Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump came face-to-face in New York - and locked in plans for a formal meeting in Washington for October. Albanese posted a photo of the pair to his Instagram and claimed it was good to chat with the US President as part of a welcome event for world leaders.  Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says it's 'crucial' for the leaders to have a meeting. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ardie Savea will stand in as All Blacks captain this weekend, with Scott Barrett ruled out due to a shoulder injury. Barrett's replaced by Fabian Holland in the run-on side, which features 11 survivors from the worst ever defeat a fortnight ago to South Africa. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Half of New Zealanders are cutting back on fruit and vegetables as the cost of living rises.  A Ministry of Social Development report reveals nearly two in five Kiwis report an inadequate income, with 48 percent cutting back on produce to save money in 2023 - more than double since 2018. Chef and host of Eat Well for Less, Mike van de Elzen, says produce isn't expensive if you buy efficiently. "We need to kind of just step back and go - what are we buying? Are we buying stuff out of season? Because you just need to use your nut a little bit. You need to think about what you're buying and the time that you're buying it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump recently made the claim that London wanted to 'go to sharia law' under its 'terrible mayor', Sadiq Khan - a claim the mayor's office has quickly dismissed. The US President made this claim in an address to the UN general assembly earlier today. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Sadiq Khan's team claimed they refused to dignify Trump's comments with a response.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Telco provider 2degrees made a net loss attributable to shareholders of $18.2 million for the 2025 financial year. Despite this, operating earnings and overall revenue, plus revenue in key product categories such as mobile, broadband and energy, were up. CEO Mark Callander says it's a tough economic environment - but the company's hoping things will pick up. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.