unexpected fee if they are using Woolworth's click and collect service. Currently, Click and Collect is free at Woolworths as long as you're buying at least $50 worth of groceries, but the chain is going to change the rules so that all Click and collectors pay $3.50. Woolworths Director of E-Commerce Mark Wolfenden told Ryan Bridge that the price was put in place to simplify the fee on all orders, and to help the company invest in it's services. "It's about making it more sustainable and making sure that we can keep investing in amazing technology and services which honestly Kiwis are demanding it ever more." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An expectation the official cash rate will be held steady as inflation is higher than expected.  Inflation's clocked in at 3.1 percent which means its snuck outside of the Reserve Bank's target band.  ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner says there's now quite wide agreement that the OCR will be held at 2.25 to prevent further inflation.  She told Ryan Bridge that more extreme measures could be needed.  Zollner says it's more likely than not that the Official Cash Rate will be hiked sometime this year.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police says authorities will be working through the night and tomorrow - to find people trapped after a slip slammed into Mount Maunganui's Beachside Holiday Park. Six people are unaccounted for, including two teenagers, after it tore through tents, cars, caravans, a toilet block and the hot pools around 9.30am yesterday.  NZ Herald Senior Journalist Michael Morrah told Ryan Bridge that there are 6 people confirmed to be trapped under the landslide, with another 3 people still yet to be accounted for. He said that the police are currently going through the list of all the people who may have checked into the campground, and are making sure that they have left the campsite and are accounted for. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scammers behind the Manage My Health security breach could attempt to contact affected customers.  Earlier this month, the patient portal became aware more than 127-thousand users' health records had been compromised in an attack last year.  Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons told Ryan Bridge that the cybercriminals could impersonate the company or other agencies - in what's known as a recovery scam.  He says they could say they work for Manage My Heath or say they could help people secure information.  He says it's a tried and tested path for scammers.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greenland remains on edge - even after Donald Trump has ruled out tariffs on NATO countries and military force to seize the Arctic island. The US President spoke at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, claiming he’s laid the groundwork for a future deal. UK correspondent Enda Brady unpacked the reactions to this development. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new year is getting under way, but concerns have been raised over what investors should focus on for 2026. There's risks impacting the tech sector and experts are hoping things will improve going forward. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The North Island has been hit hard by record-breaking downpours over the last few days, and it's expected to leave an impact on the rural communities in those regions.   Reports indicate livestock won't suffer too badly, but concerns have been raised over the roading damage, which will make it harder to move produce round the country.  The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, journalist Clare de Lore and broadcaster Mark Sainsbury joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day -and more!  Families of young children with cystic fibrosis are celebrating a Pharmac proposal to widen access to the drug Trikafta, which is out for consultation. How good is this? Donald Trump has laid the groundwork or a future deal involving Greenland and dropped proposed tariffs on NATO countries. What do we make of this? Do we see Trump getting his way here?  A new Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll dropped - and it indicates the current coalition Government could get re-elected. NZ First took a leap to 11.9 percent, what can we take from this?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest operating reports by New Zealand's leading power companies indicate things are looking up. Both Contact Energy and Genesis Energy have confirmed hydro storage is up, meaning both companies are in a better position than expected  Genesis Energy CEO Malcolm Johns explains what this development could mean for Kiwis ahead of the winter season. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 22 January, 2026, we hear from a witness to the landslide at a Mt Maunganui campsite. A father tells us what Pharmac funding for a cystic fibrosis drug will mean for his son. Brad Olsen from Infometrics looks at whether the worst of the brain drain has passed. And on The Huddle, Clare de Lore and Mark Sainsbury have a laugh about Donald Trump confusing Greenland with Iceland. 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 you don't know him, Jamie Dimon is the boss of JP Morgan and quite a smart guy, obviously. I've mentioned him a few times on this show because he's a good thinker - and says some pretty reasonable and practical things about big issues. He's spoken about AI and reckons we need to slow down. If we don't slow down, society, he reckons, could tear itself apart. And he's not talking about in ten years. He's talking about soon. In the US, there are 2 million truck drivers who could soon be out of a job when driverless trucks hit the road. That's 2 million men and women going from a pay packet of up to $150k a year to unemployed. And the skills are not transferable. His answer is to slow it down. Phase the technology in rather than hit society all at once, and then you'll probably have to get some Government payouts to compensate workers. Otherwise you'll get civil unrest and chaos in the streets. In New Zealand we have Ubers and taxis ripe for an AI takeover. The same goes for public transport. Robots will

Families of young children with cystic fibrosis are celebrating a Pharmac proposal to widen access to the drug Trikafta, which is out for consultation.  It's been funded for children over 6 since 2023, but the agency's now proposing extending it to under-sixes. Liam Rooney's child has cystic fibrosis and he says his family was looking for other ways to get it.   "I'd already spoken to my boss over in Australia about the potential for us to move over if things got worse."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's signs the brain drain could be slowing, according to new reports. A total of 67,800 citizens left the country in the year to November 2025, many for Australia - for a net loss topping 40,000. In the year to the November before, the net migration loss of Kiwis reached almost 44,000. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen says most trends have plateaued. "Instead of seeing huge numbers of Kiwis that have continued to move out - yes, they're still high, but they're not continuing to increase."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump may have secured a diplomatic win, claiming he's laid the groundwork for a deal involving Greenland. The US President's spoken at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland and held talks with NATO leaders. He’s ruled out using military force to take the Arctic island and is dropping threats of slapping tariffs on NATO countries. Marco Rubio's Former Chief of Staff, Matt Terrill, says more negotiations are expected - but Trump seems to be getting much of what he wants. "Based on reporting, it appears that there's going to be the ability, it sounds like, for the United States to gain control of key pockets of land." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Authorities haven't tied down exact numbers of people missing, after the land gave way at Mount Maunganui's Beachside Holiday Park.  The landslide took out tents, cars, caravans, a toilet block, and the hot pools about 9.30am this morning.  The total unaccounted for is in single digits - including young people - with searchers including dog teams carefully probing the site. The nearby Surf Club being used as an emergency hub has now been evacuated as a precaution. Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell says geo-scientists are worried the Mount could slip again.  He says police are still working out who was at the park today.  "It's a matter of now going back, checking CCTV, camera footage and just working that out and just trying to get a very clear picture of who might have been impacted."  Meanwhile, two people are still missing after a slip on Tauranga's Welcome Bay Road. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZ First is starting the election on a high note, recording its best-ever result in the Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll out today. The poll results, if reflected on election day, would see the current coalition Government re-elected, but National continues to trail Labour in the party vote. The highest jump in the poll has been recorded by NZ First, who are up 3.8 points to 11.9 percent - its highest-ever result since the poll began in January 2021. Newstalk ZB reporter Azaria Howell says this is a significant development for NZ First. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in Australia, today has been marked as a National Day of Mourning for the victims of December's Bondi terror attack. The Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales are expected to illuminate national institutions on Thursday night as 'symbols of light' this evening. Australians have also been asked to mark a minute's silence to honour those who were killed in the attack. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged Australians to support the nation's Jewish community.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.