Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

A signal from the Reserve Bank's led Westpac to hike rates - and one economist expects other banks could follow.  Westpac lifted two five-year fixed rates by 30 basis points yesterday. The bank's chief economist, Kelly Eckhold, says it seems the Reserve Bank's unlikely to cut the OCR again any time soon.  "We kind of expected that they would cut the rate by 25 basis points, but we didn't expect them to call time on the easing cycle. It sort of scared the markets a little bit."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Taxpayers' Union has raised concerns about Nicola Willis' skills as a Finance Minister - and one of her predecessors has expressed interest in a debate. Willis challenged Ruth Richardson to a debate yesterday, after Richardson criticised the Government's fiscal track.  Richardson's agreed - but a date's yet to be set.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump is defending his controversial economic policies amid ongoing concerns about the cost of living. Data shows two-thirds of Americans say the Trump administration has fallen short of expectations in handling inflation and economic turmoil. US correspondent Jonathan Kearsley says Trump has blamed the Democrats and the previous Biden administration for the state of the economy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have been sent an unprecedented email from our National Cyber Security Centre. It's emailed 26,000 addresses warning malicious software, called Lumma Stealer, could have infected their devices. It's designed to steal sensitive information - and some stolen passwords are connected to Government agency systems and bank accounts. Aura Information Manager, Patrick Sharp, says international partners revealed the threat to our cyber security centre. He explained that presumably means an agency's uncovered a trove of stolen data and alerted the NCSC about the email addresses of concern. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A ray of sunshine for the Black Caps on the opening day of the second test against the West Indies at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. New Zealand newbie Michael Rae has stepped up on debut, taking his maiden test wicket - luring West Indian opener John Campbell into flashing an edge to first slip Daryl Mitchell after lunch - Campbell made 44. Blair Tickner had earlier stalled the tourists' progress after an opening stand of 66 - securing the lbws of recalled batters Brandon King and Kavem Hodge. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 9 December 2025, the big RMA reform is finally here. RMA Minister Chris Bishop explains what resource consents you will soon not need anymore. The Education Minister reacts to all the dubious spending by schools and principals that's been highlighted by the Auditor General. Economist Brad Olsen finally settles the debate over whether our long summer holidays are hurting the economy. Plus, New Zealand Navy's Commodore Shane Arndell reveals the messages the Chinese war ships sent our navy while the HMNZS Aotearoa was patrolling near North Korea and Taiwan. 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.

These RMA changes hit the nail on the head by putting private property rights front and centre. These rights are basically what keeps rich countries rich and their absence keeps poor countires poor. If a council wants to infringe on them, it should compensate you for it. And these changes lower the threshold for compensation, which is a good thing. Want to suddenly invent a Significant Natural Area or label something 'heritage'? Well, that may cost you, Councillor. It'll make councils think twice before imposing some of this stupid stuff on property owners. We've had too examples of councils just making these up and restricting land use on a whim. On an airy fairy idea. The reason property rights are so important is simple. You use your land as collateral to borrow. To build. To invest. Owning acts as an incentive to build assets. It creates growth and production. This production is then taxed. The taxes pay for nice, communal things that everybody likes. Like classrooms and hospitals. What we need now is for politicians to stick to this plan. And not mess with it. The new bills will pass first reading next week, and the first bits will come into effect by the end of 2026. Half the consents currently required will no longer be needed. Anyone who's been through the consenting process will be celebrating this. But only if the changes stick. Only if Labour promises not to touch them. Because this is not our first rodeo. Remember, it was Labour who first repealed the RMA and replaced it with 2 new bills. 900 pages long. The Coalition got in and one of the first things they did was ri[ it up. We reverted back to the RMA. Now the Coalition's bills are out. 900 pages. The test of how long they remain law is not lasting another term of Coalition, but a first term of Labour, whenever that may be. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We learnt this week that A New Zealand Navy vessel was followed by 7 Chinese Warships while patrolling Asian waters. The HMNZS Aotearoa had crossed through the Taiwan Strait, and was patrolling international waters to curb North Korean war programmes.  Commodore Shane Arndell told Ryan Bridge that this is a routine practice, and communication was open between the HMNZS Aotearoa and the Chinese fleet.  'We communicate, we let each other know what we're doing, we keep it all nice and safe and everything is respectful.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The RMA is out and is set to be replaced with two new laws - one based on planning and one based on the environment.  The new laws are expected to cut the number of consents and permits by 46%, and speed up the ones currently in the pipeline.  CEO of the Property Council Leonie Freeman told Ryan Bridge she hopes that, "the reduction of 100 plans down to 17 will provide a lot more consistency." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Auditor-General has released its annual report on questionable spending by schools - and some stand out more than the rest.  Sutton Park School spent $11,000 on a staff planning meeting at Sky City, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Mangere spent $22,000 on a boat cruise, and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Tonga o Hokianga spent $6,000 on a trip to Turkey for the principal with 'No clear business purpose.' The Ministry of Education says that over 2400 schools were audited and only a handful were 'commented on' by the auditor-general.  Education Minister Erica Stanford blamed the previous government, saying that, 'It wasn't particularly fit for purpose and it didn't have good guard rails to prevent exactly what's happened.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.