Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has refused to be interviewed by Scotland Yard detectives before his release. Christian Brueckner, a convicted rapist, is set to get out of prison in his native Germany this week and could be allowed to leave the country with no restrictions. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Brueckner has refused to reveal why he's not taking part in this. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data suggests New Zealand's economic turmoil is far from over. New economic data from Stats NZ prompted BNZ to increase its estimate of the size of the contraction in the economy in the three months to the end of June. Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new service has been launched that's designed to show mobile network outages in real time. The service builds on the Hourua partnership between Spark and One NZ, and experts believe it'll be helpful for operations taking place during natural emergencies, such as cyclones. One NZ CEO Jason Paris says this development means services will be able to be restored during emergencies much quicker. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis has responded to protesters chained to the outside of her Johnsonville electorate office. The group of Christian leaders want an urgent timeline from the Government for implementing sanctions against Israel over the war in Gaza. They're praying and fasting - and say they're prepared to stay overnight. Willis says she supports the right to protest, however they're getting in the way of people who want to get help from her office. She says security have been engaged by Parliamentary Services, and security have been engaging with the police. Five clergy were trespassed from Simeon Brown's Pakuranga electorate office earlier today. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 15 September 2025, Health NZ is backtracking its 24/7 visitor policy after a huge backlash. Al Dietschin from the nurses union is welcoming the review. Looks like Eden Park could start to host even more events in the future. The Government has launched a review into the current consenting rules. Anglican Vicar Mel McKenzie explains why she has chained herself to Nicola Willis' electorate office. Plus, the Huddle debates whether coach or captain should be blamed for the All Blacks' miserable loss. 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.

Are we sure that Scott Barrett should be the captain? This is the thing that I've been thinking about for the last two weeks watching the games, it's what struck me when I watched the game at Eden Park and the ceremony for Ardie Savea's 100 tests, and the fact that the team clearly rallied not only to defend the fortress, which I think was predominantly what they were rallying for, but also they rallied to give Ardie Savea a fitting win. Watching that happen and watching the ceremony afterwards and clearly seeing the love that the team had for him, did you not think it at any point during that - I wonder if that man should actually be the captain? And then this week, I saw the press conference with Razor and Scott Barrett sitting next to him, and I had the same thought, but the mirror of it, which was - should that man really be the captain? It just didn’t feel the same, you know what I mean.  And this is nothing against Scott Barrett, who clearly comes from a lovely family and seems like a fun guy. But I can't understand Razor’s commitment to him. There should be no question about a captain's selection, right? There was no question that Richie McCaw would be the one named at #7. There was no question that Kieran Read would be the one named at #8. But is Scott as convincing? Are you sure he's going to be the one named in his position? Are you sure that his discipline is good enough to warrant being the captain, or are there too many red cards and too many yellow cards week in, week out that suggest that maybe when he's under pressure, he just crumbles a little bit? Is he the right leader on field when the team starts falling behind? Given the fact that his record as a captain has largely been with the formidable Crusaders, has he actually had enough losses and enough knocks in his career to know what to do when your team is on the underside and absolutely on track to lose the game, and you need to turn it around, you need to get a win under your belt? Because is that actually what happened, what went wrong on Saturday night? When they started losing, and you saw it on the field, they just all gave up at a point. Did they all give up because their captain had given up? Now, there is an argument that the coaches should come under scrutiny first before the captain, and maybe that is the correct order of things. And frankly, I don't know enough about the assistant coaches to really have an opinion one way or the other. But I think when it comes to the captain, many of us have already come to the right conclusion and the same conclusion here, which is that they may have the wrong captain. 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!  What do we make of Health NZ's new proposed 24/7 visitor policy? No one seems to be a fan of it - is it a terrible idea?  The All Blacks got thoroughly trounced over the weekend and suffered a historic defeat to the Springboks in Wellington. Are some new changes needed? Does the team need a new captain - or new coach? The Government has launched an inquiry into Eden Park - and whether current rules are holding the venue back from reaching its full potential. Do we think this is the way to go? Can we do anything about the e-scooters? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More events across the board could be coming to Auckland's Eden Park. RMA Minister Chris Bishop will lead an investigation into local rules impacting the number of concerts and sporting events that can be held and curfews impacting how long they can run for.   Currently, only 12 music events and 25 night-time sports fixtures can be held each year, while conferences can't have more than 2000 people.   Tourism Minister Louise Upston says Eden Park should have the flexibility to host any large-scale event that boosts the economy. "Whether it's an add on to a convention that we're hosting at the NZICC for 3,000 people and they want to do a dinner offsite and Eden Park makes sense - we want to be able to just get on." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of Christian leaders who have chained themselves to Nicola Willis' Johnsonville electorate office are vowing to stay there overnight. They want an urgent timeline from the Government for implementing sanctions against Israel over the war in Gaza. Reverend Mel McKenzie says they're fasting in solidarity with the people of Palestine. "We're just so focused on the suffering that's happening in Gaza and we're doing what Anglican and Catholic priests do - which is to pray and fast." Nicola Willis says she supports the right to peaceful protest - but adds their presence is blocking the public's access to her office and its staff members who would otherwise be able to provide help to the community. Five clergy were trespassed from Simeon Brown's Pakuranga electorate office earlier today. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relief from the nurses union over Health New Zealand's decision to review a hospital visitor hours expansion.  The agency was intending to introduce a policy allowing nominated family members to support patients in hospital 24/7, outside visiting hours. It will now review this following feedback.  Healthcare Assistant and Nurses Organisation delegate Al Dietschin says there are no restrictive policies around family support currently.  "While it's good to have family support, we shouldn't be doing it at the expense of a shortage of HCAs." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.