Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 4 September 2025, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford explains why the Government is looking to deport more immigrants who turn criminal. Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche reveals whether he would consider axing the Ministry for Women. All Blacks assistant coach Scotty Hansen admits that there are some nerves ahead of the big clash against the Springboks at Eden Park this weekend. Heather speaks to Ikea boss Johanna Cederlöf about the big opening day - and those infamous meatballs. Plus, the Huddle debates an uncharacteristic apology from the Maori Party.   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.

So I'm going to suggest that Erica Stanford is on the right track with wanting to make it easier to deport criminals, but maybe she doesn't go far enough. So at the moment, the rules are that we cannot deport criminals if they've been here on a residence visa and they've been residents for more than 10 years. An example of this is the Mama Hooch brothers. These guys are not Kiwis. You know the ones I'm talking about, down in Christchurch. They're not Kiwis, they're Aussies and they don't have citizenship here, they don't have Kiwi passports. But even though they are two of the country's worst sexual offenders, we cannot deport them back to Australia because they've been here in New Zealand as residents for longer than 10 years. Now, Erica Stanford is proposing to change the rules so that that gets moved out to 20 years for anyone who's committed a serious crime like murder, rape, or manslaughter. Now I would say, scrap the time limit altogether. It doesn't matter how long you've been here - 20 years, 25 years, 30 years, 50 years. If you decide that you want to rape or kill someone, you go home and you lose the privilege of being here. Maybe we need to look outside of rape and murder and manslaughter as well. Perhaps we have lower time limits for other crimes - but further than 10 years, if you know what I mean. We take a line on those crimes, we push it out a little bit further. Because the key here is that it is a privilege to be in New Zealand and not a right. And I suppose what I'm suggesting is that we take a leaf out of Australia's book and get rid of other countries' criminals. As much as I don't always love what what Australia is doing, what I love a lot less is looking after other countries' criminals. So I reckon no time limit on those big crimes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's been some new proposals regarding the future of housing density in Auckland, and it's prompted plenty of debate and discussion. The draft plan would see more dense housing built around key transport hubs, like the new City Rail Link. Housing Minister Chris Bishop says Auckland needs to allow for more housing, and there's a long-term plan in place for the city's future. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Public Service Commissioner says he doesn't want to see the public service slashed and burnt.  Earlier this week, the New Zealand Initiative called for a culling of our 43 Government departments to just 20.  Sir Brian Roche says everything's on the table - but the changes need to be measured.  "The Initiative is one world view, I think these things have to evolve. I don't look at this being a big bang, we don't want to go through big slash/burn downsizings, those things are debilitating and I don't see those being required at this point." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Halfback Kyle Preston is poised for a test debut off the bench for the All Blacks against South Africa on Saturday at Eden Park in the Rugby Championship. The Crusader's backing up Finlay Christie, who's been named to start with Cortez Ratima ruled out due to an injury. All Blacks assistant coach Scotty Hansen says experts confirmed Ratima wasn't fit to play this time round. "It wasn't an option this week to play him."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Health Minister's admitting his decision to request Heath NZ and the senior doctors union go to arbitration is unusual.  Heath NZ's agreed to participate in arbitration in an effort to resolve 12 months of collective agreement negotiations.  The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists is yet to respond.  Minister Simeon Brown says his request comes after the union indicated it's looking at striking. "I guess it's unusual in that I'm asking both parties to come to the table. I've formally written to them, but I have been saying for some time that we have to negotiate these deals. Striking's not the answer." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Immigration Minister says changes to deportation laws were started because of the Mama Hooch rapists' case.  Erica Stanford is proposing to make deportation possible for visa holders who've been here less than 20 years and also committed a serious crime.  That's up from the existing 10 years - and could also apply to historic crimes.  Stanford says Australian serial rapists Danny and Roberto Jaz currently can't be deported because they've been here over 10 years.  "This is where all this work started from, which is just toughening up to make sure that we can deport people who've committed serious sexual and violent offences." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Defence Minister Judith Collins has just returned from visiting Ukraine - and says she's seen first-hand the heartbreaking human cost of war to its people. She says Russia's illegal invasion's brought misery and destruction to the Ukrainian people for three and a half long years. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper unpacked the trip further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The search for alleged cop-killer Dezi Freeman is still ongoing, but his wife is also the subject of an investigation as the situation continues. Freeman is accused of gunning down two officers before disappearing into the bush, but authorities have evidence to prosecute the fugitive's wife, Amalia Freeman, for obstructing police at the time of the shooting. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Amalia Freeman and a 15-year-old were arrested during a raid last week, but there's been no update since. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wallace Sititi will start at number eight for the All Blacks against South Africa at Eden Park on Saturday, sliding Simon Parker to six and Ardie Savea to start his 100th test at openside. Halfback Cortez Ratima's been ruled out with a rib injury, allowing Finlay Christie to start and Kyle Preston a probable debut off the bench. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave unpacks Robertson's selections further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.