Larry Williams Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, Kiwiblog's David Farrar and Ali Jones from Red PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! David Seymour says the coalition isn't saving as much money as ACT would have. What do we make of this?  Police Commissioner Richard Chambers gave an interview to the NZ Herald saying we should feel lucky to live in New Zealand. What do we make of this?  A Wellington restaurant is asking people to sign a contract before taking leftovers home.. to ensure they're not liable for any food safety issues. Is this over the top? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 21 August 2025, no more embarrassing plane-breakdowns! Defence Minister Judith Collins tells Heather she's gone shopping for new helicopters and planes with a total bill of $2.7 billion. You're now allowed to tell everyone what you're being paid.. but is that a good thing? Stacey Penn lost her job after she was injured while struggling with a pit bull that had charged into a jewellery shop. She says the dog was already a known troublemaker. Has the lucky streak run out? SkyCity boss Jason Walbridge discusses the company's capital raise and the big profit drop. Plus, the Huddle debates whether restaurants asking you to sign a food safety waiver are OTT. 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.

I'm gonna say thank you to the Police Commissioner, Richard Chambers, for maybe reminding us to be grateful for what we have. He gave an interview to the Herald today and he said he thinks there is a fair bit of punching down on New Zealand going on at the moment. And he thinks that's unfair. He says: "With the world going a little crazy, I count us lucky that we are where we are." Now, given how much doom and gloom there is at the moment, it may surprise you to know that the accompanying poll in the Herald article actually agrees with him - as unscientific as it is. Most people rate their experience of living in New Zealand as 8 out of 10. 20 percent of people say they have an 8 out of 10 experience. Then the next one up is 10 out of 10. That's 15 percent. 7 out of 10 comes next, and 13 percent of us say that.  So, 7, 8, 9, and 10 out of 10 account for 58 percent of the votes. Way more than half of us think that we are living in a pretty great place. Now, as I say, it's not scientific, but it

SkyCity is pushing forward with a new capital raise, after confirming a significant drop in profit. Underlying profit's plummeted 42 percent, according to new reports. Costs have also been rising, particularly for regulatory compliance, online gaming, and the soon-to-open Auckland convention centre. SkyCity CEO Jason Walbridge says he believes they're acting in the best interests of the company - despite the concerns. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ACT leader has promised less spending and fewer public servants. It comes after numerous redundancies in the public sector, following calls for efficient spending as the coalition's budgets were being delivered. David Seymour says the Government is not cutting costs as much as ACT would. "We said that we wanted to reduce the number of public servants back to pre-Labour levels, and we also said that we wanted to reduce spending by about 8 or 9 billion each year." Seymour's reiterating the comments made yesterday when reacting to a further OCR cut. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Defence Minister says it's important for New Zealand to have the right equipment as the Government unveils its newest defence spend. The Government is set to invest $2.7 billion into two new Airbus A321 planes and five new MH-60R Seahawk helicopters to replace the Air Force’s Boeing 757s and the Navy's older Seasprite helicopters. Judith Collins explained that it was important to get the right equipment at the right price range. "We're a bit faster than some people getting them because we're doing this less-to-buy program with a very large supplier - or someone who buys an awful lot of brand-new planes - and we're on that sort of system so we can get them a bit earlier." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's belief the job losses at the Eves Valley Sawmill will have a significant impact on the area.  Manufacturing company Carter Holt Harvey is proposing to close the mill, which would result in 142 jobs lost. It's wanting to consolidate its structural timber manufacturing to one site - in Bay of Plenty's Kawerau. Tasman mayor Tim King, lives next door to the mill and says there's no chance to change the company's mind.  "The most significant impact - and most immediate - is on those 142 people employed at Eves Valley, but there is a wide range of other businesses that support the Eves Valley sawmill, it's a big component of the forestry sector in this region." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Workers are now able to speak freely about their salaries, and it's got experts speculating about what this means for Kiwis. The House passed a new law last night preventing employers from taking legal action against workers talking about their pay.  The bill, introduced by Labour's Camilla Belich, essentially renders pay secrecy clauses unenforceable.  Employment lawyer Jordan Boyle says New Zealand already has a culture of keeping pay private.  "People may feel a little bit more freedom to ask, but you don't have to share. People may choose to share, employers may face some difficult conversations." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's speaking about the importance of deterring threats, as it confirms a multi-billion dollar defence spend. It's investing $2.7 billion dollars for two new Airbus A321 planes to replace ageing planes that have broken down numerous times. The new planes will be delivered in 2028. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talks about the potential implications of this spend. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tensions between Israel and other nations have escalated, with Benjamin Netanyahu accusing Australia's Anthony Albanese of 'betrayal'. Australia is standing by its decision to recognise a Palestinian state, with a formal declaration to be made at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Netanyahu also accused Albanese of 'abandoning Australian Jews', prompting further concerns. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The entry of Auckland FC into the women’s A-League competition has been delayed for two years. It was confirmed on Thursday by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), the governing body of the A-Leagues, that the new licence will be granted for the 2027/2028 season. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pitbull launched itself from a moving vehicle and stormed into an Auckland jewellery store, injuring an employee during the incident. Auckland Council confirmed the owner was given an infringement notice and education on dog control after the attack. Stacey Penn says the punishment for the owner 'wasn't fair' and further consequences are needed. "The fact that she's already been warned previously and still chose to drive around with her dog in her car - she'd been told to muzzle it and didn't muzzle it. So it's not the first time it's happened." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UK inflation figure rises in data just released, and it's prompted concerns among experts. The 3.8 percent rise in inflation over the 12 months to July this year is the largest increase in inflation since January 2024. UK correspondent Gavin Grey explains what this means for the economy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank cut the OCR by 25 basis points to three percent today, but the markets still saw some surprises. Today's cut was divisive, with 2 of the 6 committee members voting for a 50 basis point cut. Remy Morgan from Milford Asset Management explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  The OCR dropped by 25 basis points to 3 percent today, with the MPC divided about the cuts. This indicates the economy is not in a good spot - where does this leave the Government?  Winston Peters is offering to give public evidence at the Covid inquiry - is this a stunt?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The longer that this economic funk that we find ourselves in goes on, the more that Jarrod Kerr of Kiwibank is being proven right, isn't he? And we had a cut today - it was 25 basis points down to 3 percent - and now there's the expectation that we will maybe get down to 2.5 percent before this thing bottoms out. 2.5 percent is where Jarrod Kerr has been saying for months that we need to get to. But even though he's been saying it since at least September last year, if not earlier, the Reserve Bank has only just caught up with him. Up til now, they've been talking about 2.75 percent, 3 percent maybe. Now, what you should take from this is that the Reserve Bank is surprised by what Jarrod Kerr - and you could argue many of us - have been seeing for ages, which is that the economy is properly, properly stuffed. Like, stuffed enough that they should be cutting a lot more than they are. Why this is a surprise to them is beyond me, because you just need to look at what's going on with businesses today to see

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 20 August 2025, acting Reserve Bank Governor Christian Hawkesby speaks to Heather about the decision to cut the OCR down to 3 percent - and why the bank didn't go for a bigger cut. How many more days will students be off school because of striking teachers? The union's Chris Abercrombie tells Heather they're hoping to get a better pay deal from the Government. Things are going from bad to worse for Fletcher Building. CEO Andrew Reding tells Heather they're a victim of the economy which hasn't been this bad since the 80s. Should your life insurance company have access to genetic tests you do, and hike your premium as a result? Plus, the Huddle debates the state of the economy and whether Nicola Willis is in the danger zone. 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.

Spark has reported another big fall in profit, with reported net profit down 17.7 percent to $260 million - or a 33.6 percent fall to $227 million, adjusting for one-offs. The telco also cut approximately 1300 full-time employees by the end of June, with many roles being eliminated or going to outsourcing and offshoring firms. CEO Jolie Hodson says it's a tough economic market and the company has had to adjust to these changes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fletcher Building has confirmed a new focus on building materials. The construction giant's announced a net loss of $419 million for the past year, compared to a loss of $227 million last year. It's already been looking for buyers for its construction division and some other subsidiaries. Fletcher CEO Andrew Reding says this is the toughest things have been since the GFC. "It's highly unusual when you get both your residential infrastructure and your commercial market segments all crashing down at the same time." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand wool can be found in clothing and people's homes - but it's set to be bouncing around the courts of the next US Open. Tennis balls made with wool sourced from farms throughout the country will be served up by the world’s top-ranked players when the tournament gets under way this weekend.  NZ Wool Services trading manager Nathan Watt says New Zealand-produced wool is widely regarded as the best in the world for tennis balls. "We've got the best-coloured wool in the world for strong wool, so it's perfect for tennis ball felt." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.