Larry Williams Drive

The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the first time since December.  It's a 0.25 point drop, much lower than US President Donald Trump wanted.  Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federated Farmers has been quick to label Environment Canterbury’s decision to declare a nitrate emergency as a 'political stunt'. ECan recently carried a motion to declare the emergency at yesterday's meeting. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The GDP drop has sparked concern among experts, and it's prompted many to update their economic outlook. GDP's fallen 0.9 percent in the June quarter - much further than the Reserve Bank and all economists had been expecting. Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold says Q3 indicators are already looking better, but the bank's upgraded their October OCR call. "We upgraded our October call from a 25 point cut to a 50 point cut...the GDP number was quite a bit weaker than everybody's predictions." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute and former Auckland mayor Phil Goff joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! The GDP results are in, and they're worse than predicted. Are we surprised by this development? Does the Reserve Bank need to try harder to fix this? Should Nicola Willis resign? Self-driving Teslas have officially launched in New Zealand. What do we make of this? Should we be worried? Jimmy Kimmel's show has been pulled following some comments he made about Charlie Kirk's assassination. Is this an overreach? Did Kimmel deserve to get sacked? New data reveals one in three young men feel gender equality has gone too far. What makes our young men feel like this? Can something be done about it?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 18 September 2025, the economy contracted much more sharply than anticipated in the second quarter. Finance Minister Nicola Willis speaks to Heather about just how bad the GDP result is. Self-driving Teslas are officially driving around New Zealand, but nobody knows exactly what the rules are. Motorsport legend Greg Murphy weighs in. A report reveals more than half of us think gender equality has been achieved, but 1 in 3 young men think equality has gone too far. Plus, the Huddle debates whether Jimmy Kimmel deserved to be sacked for his Charlie Kirk comments. 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.

Well, I think it's fair to say that the GDP print has come in at something of a shock. The Reserve Bank was picking a contraction of 0.3 percent. The consensus was a contraction of 0.4 percent. The worst-case prediction from one of the banks was a contraction of 0.5 percent. It's come in at a contraction of 0.9 percent, which is basically twice as bad as most of us thought. Now, the immediate problem that we have is what this is going to do to confidence, because people are already scared. That is why it's taking this country so long to come out of recession, because every single piece of bad news like Trump's tariffs earlier this year freaks us out all over again, so we keep our wallets shut for longer. There are people out there who absolutely can afford to spend more money, but they're choosing not to because they do not know that they can trust that we're through the worst of it. This is part of the reason, if not one of the bigger reasons, why the Reserve Bank's cuts to the OCR are not stimulating the ec

New Zealand-based security company Auror is set to start trialling live facial recognition technology. This latest development will alert retailers when someone who's been flagged for serious offending walks into their business. Global Head of Risk at Auror, Nick McDonnell, says there's plenty of safeguards built into this technology to ensure people's privacy is protected. "There's lots of different ways they can respond - they can greet the person as they walk in or they might not approach at all because the person's been known to be violent or aggressive or carrying a weapon. It just gives them that really critical moment's notice." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis says uncertainty over Donald Trump's tariffs drove down GDP in the June quarter. But the Finance Minister admits has admitted she was surprised to see the economy's contracted 0.9 percent. She says there was consensus that GDP would drop, but most forecasts had it at 0.3 percent. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crusaders fans are questioning their loyalty after prices for the next season at the new stadium revealed a 40 percent increase. The memberships cover three games at the old Apollo Projects Stadium and 4 at the new Te Kaha Stadium - and fans have balked at the new ticket prices. Sports commentator Nick Bewley says he'd suspected a big price jump was coming, given the stadium costs. "To be perfectly honest, I've felt that this was always going to be a big jump because the stadium costs at least half a billion dollars." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tesla today announced its Full Self-Driving (FSD) service has now been activated in New Zealand and Australia. Both countries are the first right-hand drive markets to access this technology, which had previously been kept inactive until now. Kiwi motorsport driver Greg Murphy has raised concerns about this, given Tesla's record. "Tesla haven't got a clean record when it comes to the autonomous vehicles around the world, with a few lawsuits that have taken place in various places." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's on the defensive, after the latest sharp drop in GDP. The economy's contracted 0.9 percent in the June quarter - far more than anyone was expecting. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper weighed in on the latest data - and speculated about when things could improve. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is due to meet with Donald Trump soon, off the back of his visit to the Pacific. This follows Albanese’s failure to secure a defence treaty with Papua New Guinea delayed amid concerns about sovereignty. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says the pressure's on for the Prime Minister.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crusaders fans have voiced concerns  after prices for the next season at the new stadium revealed a 40 percent increase. The memberships cover three games at the old Apollo Projects Stadium and 4 at the new Te Kaha stadium. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave discussed the situation further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly half of Kiwis think equality has already been achieved.  And 1 in 3 young men think equality has gone too far. These results come from the National Council of Women of New Zealand's 2025 Gender Attitude Survey. Council President Dr Suzanne Manning says the views are outdated and entrenched. "What men see is being comfortable with the status quo, and all these rules that are put in could take their privileges away from them."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump has arrived in the UK for his much-anticipated state visit.  He's being welcomed by King Charles at Windsor Castle, and will also meet with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. UK correspondent Gavin Grey explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on the Huddle, political commentator and lawyer Liam Hehir 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! There's another case of a judge ordering police to give back a gang member's patch. Is there a loophole that needs fixing here? Rawiri Waititi made headlines after he only answered questions in te reo Māori in Parliament. What do we make of this? Should we make it easier for overseas born kids with Māori heritage to gain citizenship? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is looking to move forward with plans to change who is liable for defective building work, and it's raised questions about what this could mean going forward. For decades, all parties involved in a build have been jointly liable for problems, with local councils mostly picking up the tab. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christchurch-headquartered Brooksfield Homes is looking to bring a new style of townhouse to Auckland.  Reports claim the company's planned eight new Pt Chevalier homes on two sites, with a projected end valuation of $11.6 million. Brooksfield Homes managing director Vincent Holloway says a lot of people want to live in similar heritage properties found in Grey Lynn or Ponsonby - but prices keep many out of reach. "People are wanting that in a home, so we aim to do that in a smaller scale in a cheaper area, basically."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 17 September 2025, Oscar nominated Kiwi actress Keisha Castle-Hughes tells Heather why she wants Maori who are born overseas to have easier access to citizenship.   Singer Tiki Taane explains why he's taken his songs off global streaming platform Spotify. Royal historian and consultant to Netflix' "The Crown" Robert Lacey speaks to Heather about the pomp and circumstance being prepared for Donald Trump's big state visit at Windsor Castle. Plus, the Huddle debates whether the gang patch ban needs tightening after a second case of an empathetic judge handing a Mongrel Mob member his patch back. 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.

So, Shanan Halbert from the Māori Party doesn't like the fact that Rawiri Waititi answered all his media questions about Takuta Ferris in te reo Māori. Now, if you haven't caught up on this, this is what happened yesterday when the Māori Party came face to face with the press gallery. It was the first time since Tākuta Ferris has doubled down and then tripled down for his anti-immigrant comments and then ignored his leader's orders to delete the video. And then the leaders started, by the looks of things, ignoring media requests for interviews. So yesterday, when the media finally had a chance to ask Rawiri about it for the first time, he refused to speak English and he would only answer in Māori, because he said it's te reo Māori week. And Shanan Halbert from the Labour Party didn't like it because he thinks that Rawiri is creating an "exclusive bunch" of Māori. Which is presumably Māori who can speak Māori, and that, by the looks of things, excludes him. Well, tough bickies. If Shanan doesn't want to f