Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The boss of Air Zealand says he's proud they've made even two cents of a dollar this year - as profits drop 13.7 percent.  The airline's being hit hard by a sluggish domestic economy, with costs like landing charges, wages, and engineering material rising much faster than inflation. Outgoing CEO Greg Foran says he appreciates it's been a difficult few years.  "Whether it was starting when Covid began and doing capital raises and then hurriedly having to restart the business, and then a parade of engine challenges and now we've got a few other headwinds - but you learn." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nigel Farage recently unveiled his controversial plans to deport asylum seekers, but the Taliban have already voiced their support. The Taliban claimed it was 'ready and willing' to work with Farage to accept Afghans who have been deported from the UK. UK correspondent Gavin Grey explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 27 August 2025, Finance Minister Nicola Willis is slashing red tape in the hope it will attract another supermarket player to expand into New Zealand. Insurance costs have risen 900% in the past 25 years. Heather asks Kris Faafoi from the Insurance Council whether it's company greed or necessity. AT tries to defend its $63 million roadcone bill. The Huddle debates whether the Prime Minister was being cringe with his Facebook video inviting Taylor and Travis to get married in New Zealand. Plus, HE DID NOT! Heather reveals the outrageous thing her husband asked her. 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.

If I'm honest with you, the passing of John Barnett on Sunday has actually hit our house quite hard over the last three days - because at the start, nobody knew anything about what had happened. And as the information has come out, we've realized that when my husband bumped into him on the street on Sunday afternoon, it was literally just before he died They stopped for a chat, husband went in one direction, Barnett went in the other direction, and it wouldn't have been another 200m or so beyond that, that John collapsed. Now, I don't think the full force of it actually hit me until I was watching the television news about this last night, because, you know, you're watching somebody alive on TV in the footage, but not alive in real life anymore. And what struck me last night was that I never realized how big a force John Barnett was for us in New Zealand.  I knew what he'd done, we all knew what he'd done - Shorty Street, Whale Rider, all of that. But it wasn't until I heard the list rattled off that I realized the scale of the impact - Footrot Flats, Sione's Wedding, Whale Rider, Shortland Street, Once Were Warriors, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, Outrageous Fortune, apparently commissioning Dave Dobbyn and Herbs to make 'Slice of Heaven', and apparently helping to rescue people in Dawn Raid. I mean, how much of what we consider to be intrinsic parts of our culture, or at least reflections of our culture back to us, were created or facilitated by John Barnett? It was really easy to forget that when you knew John, because he's really easygoing and really gracious, never reminded you of what a big deal he actually was. He was just Barney, who you bumped into almost every week on the kindy run or at the weekend sitting outside Dizengoff or strolling down Ponsonby Road. The last time I saw him and sat down and properly had a chat to him was over dinner at Prego not long ago. And the thing that struck me about him was how much into life he still was at the age of 79. He still had an eye for a good yarn, he was telling us about the story he never got around to making, which is of the only woman ever to be jailed in London for being a hitman. She was a Kiwi - and his eyes lit up and he cracked a big smile telling the story. He was still enthusiastic about telling our stories back to us. I will miss seeing John on my walks, not nearly as much as his family and his wife and his dearest friends will miss him - but how lucky were we that he spent his life giving us this part of New Zealand back to us? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been revealed the Reserve Bank chairman sent a warning letter to Treasury in the wake of Adrian Orr's resignation. Neil Quigley warned that it would  'immediately destroy the goodwill' between the two entities if it publicly released details of the fateful meeting. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, lawyer and political commentator 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!  The Government announced some new changes designed to get overseas retailers fast-tracked in a bid to boost competition in the grocery sector. Do we think these changes will make a difference? Do we need to axe the Ministry for Women? With the gender pay gap dropping, what else could it really do?  Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement today - what do we make of Chris Luxon encouraging them to have the wedding here?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The state of the US Federal Reserve has always prompted responses from financial markets, but recent actions from the Trump administration have raised eyebrows. Trump recently came out and said he was going to fire Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook earlier in the week. Milford Asset Management's Andrew Curtayne unpacked the market reactions  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The recent energy crisis has rippled out to the big companies, with Meridian the latest to take a significant financial hit. Meridian Energy recently confirmed a $452-million-dollar loss, after being hit by periods of low wind, two major droughts, and a shortage of gas. CEO Mike Roan says the company's been through a tough year, but they managed to shield customers from the high prices. "We took a hit, no question about that - but we kept the lights on, so electricity flowed to people." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States Government has been pushing for more full-fat dairy products, and one Kiwi expert confirmed there's health benefits. Robert F. Kennedy jnr has said for months that he wants the Government to endorse whole milk, reversing its earlier claims that Americans should consume low-fat milk and cheese to reduce the health risks. Nutritionist and AUT professor Caryn Zinn says there's a 'substantial' body of evidence that shows full-fat milk is healthier.  "Full-fat dairy products actually outperform low-fat dairy products when it comes to a number of chronic diseases - including lowering risk of childhood obesity, cardiovascular disease and type two diabetes." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Transport has spent more than $63 million dollars on traffic management and road cones in the past year.  Mayor Wayne Brown is criticising the figure - saying it equates to about 3 percent rates rises across the city.  But AT says it isn't too much considering its over $1.2-billion infrastructure programme.  Road Corridor Access and Coordination Group Manager Tracey Berkahn says new Government guidance may lower costs.  "Now there's a lot more thought put into a principles-based approach to it. And so, necessarily, you'll have fewer devices out there." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.