Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has doubled down on his criticism towards Fonterra's plan to sell Mainland and Anchor to the French company Lactalis.  In an open letter to the company Peters threatened new regulations if the sale goes ahead. ACT leader David Seymour hit back saying the decision should be up to the farmers, not the Government, a sentiment echoed by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday.  Peter's claims the letter was not a threat and he did not intend to interfere with the farming community or Fonterra. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's growing calls to strip Prince Andrew of his royal titles after more incriminating emails surfaced. Andrew reportedly told convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in an email 'we are in this together' after pictures of him with Virginia Giuffre were released.  UK correspondent Enda Brady unpacks what could happen. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon has been scaling up its same-day grocery delivery services across cities all over the US. It's looking to expand to 2,300 US cities by the end of the year, and investors are speculating about what it could mean for the market. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 16 October 2025, senior political correspondent Barry Soper and former Finance Minister Ruth Richardson share their memories of the late Jim Bolger.  Police and Oranga Tamariki have been secretly investigating Gloriavale for serious allegations of mistreatment of children. Gloriavale leaver Virginia Courage tells Heather what she witnessed while living in the community. Broadcaster Sean Plunket speaks to Heather after the Broadcasting Standards Authority defended its decision to go after online content. The Health Minister has accused senior doctors for crossing a moral line with their ongoing strikes. Plus, the Huddle debates whether we should be worried about our new Chinese built Interislander ferries because the shipyard has been linked to the Chinese military. 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.

Tonight on The Huddle, journalist Clare de Lore and Thomas Scrimgeour joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!   Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger passed away - what memories do we have of him?  It's been revealed the new Cook Strait ferries will be built by a Chinese company which US analysts have warned have very strong ties to the Chinese military. Should that worry us?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government unveiled new emissions targets this week, and members of New Zealand's farming community have welcomed the move. 2050 methane targets were slashed 14 to 24 percent below 2017 levels - which is 24 to 47 percent lower than the previous.  The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Broadcaster Sean Plunket isn't going down without a fight, as our broadcasting watchdog claims jurisdiction over his online-only company The Platform. The Broadcasting Standards Authority received a complaint from a member of the public - after the broadcaster described Māori tikanga as 'mumbo jumbo'. Sean Plunket says the BSA has 'messed this up' - and it's likely this complaint will never see the light of day. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen, I don't know how much most people will care about the drama that's unfolding with the BSA. Obviously here in radio world, we do, because these people are our watchdog. But if you enjoy watching people try something on and then be forced to retreat, you might enjoy this one. So what's kicked this off is that the BSA apparently decided, in secret, that they would give themselves permission to tidy up not just New Zealand's TV and radio, but now also the entire internet. And the first outfit that they've come after is The Platform. Now my personal dealings with the BSA have led me to believe that the people drawn to sitting on bodies like the BSA are not always the country's deepest thinkers, and this case only reinforces that - because if you thought about this for any more than 10 minutes, you would realize the BSA should just leave the internet alone. The BSA can't police the entire internet, it's too big. What, are they seriously proposing to send Joe Rogan a fine for $3000 NZD if someone in New Zealand complains about something he said? They can't even realistically police the part of the internet that New Zealand uses, it's too big. There's too many podcasts, too many videos, audio files, live streams, you name it, which means they're gonna have to pick and choose what they police and crack down on on the internet, which will inevitably lead to them being accused of bias and favouritism. Which is exactly what has happened here, because the first lot they've come after is The Platform, which if you know the story, was set up on the internet precisely to avoid the BSA and its rules. So - what a surprise that it's the first one the BSA comes after. What a surprise that they're copping a huge amount of flak and resistance from all over the show, including Winston and David Seymour. It seems to me there is a way out of this for the BSA - they'll have to back down. Because this is just an interim decision, and I think they might have to abandon it - and their plans for internet domination may have to also be abandoned. And then they will have to eat some humble pie, which surely would have been obvious to them if they had only thought about it, like the rest of us, for about, I don't know, 10 minutes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concerns have been raised over the Government's new choice for a ferry-builder. Guangzhou Shipyard International will build and deliver two new Cook Strait ferries by 2029. It's a state-owned company that also builds Chinese warships, but Foreign Minister Peters says the military links and espionage concerns aren't a worry. Canterbury University professor and China expert Anne-Marie Brady says this a confusing signal delivered by Peters. "He's very concerned about the strategic infrastructure and also the harmful aspects of our relationship with China. So it's odd that they have chosen a military shipyard, which is what the Guangzhou Shipyard International is." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's no guarantee businesses will honour unredeemed vouchers from GrabOne, which has gone into liquidation. The online deals website won’t be issuing refunds for unused purchases - and has told customers to directly contact vendors. Some sellers have indicated they’ll recognise GrabOne deals, but others say they may not be able to. Parakai Springs general manager Dion Tilson says they will honour vouchers, but customers could lose-out at other companies. "I've spoken to a lot of businesses, restaurants and so forth, hotels - they may not be in a position to be able to offer it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.