Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Tonight on The Huddle, political commentator and lawyer Liam Hehir 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! Zohran Mamdani is the new mayor of New York. He built his campaign on appealing to young and working-class voters - what does this say about the future of American politics? The Government will be cracking down on rough sleepers in some form - the details are still unknown. Do we think this is the right move?  The Police Commissioner has written an op-ed to explain that Stuff shouldn't have published audio from the Tom Phillips case - but they're not taking legal action. What do we make of this?  The Government wants Eden Park to host more concerts and events. Do we agree with this?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government recently announced a raft of proposed changes to the Climate Change Response Act and the Emissions Trading Scheme. Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says the Government's focused on reducing domestic emissions and the legislation needs to reflect these standards.  "We're focusing on domestic emissions reduction as the priority." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 5 November 2025, is the Government going to ban rough sleepers from city centres? Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith tries to clarify the position.. you decide whether he did! Unemployment has crept up to 5.3%, Infometrics Principal Economist Nick Brunsdon breaks down the numbers. Eden Park boss Nick Sautner says being allowed to host 20 more concerts would make a huge difference not just for the stadium but for surrounding businesses. New York correspondent Katherine Firkin explains who this new New York mayor is - and why he's so controversial. Plus, the Huddle debates whether the Police Commissioner was wrong to threaten a media organisation publicly. 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.

I'm baffled by the Police Commissioner writing that open letter telling off Stuff today. You probably missed this thing when it actually happened, which was back in September, but in the week that Tom Phillips was shot and the kids were saved from the bush, Stuff got its hands on some of the audio of the police chase, and they published it. And they got in trouble with the coppers immediately, and then the cops started an investigation into Stuff. Today, the police boss, Richard Chambers has written an open letter in both main newspaper outlets - as in the Stuff guys and the New Zealand Herald, saying the police have decided not to charge Stuff, but don't do this again, it's really, really bad. Now, I cannot explain to you why Richard Chambers thought this was a good idea - because either way you look at this, this is not a good look. I mean, it either looks like he's trying to bully the media into being good boys and girls, or he hasn't got the cojones to actually do the thing that he's threatened and just go and prosecute Stuff. But what's even weirder about it is - I just don't think that this warranted the cops getting this vexed about it. I mean, as I said, you probably missed it when it happened, because the audio wasn't that interesting. It was mildly informative, because it told us that the police officer who got shot was alone and exposed like we suspected. And it showed how he got in touch with various members of the community, locals, to find out if they could hear Tom Phillips on the quad bike, so that he could track Phillips down. But really, other than that, it wasn't interesting enough to draw public attention to it again - unless of course, you are trying to bully Stuff. And while I think this audio wasn't that interesting, I did find it refreshing, actually, to have a media outlet be brave for once and publish something that the authorities didn't want them to publish and tell the public something that the authorities didn't want them to know - basically doing their job. So on the whole, I think I'm on the side of Stuff on this one. Mainly because I don't like what this looks like, which is the police trying to publicly shame them for doing their job. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new mayor-elect for New York City, Zohran Mamdani, is causing quite the stir in the Big Apple - to Donald Trump's displeasure.  The 34-year-old democratic socialist's appealed to young and working class voters in order to secure a landmark win. US journalist Katherine Firkin says Mamdani's landmark win will come as a blow to Republicans. "Of course New York is a Democratic-strong city and we were never going to see Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa elected, but the fact that we have seen someone of Mamdani's stance - someone who is really a polar opposite to Trump in almost every way...really is quite a show of the resistance that's happening at the moment." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data has revealed the media platforms drawing Kiwi kids in, and there's been an unusual trend in the findings. NZ On Air has just released the latest update of the Where Are The Audiences research series, and data shows two in three Kiwi kids are watching YouTube every day, with less reaching for locally made content. NZ On Air's Head of Funding Amie Mills says TVNZ's trying to ensure it's in as many places as it can be in order to reach a solid audience. "It's hard, we don't have a dedicated BBC or ABC in New Zealand, TVNZ is a commercial broadcaster, so they're struggling to survive alongside the other local platforms."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Justice Minister seems confused about whether the Government's considering a blanket ban on rough sleeping in CBDs, as claimed by Labour. Prime Minister Chris Luxon has confirmed today they'll consider orders to let police move-on homeless people in city centres, among options. Minister Paul Goldsmith says they're still working on this - but struggled to answer whether a ban's being considered. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One expert is warning the job market won't get easier any time soon. The latest Stats NZ data shows the unemployment rate has reached an almost nine-year high of 5.3 percent in the September quarter. That's 160,000 people looking for a job, and another 138,000 wanting more work. Infometrics principal economist Nick Brunsdon says we're on the cusp of a recovery - but not a quick one. "Our forecast is for it to hit 4.6 by the end of next year - and that's not a low unemployment rate by any means. It's still gonna be pretty uncomfortable." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The debate over Eden Park events has reignited, as the Government has proposed letting it almost triple its annual concerts from 12 to 32. It's also recommending more timing flexibility, with the park currently unable to host events on a Sunday - and it's asking Auckland Council for feedback. Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner says they've engaged with the residents in the area to get their views, and they're hoping for a positive outcome. "There's a variety of events that are impacted by our regulations - last Sunday night, we had to apply to Auckland Council at a cost of $15,000 to get an extension to the operating so we could have the league fixture."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Significant progress is being made on New Zealand's Free Trade Agreement with India. India's Trade Minister is in the country - discussing our trade relationship over the next few days with Minister Todd McClay and the Prime Minister. India has announced it's looking towards an early conclusion of the FTA. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained that these discussions were why Luxon missed Question Time - prompting criticism from Labour.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.