Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Prime Minister says New Zealand remains committed to the peace process in the Middle East. Foreign Minister Winston Peters has told the UN our Government won't be recognising a Palestinian state.  Chris Luxon says we can't acknowledge a state whose de facto Government is the designated terror group, Hamas. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Peters delivered a 'well-argued and well-positioned speech' and New Zealand has always had its own foreign policy. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian telco giant Optus  is investigating another network outage that led to nine failed triple-0 calls on the NSW south coast. Optus has issued a statement saying the problem stemmed from a mobile phone tower site in Dapto. It affected calls between 3am and 12:20pm on Sunday, including calls to the triple-0 network. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says this incident will cause significant damage to the relationship Optus has with its customers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

United States golf captain Keegan Bradley has taken full responsibility for his side's Ryder Cup defeat to Team Europe. Team USA threatened the greatest recovery in the event's history, winning eight and a half points from 12 singles matches on the final day only to lose 15-13 in New York. Sportstalk host Jason Pine recapped the action. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's open to legislating to over-rule court decisions on incorporating tikanga Māori. That's from the Prime Minister - echoing comments last week from his Justice Minister.  Paul Goldsmith claimed at a Law Association meeting that including concepts of Māori customs and values in law could cost the country investment. Former Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson says the Law Commission had been doing a substantial amount of work on tikanga. "I would have thought that what the Crown should be doing is taking a good look at that report and trying to provide some definition of where and when tikanga would apply. So there's no point in just having a sort of group lamentation about it, it's within the ability of Parliament to knuckle down and do something about it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 26 September 2025, police have revealed they came across Tom Phillips and his missing kids several times during their period in the bush. Former police negotiator Lance Burdett is surprised they weren't able to confront him sooner. Former Wellington mayor Dame Kerry Prendergast has met with Wellington Council's boss for a please explain after her old mayoral desk turned up at a second hand shop with a huge number of confidential documents in it. Former Wallaby Tim Horan says Australia really needs to win at least one of the upcoming games against the All Blacks - can they break the fortress? Plus, the Sports Huddle debates the Bledisloe and whether Noeline Taurua is likely to get her job 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.

US President Donald Trump announced an acquisition of social media platform Tiktok - a platform that is owned by Chinese software company ByteDance. The President said that the deal was a closed case, however Asia business correspondent Peter Lewis told Ryan Bridge that there is more to be done.  He said that although Washington has approved their side of the deal, Beijing and ByteDance are more guarded on their position.  'No representatives from ByteDance were present at the signing. In fact, ByteDance hasn't even acknowledged that a transaction is taking place.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bledisloe Cup is back for another year, as the All Blacks face the Wallabies this weekend at Eden Park.  The All Blacks need 8 more points to top 4000 against Australia. Former Wallaby Tim Horan told Ryan Bridge that this is the best chance the Wallabies have had in years, but they still respect the strength of the All Blacks.  'It's the hope that kills us with the Wallabies, because every time we go to New Zealand, we always think there's a chance.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on the Huddle: Host of Sky's Aotearoa Rugby podcast Ross Carl and NewstalkZB's own D'arcy Waldegrave join Ryan Bridge to discuss the latest sports news.  The Wallabies are facing the All Blacks at Eden Park. Can they conquer the fortress? Have the All Blacks done enough after their defeat at the hands of the Springboks to fend off the Aussies? And can the Black Ferns take 3rd place after missing out on the Rugby World Cup final?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Wellington City Mayor has met with the Council CEO after her private papers were among confidential documents found in a desk bought from a dump sale. A man bought the desk at a city tip-shop and found termination agreements, whistleblower allegations, and staff pay details inside - dating from the 1980s to the 2000s. The council has launched a investigation and contacted the Privacy Commissioner.  Dame Kerry Prendergast says it's appalling the documents have gotten out but says the meeting was reassuring.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's sporting success could lead to economic growth.  The government's launched a Sport Diplomacy Strategy paper today with the goal of leveraging our sporting reputation globally.  Sports Minister Chris Bishop told Ryan Bridge that there's plenty of opportunities, including the Blackcaps in India,  where the government's trying to ink a free trade deal. He says another is the All Blacks playing in the U.S later this year.  He says investors will be going to the game and there will be a series of events to drum up interest in New Zealand.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.