Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, Phil O'Reilly from Iron Duke Partners 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 New Zealand Herald released its latest Mood of the Boardroom survey and Chris Luxon and Nicola Willis are out  of Cabinet's top 10 performers. Can they turn things around?  What do we think of our new Reserve Bank Governor? She seems very committed to transparency - do we think that's what our central bank needs?  Tory Whanau has revealed she wants to run for Parliament. Do we think this is a good idea? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 24 September 2025, first we got Ikea and now we get a Swedish Reserve Bank Governor! Finance Minister Nicola Willis tells Ryan Bridge why Dr. Anna Breman got the top job. US president Donald Trump's visit at the UN was as fiery as expected, including getting stuck on an escalator! US correspondent Jonathan Kearsley was there for it all. Auckland Council has officially voted in favour of 15-storey apartment blocks along major arterial routes in central Auckland. NIMBYs can still protest during the consultation protest though! Should Kiwis pay to park at our national parks? Federated Mountain Clubs are not happy with it. Plus, the Huddle debates the damning result from today's Mood of the Boardroom. 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.

The Swedes do central banking a little different to us, and I reckon it's good news we've got a Swede in charge. Riksbank - their RBNZ equivalent - is really big on this thing called transparency. There's three things to know - this is stuff they do that we don't, currently. 1. They rank amongst best performing on openness and honesty in the world.2. They publish an actual forward forecast for the OCR - we don't.3. They publish alternative scenarios and minutes. In the minutes, you get to see which of these guys voted which way and their justifications for dong so. Currently, we don't even get to know which way the committee members voted, let alone why. And remember, the Fed in the US and the Bank of England do - as does Riksbank. So here's hoping the Swede in charge will help shake things up and that changes will be made and sunlight will be shone. A new dawn, perhaps, for 2 The Terrace, after a dark and cloudy rollercoaster ride of terror under Adrian Orr. Her name is Anna Breman and her CV reads as you'd expect - current 2IC of Riksbank in her home country. And she's held academic jobs and been the Chief Economist at a retail bank. She's moving here with the family. Which is nice - but I don't know how NZ First will feel about us importing another migrant for a Kiwi job. The reality is, most of the heavy lifting will - hopefully - have been done by the time she sits down for her first briefing on December 1st. We've got two more reviews under Hawkesby in October and November. Then he's gone. Not just from the top job, but the bank entirely. And then they shut up shop for Christmas till February. Let's hope as she enjoys what I'm sure will be a welcome sunny Kiwi summer, she brings a bit of that sunshine - the best disinfectant in town - to 2, The Terrace. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI and technology stocks are continuing to have a significant presence in the market - but which companies are leading the charge? Broadcom and Oracle are among the companies that have generated positive results, and Nvidia made headlines following its $100 billion investment in OpenAI. Milford Asset Management's Andrew Curtayne explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Treasury has raised the alarm over the state of New Zealand's public finances as part of its long-term fiscal forecast. Record levels of Government spending, increasing health costs and an ever-growing aging population are among the concerns set to create additional fiscal pressures for the country, according to new reports. Treasury warned Net Core Crown Debt is set to hit 200 percent of GDP by 2065. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says some of these concerns were flagged as early as 2021 - and we need to start thinking about solutions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister is not sharing the same fears as retailers over the surcharge ban. Scott Simpson says the legislation banning surcharges like PayWave is before the Select Committee and will be in place by next year.  36 business associations have written a letter warning the ban could be passed on through increased prices. Simpson says a lot of businesses don't use surcharges - so won't be impacted or need to raise prices. "The ones that choose to add that pricing in will be actually competitively constrained in the marketplace by those businesses that choose not to do so." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Visitors will have to pay $5 an hour to park at Aoraki/Mt Cook as part of a parking trial set to be carried out this summer. Fees will include a day rate of $25 and $60 for an annual pass for regular users, which applies to anyone living outside the Mackenzie District - while residents will pay $10 per year. Federated Mountain Clubs president Megan Dimozantos has voiced disappointment with the idea that Kiwis have to pay the same rates as international visitors. "It will, unfortunately, have an impact on low-income families that are struggling with the cost of living crisis, so I don't know that this is really a solution in its own right."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three hundred potential candidates were identified in the hunt for our new Reserve Bank Governor. The role has gone to Anna Breman, who was the First Deputy Governor of Sweden's central bank. Finance Minister Nicola Willis says it was a a tough competition amongst candidates. "The Reserve Bank went through a process of both advertising and also doing a large international search to consider people that could be qualified for the role."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new housing density plan is going ahead following a heated Auckland Council debate. The plan which allows more housing near transport hubs and fewer in natural hazard zones, has passed with 18 in support and 5 opposed. It will remove 27 percent of Special Character Areas. Councillor Shane Henderson says the plan now goes out for public consultation.  "It's time for people to feedback in and say - look, we might have gotten this or that area wrong, or make some adjustments to people's neighbourhoods and things like that. It's really important that we allow people to have their say."  Housing and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has welcomed the decision. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new Reserve Bank Governor is pledging to build trust and credibility. Sweden's Anna Breman has been announced to lead  the central bank, taking over from interim Governor Christian Hawkesby in December. She'll be the first woman to ever hold the role - selected from more than 300 candidates who were initially identified. Newstalk ZB reporter Azaria Howell says Breman has revealed the new core ideals of the RBNZ under her leadership - and has voiced her commitment to transparency.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.