Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Problems with Amazon's cloud services in the US have been felt around the world. Thousands of websites and apps were affected by an outage during the night, including TVNZ Plus, Neon, Sky TV, Snapchat and Wordle. Tech commentator Paul Spain says a lot of things got broken in the process of trying to undo the damage, and some businesses are still trying to recover. "When you break a lot of technology, sometimes it takes quite a bit of effort to actually get that fully back to operation, and possibly Amazon have been a bit cautious about putting thing back up to full speed, but they haven't officially indicated that from what I've seen."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 21 October 2025, former attorney general Chris Finlayson is not on board with the Government's law change to make it harder for iwi and hapu to gain customary title over coastal areas. Sports Minister Mark Mitchell says he won't freeze Netball NZ's funding but wants a fast resolution of the Dame Noeline Taurua saga - and that he wants to see her back in the job. Six60 frontman Matiu Walters tells Heather why his band has decided to put on a new country and roots festival. Heather and the PSA's Fleur Fitzsimons have a fiery exchange over the Public Service Commission's decision to place ads against striking union members this week. Plus, the Huddle debates strike ads, why nobody rescued a toddler drowning in a public fountain and Heather's Wordle dilemma. 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 think it's fair to say, don't you think, that Labour's first policy has been a flop? It's been panned by pretty much everybody worth listening to or worth reading. I mean, I see Maiki Sherman over at TVNZ liked it last night. She called it a 'solid first hit' on telly, but I think everyone else seems to have seen through what Chippy's trying to do here. Let me quote you some. Tom Pullar-Strecker at The Post: Labour's Future Fund hits the buzzwords, but the rationale is hard to follow. Pattrick Smellie at BusinessDesk: This suggests either that Labour is economically illiterate or that its target audience is presumed to be. Radio New Zealand: The distinct lack of detail has left Labour somewhat exposed, evoking echoes of other ambitious projects that fizzled like KiwiBuild or the Green Investment Fund. Jenée Tibshraeny at the Herald says this is actually less about making New Zealand wealthy and really more about having a crack at National and possible asset sales at the next election. Henry Cooke at The Post: Labour's Future Fund promises everything and nothing. It's hard to know what to really make of this. And then from Patrick Smellie again, because his piece is just so eviscerating: Labour will have to do a whole lot better than this. Now, basically, what you could take from that is that no one serious is convinced by it - because Labour has taken a great idea, which is Singapore's Temasek, and then taken away all the things that make Temasek successful. Temasek sells assets, this lot is not allowed. Temasek invests overseas, this lot is not allowed. That's just a couple of the problems here. Honestly, the list of problems in this policy announcement is so long, we could do an entire show about it. I suspect Labour knows and I think they know it's a bad idea. They just think we're too stupid to realize how bad an idea it is. They think that we're going to be hoodwinked by all of the feel-good slogans about investing in New Zealand's future and cutting out the foreign investors and stuff like that. But I'm happy to report that judging by the media roundup I just read you, we're not at all as stupid as Labour thinks we are. We can see a dog policy when we're presented with one, and this is one. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Labour Party says there needs to be a probe into the Public Service Commission posting ads about Thursday's mega-strike.   About 100,000 workers in health and education are set to walk off the job later this week. Several commission adverts have appeared on social media - outlining how it'll disrupt services. PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the Commission is running political lines espoused by the Government. "What they are doing is attempting to position themselves favourably with the public when it comes to a collective bargaining matter that is subject to good faith."  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six60 have unveiled a new country and roots music festival in Matakana, which is set to take place this January. The 'Sweet Home Aotearoa' festival line-up will be curated by Six60 and promises to feature big names to bring a taste of Nashville to New Zealand shores.  Six60 lead singer and guitarist Matiu Walters says he's felt a strong connection to country and roots music every time he goes to Nashville - and he thought it would be a cool idea to bring that to New Zealand. "Roots and country have this cross-section that I really love and I think it's just going to be really fun...it's just something new that I think people are going to really love." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sports Minister Mark Mitchell has outlined why he feels it was time for the Government to step in with the ongoing Netball New Zealand v Dame Noeline Taurua saga. The side-lined Silver Ferns coach and the national body remain at an impasse concerning issues with the high performance environment. Mitchell says the situation has simply dragged on for far too long. "Everyone involved loves netball, but the fact of the matter is that this is not good for netball. It's one of our iconic games and so many people participate and enjoy the sport. This is not good for anyone, and so I've asked Sport NZ to give me advice and send a clear message." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions have been raised regarding the Government claim over changes likely to make it harder for Māori to claim customary marine titles. The divisive Marine and Coastal Area Amendment Bill is likely to pass its third reading in the House tonight. The Government claims it'll restore the legislation to its original intent. Former Attorney-General Chris Finlayson says these changes aren't restoring any laws or clarifying anything. "It doesn't clarify the law at all, it changes it. And if they want to do that, well of course Parliament's sovereign, but why don't they come out and say it - instead of indulging this myth? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An unexpected Labour policy announcement was a bit of a shock for leader Chris Hipkins today.  Health spokesperson, Ayesha Verrall revealed the policy in an op-ed for New Zealand Doctor magazine.  It proposes to create an independent body to estimate and allocate GP funding increases, rather than the Government. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Labour 'botched up' the rollout of this announcement. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reports indicate the US is pushing ahead with the AUKUS deal, with Australia getting nuclear powered submarines from the US. President Donald Trump's held talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the White House today on defence and trade. Trump also cleared doubt on the deal between Australia, the US and UK. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says concerns were raised ahead of the meeting, but the deal worked out well for Australia. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Netball New Zealand v Dame Noeline Taurua saga is beginning to gain traction inside the halls of Parliament. Labour MP Willie Jackson is urging Sports Minister Mark Mitchell to freeze the Netball New Zealand funding until it clears up the suspension of Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua. Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explained the situation further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.