Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Listen, go on and tell me that any of the allegations that we've heard about the Māori Party in the last 36 hours surprise you. Does it shock you in any way to find out that one of their MPs allegedly paid her son $120,000 of taxpayer money, that she couldn't apparently balance her own budget? And that her son allegedly abused parliamentary staff so badly that he was trespassed from the grounds? No really, right? Not really a surprise. And this feels exactly like the kind of stuff you would expect to be happening when a political party pulls together a collection of activists who have no respect for the rules - which they demonstrate on a seemingly weekly basis by not showing up to their jobs in Parliament, who can't even do up a pair of leather shoes to go to work, and who think nepotism is just another way of showing love to your family. Their words, not mine. Now, do you really think that that alleged incident where Eru Kapa-Kingi shouted at parliamentary staff and threatened to knock one out happened on Budget Day 2024 - as in 18 months ago, and we have only just found out now? Which has me wondering, what else is going on in there that we don't know about yet? Now, I'm not surprised by what's being revealed. And what it means is that I'm weirdly not actually terribly exercised by it, certainly not in the way that I would be if this was National or Labour or any other serious party. I would expect in those instances for heads to roll, and I would expect explanations and media stand-ups and real interrogations by the media and people appearing on the show to be grilled. But I don't expect that with the Māori Party. Now, that should worry the Māori Party, because what that means is that I, and anyone else who feels like me, don't take them seriously. We don't think they're serious people. We don't expect them to hold standards up. We regard what we're seeing as more of a clown show that needs to be contained so it doesn't contaminate the rest of Parliament. So good luck to them making it into a future Cabinet, which they're obviously quite keen on, if they're not being taken seriously by us. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spark's becoming the first New Zealand telco to block all child sexual abuse images made with artificial intelligence. It already stops access to photo-realistic material made by AI, but this move will extend to images which have a cartoon or artistic style. The website list comes from the Internet Watch Foundation which has seen a 400 percent increase in this type of material. Spark Sustainability Director Leela Ashford says it blocks the sites automatically. She says the list can include tens of thousands of websites.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 15 October 2025, shocking video footage from Gaza shows Hamas publicly executing a number of people. The Australian's Greg Sheridan tells Heather it's impossible for peace to continue with Hamas' involvement.   Hospitality NZ's Sam McKinnon tells Heather the stupidest rule in hospitality that needs fixing by the Ministry for Regulation. Why does the AA want your speeding ticket to get more expensive? The Broadcasting Standards Authority has been accused of acting like Soviet era stasi by Winston Peters - what's going on? Plus, the Huddle debates whether the Maori Party's latest antics will hurt them - and whether we might see the party break up. 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.

There's growing calls to evaluate the future of fees-free university after a recent review labelled the policy 'deadweight'. The policy was originally introduced under the Jacinda-led Labour Government in 2017, with the current coalition moving the policy to cover a student's final year of university instead of the first. AUSA president Gabriel Boyd says dismissing the policy is 'unfair', as it's helped students save money. "I think the $12,000 that students saved, that they can then put towards accommodation, food, transportation, with this cost of living - does make a huge impact." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hospitality New Zealand is throwing its support behind a Government inspection of sector rules. Its wide-ranging review will investigate rules for everything from bars, to restaurants - to market stalls. Regulation Minister David Seymour says existing rules change frequently and are inconsistently applied. Hospitality NZ's Sam MacKinnon says the sector has to work through a 'myriad' of regulations just to operate - and this review presents a good opportunity.  "While there are some of these really stupid rules that are in place, the opportunity for the industry to be able to have a comprehensive look at all of the different areas that cut across what it takes to run a hospitality venue is the real opportunity here."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mooove over dairy and beef cows, for a new hybrid breed on the block. Pāmu and Livestock Improvement Corporation have created a new cattle breed - called the Synegizer. About 350 first-cross beef-on-dairy calves were born this year, and limited frozen insemination will available next spring. Pāmu CEO Mark Leslie says dairy farmers won't use Synegizers for milking. "These bulls will be used to go over maybe some of the cows they don't want to keep the replacements out of - and they'll use these to generate animals that can then go off into the livestock centre." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas holds - but looks shaky, with eight of the 28 dead Israeli hostages returned. Israel is reportedly reopening the Rafah border for aid, despite threatening delays after the slow delivery of remains by Hamas. Foreign editor at the Australian, Greg Sheridan, says videos have emerged on social media, showing Hamas publicly executing several Palestinian men.  "Hamas still has the guns, it's plainly not interested in disarming. I also think it looks like a breakdown of the process for about two days." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recent polls show Prime Minister Chris Luxon's popularity has taken a nosedive, prompting speculation about his future in the National Party. With the election set to take place next year, there's growing speculation Luxon's leadership role might not last. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says this discussion is a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it's likely there could be mood for change. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump's warning Hamas will have their weapons taken off them - even if it falls to him to make it happen.  Talks are underway in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh on the second phase of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.  US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says Trump hasn't given Hamas a hard deadline as of yet, and it's unclear how this will go. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Silver Ferns shooter Grace Nweke has stood by her support for embattled coach Dame Noeline Taurua. As the Ferns gear up for the Constellation Cup, Grace Nweke reiterated she's hoping for Taurua to come back. Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explained the ongoing situation further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.