Larry Williams Drive

There's growing speculation that National is looking to oust Chris Luxon as leader ahead of the election, but Finance Minister Nicola Willis is disputing these rumours. Reports have claimed National is looking to replace Luxon with Chris Bishop, but this is mostly speculation. Nicola Willis says the party has a Prime Minister who's delivering significant reforms - and making good on the promises National campaigned on. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's talk about Air New Zealand. Look, if I was Air New Zealand, I would feel pretty beaten up after the weekend's opinion pieces. Bruce Cotterill  wrote a piece in one newspaper complaining that if Air New Zealand want to charge as much as they do, then they have to do the job better and be on time more often. And then, Sam Stubbs wrote a piece in another newspaper telling them to stop overcharging domestic travellers. Now, I cannot explain the timing. I can't explain why both those guys wrote harsh pieces about the same airline on the same weekend. But what's weirder about it is that I almost did exactly the same thing.  I almost had a bit of a rant about Air New Zealand myself this weekend, because I had to pull out of an event on account of their ticket prices. What it was is the husband and I were planning to go to a thing in Wellington. We started doing all the organizing, had the babysitter covered, organized to work out of Wellington for the day - and we went to book the flights and sa

New Zealand farms and food producers appear to be outpacing other countries when it comes to reducing food waste. A report commissioned by the Ministry of Environment reveals more than 1.2 million tonnes of food is wasted or thrown away here every year. The total proportion of food wasted is between 5 and 10 percent - considerably lower than the global estimate of 30 to 40 percent. University of Otago nutrition professor and report author Sheila Skeaff says household food waste is still as high as most other countries, but producers are ahead. "We produce a lot of food and we're pretty good at making sure that we make the best use of that, particularly on farms and in processing." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Wellington bar owner could be stripped of his liquor license for offering a bar tab as a pub quiz prize. Courtney Place's Dakota Bar advertises a first prize reward of a $150 tab. Owner Jose Ubiaga has to appear before the council's Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority. He says he's been told to reword offering winners a food and drink voucher, to avoid the perception he was giving away alcohol. He says it can be used to pay for anything at the bar. "Ironically, when people do redeem our bar tab, 95 percent of our sales will be food and non-alcoholic drinks." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A finance expert warns New Zealanders need reasons to pay in to KiwiSaver, if they're being told to contribute more. National's made a pre-election pledge to progressively raise baseline worker and employer contributions by 2032 - to six percent each. Koura Wealth managing director Rupert Carlyon says that's a nudge to contribute, but more's needed to turn it into a push.  He says the US, Australia and Ireland use incentives.  "These are all countries that use tax breaks, so tax deductions for contributions or tax deductions to allow you to kind of make your gains tax-free." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New rules aimed at protecting homeowners should be formally introduced next year. The Government's announced plans to require all warranties for new homes three storeys or less, and all renos worth at least $100,000. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk admits homeowners will pay a bit more, but it's worth it. "It's around half of one percent of the cost of a build, so I think that's a lot of of peace of mind - so I think that's a good trade off for the council not having to be involved in ratepayers being on the hook to the extent that they are now." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Luxon says National's KiwiSaver election pledge will be a bottom line in coalition negotiations. National's announced plans to lift default contributions to six percent by 2032. Employer contributions would increase by half a percent from 2029. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan says most of the policy is sound, but he raised concerns over some employers taking the increases out of their workers' pay checks. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Search teams have been unable to find a man who went overboard on a Melbourne to Auckland Disney cruise.  Reports claim a 73-year-old jumped from the Disney Wonder in the early hours of Saturday morning.  The vessel turned back for about five hours to search alongside search efforts from the air.  Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says this will likely come as 'harrowing' news to the passengers and crew members on board. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All Blacks will review their campaign in the coming weeks as they take stock of a mixed year. The side are heading home in groups as they contemplate a 10-win, three-loss record. Those losses include a record demise to South Africa, a first defeat in Argentina and the disintegration of Grand Slam hopes to England. Sportstalk host Jason Pine recapped the action. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up to 15,000 passengers could be disrupted if Air New Zealand cabin crew go ahead with strike action next month. The airline's largely unionised crew plan to strike on December 8th demanding greater salaries and allowances. The flagship carrier's assessing the potential effect on operations. Expert and advisor to business leaders, Bruce Cotterill, says people have high expectations when it comes to Air New Zealand and CEO Nikhil Ravishankar's response has left some disappointed. "You do expect a level of performance and that level of performance isn't there at the moment. So it's frustrating - it's frustrating for travellers, I'm sure it's frustrating for Air New Zealand as well." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 21 November 2025, Heather finds out more about the disquiet in the National Party about Christopher Luxon's leadership.   Auckland Pride are seeking a judicial review of the government's call to withdraw guidelines for transgender athletes in community sport. We find out the DIY medical tests may be as reliable as a coin toss. Plus, the Sports Huddle debates whether Scott Robertson is under pressure as All Blacks coach. 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.

Rumours have been swirling of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon getting rolled by his party. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith denied the rumours saying no one in National’s caucus had raised with him the idea of replacing Luxon.  In recent polls National has lagged behind Labour with 33% versus 38% in the Talbot Mills/Anacta poll conducted between November 1 and 10.  This has fanned the flames of conversation regarding the likelihood of National's re-election next year. Although, Barry Soper told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "essentially you've got Labour on the ropes, whereas you've got, the coalition government headed by National in a much stronger position." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A LGBTQ+ advocacy group is taking the Government to court over issues with transgender athlete inclusion.  In July, Sport New Zealand announced it'll abandon its guidelines outlining how transgender athletes can be included in community sport.  Auckland Pride says documents released through the Official Information Act show Sport and Recreation Minister Mark Mitchell had directed Sport NZ to withdraw the guidelines.  Spokesperson Bhen Goodsir told Heather du Plessis-Allan Mitchell should be having a serious look at this.  Goodsir says it sends a message from the Government that they don’t see the inclusion of the transgender and rainbow community as a priority.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There have been no signs of easing anxiety in the stock markets despite record Nvidia results.  Investment director for Craigs Investment Partners Mark Lister told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the apprehension is a result of not wanting to overestimate the appropriate levels of optimism. "It's more of a case of a healthy pullback, a healthy correction rather than something that's going to develop into anything more sinister," he said. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump is set to meet with recently elected New York mayor Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday following months of public conflict.  The US President announced the meeting in a Truth Social Post which said the "communist mayor" requested the meeting. US correspondent Charles Feldman told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "Trump is at heart a New Yorker, and I think he's going to want to present himself as somebody who does have New York's interests at heart." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following the death of a two-year old baby in Manawatū earlier this year Midland Community Pharmacy Group chief executive Pete Chandler co-ordinated an audit. The audit found 1,200 prescription mistakes in one week- 26% of the mistakes posing 'high risk of harm' to patients.  Chandler told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the days of doctors' handwriting causing issues are over, but electronic systems have introduced a whole new range of problems.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Either Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is telling porkies, or he’s the most out-of-the-loop person in Wellington. His claim that there’s “no talk” of rolling Chris Luxon is complete nonsense. There is talk—serious talk. I can tell you for a fact that senior National Party ministers believe Luxon can’t continue in the job. MPs are actively discussing whether to pull the pin and replace him. If they do, the most likely successor is Chris Bishop. But—and this is crucial—they haven’t decided to do it yet. Why? Because it’s risky. Rolling a sitting Prime Minister has only happened once before, with Jim Bolger, and that didn’t end well. MPs know that sticking with Luxon might pay off if the economy improves next year. Better economic conditions could lift National’s polling and save seats currently at risk. But there’s a flip side: if the polls don’t recover, Luxon’s unpopularity could drag National down further. Like it or not, modern elections are presidential in style—voters focus on who they want as Prime Minis

Over in the UK, some Labour MPs claim they've got the necessary numbers to roll Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer's popularity has been declining and Reform remains a consistent threat in the polls - and there's clear mood for change. UK correspondent Enda Brady explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 20 November 2025, Education Minister Erica Stanford talks whether she's going to go further on digital restrictions in our schools. Heather asks Wellington Mayor Andrew Little whether he'll cancel the Golden Mile project altogether - after the council voted to pause the works. Predator Free New Zealand Trust CEO Jessi Morgan celebrates the government's move to add feral cats to the Predator Free 2050 hitlist. David Seymour talks his comments about Winston Peters wanting to repeal the Regulatory Standards Bill. Plus, the Huddle debates whether you can stand at a concert - no matter what sort of ticket you have. 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.

Despite growing concerns about the AI bubble, Nvidia's shown it won't be popping any time soon. The company's quarterly results have smashed expectations and it recorded a 22 percent jump in profit from the previous quarter. Fisher Funds expert Sam Dickie explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.