Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Government has revealed more details about new road safety measures.  From December, police in Wellington will do random roadside saliva tests - screening for cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine.  Drivers coming back positive will need to do a second test that checks for 25 substances.  Transport Minister Chris Bishop says the swab could detect drug use several hours beforehand.  "I think it picks up recent usage, so a week or so ago - no. But if you smoked up the night before and you're out on the road in the morning, then it will pick it up." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BBC director general Tim Davie and CEO of News Deborah Turness have resigned over the way a documentary on Donald Trump was edited. It comes after the Telegraph published details of a leaked internal BBC memo, suggesting Panorama edited two parts of Trump's speech together so he appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol riots of January 2021. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says it's been a 'difficult day' for the company, but Trump celebrated this outcome on Truth Social. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Businesses are being encouraged to plan ahead as talks of an India-New Zealand trade deal continue. Prime Minister Chris Luxon says both regions are making progress on a new trade agreement, as Trade Minister Todd McClay holds talks with his Indian counterpart. India New Zealand Business Council chair Edwin Paul says discussions indicate it's likely we'll get an FTA by early 2026. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 10 November 2025, the Maori Party has expelled two of its own MPs in the latest episode of the party's implosion. Former leader Te Ururoa Flavell speculates where this will go next. ANZ chief executive Antonia Watson defends the company's huge $2.5 billion profit - a 21% rise! Cook Islands opposition leader Tina Browne reacts to news that New Zealand has suspended $30 million dollars in funding over its diplomatic spat with the Cooks. Finance Minister Nicola Willis talks bank profits and asset sales. The Huddle debates the future of the Maori Party and the Cooks. Plus, how producer Antz found out he was owed $400 dollars ... and you might be too! 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.

Well, at least someone's resigned at the BBC.  In fact, two have resigned, both the director general and the boss of news - and the fact that this bias scandal at the BBC has claimed two of the most senior executives there tells you how serious it is. And it's not just serious for the BBC, it's serious for basically all the mainstream media outlets in the English-speaking world. Because even though the rest of us didn't splice together two pieces of what Donald Trump said to make it sound like he was encouraging his followers to take a fight to the capital, and even though the rest of us didn't hire the son of a Hamas official to voice a documentary about Gaza, many of us take the BBC's content, don't we? Often unchecked. There are some media organizations out there that are so beyond reproach that other media outlets - like ourselves - will take their content and not re-verify it, because it's the BBC and we shouldn't have to re-verify it. And if they're infected by bias, we all become infected by bias, don't we? Whether it's their obvious bias on Gaza, their bias on trans issues, their bias on Trump - which they have been well and truly busted for - their bias becomes everybody else's bias, because we're taking their content. This is the kind of stuff that has crashed and still continues to crash public trust in the media, because if you thought that the media was unfair on Trump, now you've been proven right. And if you thought that the media was soft on Hamas, now you've been proven right. If you thought that there was all this stuff going on where the media had fixed views on trans issues, now you've been proven right. All you need to do is look at that whistle-blower's dossier that was leaked last week. For the most part, that will explain all of it to you. And by the way, as a member of the media, my faith in the BBC has been really eroded by what's just happened - not just because they sliced together two pieces of Trump's speech to make him say something he didn't say, but because they knew it and sat on it for so long. This happened a year ago. It took a whistle-blower's frustration to eventually write a dossier and then to leak it explicitly - because the BBC weren't doing anything about it - for the BBC to actually do something about it, like the resignations that we've seen in the last 24 hours. It's not good enough what's happened at the BBC, and jeez, if this is how media outlets are still behaving in 2025, despite all the evidence that they are losing public trust - it's gonna take a really long time for us all to get it back. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rocket Lab is set to unveil their results for Q3, and it's prompted speculation from experts. The company's seen some growth and shares have gone up, but concerns have still been raised. Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson-Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed funding will still be withheld from the Cook Islands off the back of their China partnership. Is this the right tactic? Should we go further and threaten withdrawing citizenship rights? ANZ has announced a significant profit boost today - should we be concerned? Or is this just business? Tākuta Ferris and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi have been expelled from Te Pāti Māori after weeks of political infighting. Is this the end of the drama?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister has indicated trade talks with India are progressing well - and speculation claims both nations could have a trade deal by next year. Trade Minister Todd McClay has been hosting Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Auckland for a fifth round of talks on a trade deal. Finance Minister Nicola Willis won't disclose too much, but she says good progress is being made. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Cook Islands politician says public pressure is mounting for its Government to mend its rift with New Zealand.  The Foreign Minister has paused almost $30 million dollars in funding.  Winston Peters says Prime Minister Mark Brown didn't properly consult New Zealand before signing a strategic deal with China in February. Cook Islands opposition leader Tina Browne says she can't understand why Brown isn't listening. "We've got an interim Foreign Affairs Secretary, and it sounds like, supposedly, negotiations that were supposed to be happening with New Zealand may not have happened." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's strong demand for water cremations, just months after the service first became available in New Zealand. Since opening in June, the Christchurch Crematorium has carried out 55 water cremations - using an alkaline solution to mimic the natural burial process. Around 80 percent of their clients choose cremation - most opting for the water-based option. Christchurch Water Crematorium co-director Andrew Bell says the water-based service sits better with customers, largely due to the environmental benefits. "We weren't expecting the response, to be honest, that we had from it. 75 percent straight away was a bit more than we were expecting."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.