Larry Williams Drive

The government has agreed to new tolling in order to expedite investment in roads.  Three new roads now come with a toll, all in the North Island.  Transport Minister Simeon Brown has also set out a new plan to make it easier to set up new toll roads.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Luxon gives his review of the parliamentary press gallery as he nears the end of his first year as Prime Minister. Luxon said his past year was ‘like driving a car, finding it in a ditch, writing it and then getting it back on the road’ Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says there has been no buffer for national government. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to shut down the Department of Education, a promise he made during his campaign. The President to be is also made Time’s person of the year. Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in the biggest single-day act of clemency. His son Hunter Biden is among those pardoned. Gen Z to the rescue? How malls are winning over a generation of in-person shoppers. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This weekend’s cricket will see an end to Tim Southee’s career in his 107th match. The Black Cap’s ‘lost comfortably’ in both Wellington and Christchurch. Can Auckland FC make it seven from seven this weekend? Sportstalk host Jason Pine said it’ll be tough as they play Melbourne FC on Saturday night. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Motorcyclists are calling the latest ACC levy increase “punitive and inequitable,” as they set to increase by 80% over the next three years. The levies will rise to $532. Motorbike Advocacy Group New Zealand spokesperson Terry Leach said the group has lodged a complaint to the human rights commission. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bowel cancer rates in England have soared among under-50s - leaving experts concerned. New studies suggest more adults are developing early-onset bowel cancer worldwide, with figures across New Zealand, Chile, and Puerto Rico spiking annually. UK correspondent Enda Brady puts this increase down to processed food and unhealthy diets becoming more common. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech giant Google has unveiled its third-generation quantum chip, 'Willow'. The chip can solve problems at remarkable speeds, and experts are considering it a significant leap forward. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains what this means for investors. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand’s primary sector export revenue is expected to jump by 7 percent to $56.9 billion in the June 2025 year after contracting in 2024, the Ministry for Primary Industries says.  MPI, in its Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report, also expects that growth to be sustained, with revenue forecast to hit $58.3b in the June 2026 year. The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister's set to update the country on the state of the books next week, and experts aren't feeling too optimistic. Nicola Willis will reveal whether or not the nation is still on track to reach surplus in 2027-2028.   NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann explains why he's not feeling too hopeful about this target. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 12 December 2024, Solicitor-General Una Jagose KC explains why she rewrote the much criticised prosecution guidelines - and why race doesn't feature in the new ones. ACT leader and Associate Finance Minister David Seymour talks about the new ferries - and how much exactly they will cost. Plus, the Huddle weighs in on news that Wellington's in for another crazy rate hike after the council failed to save enough money.   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.

Tonight on The Huddle, Infrastructure NZ's Nick Leggett and Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! The Solicitor-General has revised her prosecution guidelines - saying people misunderstood what she meant when she told prosecutors to 'think carefully' before charging a person who is Māori. Do we agree with this move? 24 hours on from the Government's infamous ferry announcement - what do we think?  Wellington City Council is in damage-control mode after the latest draft budget proposed a 15.9 percent rates rise for the next financial year. Mayor Tory Whanau says she wants to bring that down - does this seem believable? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The cost of the Government's new Cook Strait ferries is still unknown - but ACT's David Seymour has offered up some clarity.  On social media, David Seymour said it'd cost 'approximately half' of Labour's proposal - which was projected to be between three and four billion dollars.  But Winston Peters says that's not accurate.  Seymour says people have taken his words too literally.  "When I said half, what I meant is - it's going to be a lot less, like when someone says it's half the price. Often, they don't literally mean half, they mean it's just a lot less, and that's what it will be." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A defence and security expert says the Kiwi 'bumbling jihadi' is New Zealand's problem, but it's difficult to get him.  Mark John Taylor is believed to still be in Syria - but has been charged in Wellington today under the Terrorism Suppression Act. Massey University security expert John Battersby says the ISIL supporter has no travel documents and New Zealand has no representation in Syria.  "The possibility of us being connected back with him is actually pretty remote." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Solicitor-General's spoken out over public pressure to change the prosecution guidelines.  Una Jagose had advised prosecutors to think carefully about particular decisions when a person is Māori. She's now scrapped any mention of race in the official guidelines.  In a rare media interview, Jagose says the previous version simply lacked clarity. "It led people to understand that I was saying there were two different approaches - one for Māori and one for everyone else. That was quite the opposite to what I was intending to say." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A city councillor says more can be done to stop Wellington's rates rising further. Draft council budget figures predict 15.9 percent rises for the 2025-26 financial year - with a portion for wastewater treatment included, dubbed the sludge levy. Councillor Tony Randle says there's still time to make cuts, or ratepayers will feel the pain. "This is just bad news for a council, really, that says it's trying to make hard decisions - but it hasn't made hard decisions." Mayor Tory Whanau is promising staff are aiming to reduce the increase. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters has fired back at speculation about how much the new Cook Strait ferries. The Government won't reveal how much they'll pay to replace the service - but ACT's David Seymour claimed it would cost approximately half of the cost of Labour's proposal. Newstalk ZB political correspondent Barry Soper says this is an especially challenging time for Winston Peters.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being overweight or obese has overtaken smoking as the top risk factor contributing to health problems in 2024, new data shows. The Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024 estimates that Australians lost 5.8m years of healthy life due to living with illness and injury - or premature death. While smoking has previously been the lead factor contributing to poor health later on in life - being overweight has since beaten it out. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says experts are calling for sugar taxes and less marketing of junk food to children. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Papua New Guinea will have an NRL team from 2028, becoming the first-non-Australian-based club since the Warriors were established in 1995. Australian Rugby League chairman Peter V'Landys says the majority of the $660 million investment into the PNG side will be spent on the development system. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christmas and New Year's leave has been cancelled for military personnel set to cover for striking from non-uniform staff. The Defence Minister last month invoked the Defence Act, letting uniformed servicemen and woman fill the gaps. Advocacy group Mission Homefront has written to Judith Collins - saying that's unprecedented and unacceptable. Co-founder Hayden Ricketts says uniformed staff already give so much. "You know, those uniformed staff have worked their butts off during the Covid-19 response, they occupied and looked after our country and MIQ and the managed isolation facilities, they've done their best through Cyclone Gabrielle." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's growing concern about a wave of newly-released British jihadists returning to the UK from Syrian prisons. The UK Government is keeping a close eye on the possibility of any of the British jihadists detained in camps returning to UK shores. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says there were potentially 'dozens' of British jihadists that had been captured while fighting for the Islamic State group. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.