Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and former Labour MP Stuart Nash joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Winston Peters confirmed Trevor Mallard is coming home from his post as Ambassador to Ireland. He says the appointment was a case of 'jobs for the boys'. Should former politicians ever become ambassadors? What did we make of the scenes from the big White House meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy? Do we think we're getting closer to a deal being formed?  The Cambridge Dictionary added 6000 new words - do we know what 'skibidi', 'tradwife' and 'delulu' mean? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 19 August 2025, Donald Trump's big meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky and seven European leaders was a bit of a love fest - but are we actually any closer to peace in Ukraine? Energy Minister Simon Watts gets a grilling from Heather over the Government's plan for our energy security. AI deepfake scams are getting so good - even the people being imitated can't tell the difference. Businessman Gareth Morgan tells Heather the scam that features him is so good even he couldn't tell it was fake. Plus, Trevor Mallard is coming home from Ireland and the Huddle weighs in on the debate about whether former politicians should be appointed to ambassadorships. 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 here's a little bit of happy news for anyone still feeling injustice over the petty way that Trevor Mallard turned the sprinklers on the Parliamentary protesters and made everything worse - he is coming home from his plum job in Ireland as the ambassador. As Winston Peters says, quoting The Seekers - the carnival's over. And it's a good job too, because it was always deeply unfair that Mallard could behave like a child and basically torment fellow Kiwis, and then be rewarded by his mates with a job that was funded by Kiwis. Now Winston's trying to spin this like he's bringing Trevor Mallard home early. He's actually not really at all. Trevor's due home in January. It's understood that he's gonna be back in November. Whoop dee doo- two months early in a three-year term is hardly a punishment or a massive recall, isn't it? I mean, if Winston wanted to bring him home early, he could have brought him home at any point in the last two years that he's been the Foreign Minister. But I will agree with Winston on something here, which is that I think we have got to stop appointing politicians to diplomatic jobs. He says full stop - I say as a reward. I still think that there will be some politicians who are exceptional and who deserve these jobs because they would do an excellent job representing us. And I've always thought it was a pity that Helen Clark never got a posting overseas. But often, they're just lousy at it, aren't they? I mean, Phil Goff stuffed up. He had to come back. Jonathan Hunt embarrassed us by wanting to claim the pension in the UK when he was already on a very good wicket from us. Kevin Rudd - the Australian version of all of this - got sent to Washington by the Aussies and then embarrassed them by posting weird stuff about Trump before Trump became President again, then having to go back through his social medias and delete it all. Being a politician doesn't necessarily make these people good diplomats, and Trevor Mallard is absolutely an example of that. He has never been accused of being diplomatic. In my opinion, the only reason that he ever got this gig in Ireland is because his daughter lives in Ireland, and because he was some sort of an avuncular figure to Grant and Jacinda and Chippy, who were in Government when he was appointed. That is not a good reason to send someone to an Ambassador's job. It's not a good reason to get a job that you and I are paying for. So as Winston says, carnival's over - good thing too. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mercury Energy's earnings have fallen on the back of weaker renewable electricity generation, and its bottom-line profit has taken a hit. The company's profit has plunged from $290 million to just $1 million, due to tough power generation conditions. Despite this, Mercury Energy CEO Stew Hamilton is hopeful ahead of another financial year. "We're investing heavily in new power plants - we're investing about $1 billion in new power plants at the moment. That's from the top of the north to the bottom of the south." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former economist and investment manager Gareth Morgan was caught off-guard by an AI deepfake using his voice and likeness, and he's warned people to be careful. The investment scam made the rounds on Facebook and Instagram and encouraged Kiwis to invest in a vaguely-defined US-based scheme. Gareth Morgan says his daughter showed him the scam - and it almost had him fooled.  "The only giveaway is the backdrop, I don't recognise the house behind me. But everything else - the face, the lip movements, the voice, obviously - I can't tell." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A foreign policy expert says it's not clear if Donald Trump can deliver peace in Ukraine. The US President's hosted talks on ending the conflict with UK and European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump says he's working on holding two-and three-way talks with Russia and Ukraine.  But American University's Gordon Adams says Trump doesn't have an actual strategy.  "Hang on to your seatbelt if you want to know what's coming next, because the changeability of this particular President is rampant. Which means tomorrow, it could be a different approach altogether." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's Government confidence new energy sector regulations will pressure down power prices. Under Electricity Authority rule changes, our big four power companies must charge everyone the same price for supplying energy. It's to stop the big gentailers giving themselves power discounts - and getting a competitive edge. Energy Minister Simon Watts says it levels the playing field. "The fact that these big gentailers can, in effect, cross-subsidise themselves means that the smaller players aren't getting a fair deal. These rules will stop them doing that, and as a result, we'll see more competition." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker Trevor Mallard is returning early from Ireland - ending his job as Ambassador. Winston Peters has appointed senior foreign affairs staffer Angela Hassan-Sharp to replace Mallard. Peters claims Mallard's behaviour during the anti-mandate occupation at Parliament should've disqualified him from the role.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Mallard's behaviour during the anti-mandate occupation at Parliament should have raised concerns. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian federal government has cancelled the visa of Israeli politician Simcha Rothman days before he was set to arrive for a speaking event. Rothman, whose party is part of  Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, previously advocated for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, and denied claims of starvation in the territory. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke claimed Australia would not accept people travelling to cause division. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Blues are poised to head across town to Mount Smart for two Super Rugby games next year. The New Zealand Herald reports the Blues are still planning to play most of their games at their usual Eden Park base, but are looking closely across town. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.