Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 9 May 2025, the Government is pushing ahead with its review of the Waitangi Tribunal. Minister for Maori Development Tama Potaka tells Heather whether the tribunal is going too far. Plus Erica Stanford talks through the changes to the redress scheme for victims of abuse in state care. We find out more about the new leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV and speak to Cardinal John Dew who was in the conclave itself. Heather has plenty more to say about the state of New Zealand Rugby finances. 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.

Sports Journalist Lavina Good and Newstalk ZB's Adam Cooper join the Huddle.  The Huddle discusses Netball New Zealand's current rules stating players must play in the ANZ Premiership to be available for the national team.  Nine Kiwi crickets have left Pakistan as the Super League transfers to the UAE amid ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India.  Where does this leave the players? New Zealand Rugby has posted huge losses despite a record income last year. Could we expect job losses?  The Huddle discuss all this and more.  LISTEN ABOVE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump has agreed to cut tariffs on UK autos, steel and aluminum in a trade deal. In the deal, the United Kingdom will buy more US beef and ethanol, streamlining it customs process for goods from the country. Who came out better in the deal? UK Correspondent Gavin Grey discusses the terms, the impact on domestic industries and more. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trade officials from the worlds biggest economies are coming together for discussions this weekend.  US-President Donald Trump says tariffs on goods from China may come down.  Asia Business Correspondent says people shouldn't get their hopes up.  "These aren't really negotiations about trade, they're talks about having talks," he said.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It didn't take long for cardinals to decide on Leo XIV as the new pope.  One of the cardinals in attendance was New Zealand's very own John Drew.  He joins the show to discuss what his experience in Rome was like.  LISTEN ABOVE.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The IRD has uncovered more than $150 million is undeclared tax and GST from the property sector. Developers and rental property owners haven’t been paying the correct GST, income tax and bright-line test taxes. Inland Revenue Senior Manager Tony Morris talks to Heather du Plessis-Allan about the revelation. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Catholic Catholic Church’s new pope is already making headlines for his criticism of his President Donald Trump. Auckland Bishop Steve Lowe says as pope, Leo XIV will occasionally weigh into politics. “He’s got to uphold the teachings of Jesus Christ and sometimes that might come into conflict with some political leaders around the world,” he said. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you are at all interested in understanding what's going wrong at rugby headquarters in Wellington, can I recommend that you read Gregor Paul's piece in the Herald today? It's an excellent summation.   The question that we had yesterday when we were looking at the financials was how on Earth is it that New Zealand Rugby pulls in more money than it ever has in a financial year and still manages to not make a profit? How do you do that? The answer is it seems going by Gregor's piece, it's just wasteful spending and spending in the wrong places.   For example, New Zealand rugby spent more than seven and a half million dollars last year on paying board members and executives. That is more than the seven million it spent on Heartland rugby teams last year and it is more than five and a half million it spent on its five Super Rugby clubs. No organisation should spend more on the people running the thing then on the thing itself, that's nuts.   New Zealand Rugby flew two board members, Dame Patsy Reddy and Bailey Mackey, to the UK last year when they were leaving the organisation the following month.   What's the point of that?  If you know that people are leaving, stop flying them places. They're now redundant, aren’t they?   When the All Blacks played in Tokyo, they took players and coaches and management. Fair enough.   But then they also took administrative staff and executive staff.   That was 75 people for a rugby game. Honestly, that's way too much.   Do you know how much they were paying at the hotel they were staying at? $900 a night.   That is an organisation spending like it's in the gold mining game, not like it's an organisation making more annual losses than profits in recent memory.   Gregor Paul suggests some people are going to lose their jobs and I think that's probably fair.   To be fair to NZR, we all understand what's going on here and not all of it is their fault.  The biggest problem they've got is that rugby is boring. That's because the rules suck and NZR has only got so much control over the rules. It's really a World Rugby problem. But for NZR, it has been obvious for ages that the problems that they face with participation and viewership, attendance, and money are not going to get solved anytime soon.   Now, if you know things are tough and they're not improving, do you not put the credit card away? Do you not cut the spending?   You and I might, but not NZR, apparently, and that's their fault.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has announced how they will pay compo to victims of abuse while in state care. There will be no new compo scheme, instead the Government will top up the current system. Lead coordination minister Erica Stanford talks to Heather du Plessis-Allan about the payment cap, how much is set aside financially, the pay equity bill and more. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Any changes to the Waitangi Tribunal will be introduced before the end of the year. The Government’s announced a review will kick of mid-year, with any advice to be given to the Government by September. The Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says it’s timely. “It runs enquiries according to very, very old legislation ... and the way it conducts itself needs to be modernised,” he said. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.