Larry Williams Drive

I know there’s a suggestion that maybe - just maybe - Moana Pasifika can be saved. But do yourself a favour and don’t waste your time hoping for it because I think this is going to be the club’s last season. I don’t relish saying that because Moana Pasifika was absolutely one of the highlights of last year’s Super Rugby season. But it has never stacked up financially, has it? The only reason it was able to pay its way for a while was because it received a temporary injection of Government money from various agencies. There was a bit of financial help from New Zealand Rugby, a bit from World Rugby and of course the fact it was majority owned by a charity that drew tens of millions of dollars in Government income. Once that Government contract was cut, the financial support came to an abrupt end. Now the money has run out. It’s lost its big star - Ardie Savea is now in Japan. It’s losing games, sitting at the bottom of the table again and the fans have drifted away. You could argue - and it would be a fair

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 17 April. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A construction expert says customers could soon face price hikes of 25%. Stats NZ data shows petrol prices rose almost 19% last month, while diesel prices were up almost 43%. AUT Professor John Tookey says the industry heavily relies on oil for producing and transporting materials. He says the destruction of oil wells and processing facilities in the Middle East could take years or decades to rebuild.  Tookey says, if it continues, there will be major problems which could become the new normal. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In my opinion, National MPs need to bite the bullet and ask Chris Luxon to step aside. I don’t enjoy saying this because personally I like Chris Luxon and have a fair amount of respect for him. But I think the chances are now very high that this is going to happen before the election. He is going to lose the leadership and perhaps the only real choice National MPs now have is how messy they allow this to become. I’ll explain why I think he loses the leadership — and I think it’s simple maths. National’s polling is really poor. It’s sub-30 in multiple polls. You can’t write those off as rogue results. The numbers are consistently bad and at that level the party is on track to lose around 11 MPs in November. Those 11 MPs do not want to lose their jobs and within that group are the people now agitating for a change of leadership. For that agitation to stop, National’s polling would need to lift enough to save at least some of those MPs’ seats.So how does the polling improve? The economy would have to improve. An

Changes to the Local Government Act could be on the way after controversy at the Far North District Council.  Councillor Diane Smolders claims a committee made-up of six councillors and 10 unelected Iwi and hapu representatives is co-governance on steroids.  Local Government Minister Simon Watts says he's looking at changes to give to cabinet.  He told Heather du Plessis-Allan that he'll have a proposal soon.  Watts says he expects it to take about a month. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis has made her way to the US. She joins a long list of finance ministers calling for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen, and met with Trump's officials for an update on the situation in Iran.  She told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the Whitehouse was, 'careful to caveat that there were still a number of unknowns because they're not the only actor in the conflict.' when asked about the situation in Iran.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Alpine Divorce' is a new phenomenon that is common enough to exist.  Couples going on hikes or tramps reach exhaustion at different stages, leading to one person being left behind. An exhaustion which now seems to have extended to relationships.  Adrift NZ Owner and Tongariro Crossing Guide told Heather du Plessis-Allan that being under physical stress is likely to heighten tensions in strained relationships.  'When you do that, the best of the worst comes out of you.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new farming advocacy group is pushing for the government only to import meat that matches New Zealand's farming standards.  'Fair for Farmers' says that overseas pig meat undermines animal welfare standards, and kiwi farmer's ability to compete.  Animal Policy International Co-Executive Director Rainer Kravets told Heather du Plessis-Allan that, 'around 60% of pork in our market comes from overseas and most of it is produced using standards that would be illegal here.' The group has faced criticism from other farming collectives about the motives behind their cause.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Uptake is stalling for GP's wanting to diagnose ADHD.  Two months after the Government allowed GP's to assess and prescribe medication, only 180 GP's have used the new power so far.  Other doctors blame workforce shortages and inadequate funding for the stall in uptakes.  Royal NZ College of GP's President Luke Bradford told Heather du Plessis-Allan that, 'Patients can't afford to see it. Or the doctors can't afford to give up the time to do it.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi company Allbirds has announced a new direction and it's drawn questions from experts. After years of losses, the former sustainable shoe company is transitioning to AI after selling all its assets this month. It's revised its moniker to NewBirds AI - seeing share values surging up to 700 percent. NZ Herald senior business writer Chris Keall says the tech and business-based press has raised concerns about what this could do for the company.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's concerns the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could lead to food shortages in the UK. Reports claim that people are concerned that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will lead to a shortage of carbon dioxide - which is essential in food production.  UK correspondent Enda Brady says Prime Minister Kier Starmer has warned people to start preparing. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 16 April, 2026, our $86 billion Super Fund is found guilty of failing to properly address human rights. We talk to the lawyer for the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. We have a tough conversation with US philosopher Peter Boghossian, who's here on a free speech tour. Former cricketer Ben Harris tells us how he came up with the idea of a bowls version of T20. And on The Huddle, Oscar Kightley and Jordan Williams debate the use of unelected representatives on council committees. 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.

The US earnings season is in full swing, with many leading companies posting their results. The Middle East conflict is looming over this year's data and experts have raised concerns. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former All Blacks captain and loose forward Taine Randell is now a New Zealand First candidate in the coming election. He will get a winnable list position in case he doesn’t win the Tukituki electorate. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained what he could bring to politics. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and artist and local Government politician Oscar Kightley joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! As the fuel crisis continues, more people are opting to take the bus instead of drive or fly. Do we see this becoming a permanent shift, or will things go back to normal when the oil crisis ends? What do we make of the Government's handling of the fuel crisis? Are we going to end up like Australia?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having tough conversations is a difficult art, but one expert's devised a solution. American philosopher Peter Boghossian has been quietly touring New Zealand schools and universities teaching young people how to have healthy debate. He says it's important to consider all perspectives and figure out what people believe before we leap to conflict. "The most important thing is that you have to listen, you have to repeat back to the person, you have to understand what they believe and why they believe it, and only then can you have any kind of meaningful criticism."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We can be a bunch of moaners in this country, can’t we? Now, from my point of view, that announcement yesterday - which we talked about on the show - that pharmacists may soon be able to hand out a range of publicly funded medicines without patients having to go to a GP first, is a no-brainer. It’s wonderful because we’re talking about low-level medications: Pamol, maybe some eye drops, for fairly common and uncomplicated illnesses like conjunctivitis or head lice. And this isn’t anything new for pharmacists. They’re already looking at conjunctivitis and going, “Oh yeah, mate, that’s conjunctivitis - you need the eye drops.” They’re already dispensing the medications. The only difference is that, if this proposal goes through, they’ll be able to hand out those medicines at the same subsidised price you’d pay if you’d gone to the GP first. You won’t have to buy it over the counter at full price. And the good news - why this really is a no-brainer - is that it takes pressure off GPs, or the EDs, that poorer peo

A former cricketer has launched a new fast-paced lawn bowls format designed to give the sport a new lease on life. 'Five in 25' is a shortened version of the game that hopes to attract new players to give the sport a go. Ben Harris is the man behind the game and he says there's an event set to take place tomorrow designed to appeal to prospective players. "It's an experimental tournament tomorrow, there'll be some learnings from that at the Papanui bowling club." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Airlines are now treating the fuel crisis as a long term issue. The conflict in Iran, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz, has forced airfare rises and route cuts. Board of Airline Representatives NZ Executive Director, Cath O'Brien, says airlines have to look well ahead. "At the moment, we're planning for the season that runs October to March. As we plan ahead, we have to plan networks on a totally changed basis of cost. And I think that's the real challenge."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Guardians of the Super Fund are considering their response to a High Court ruling parts of its sustainable investment policy were unreasonable and unlawful. The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa sought a judicial review over the fund's failure to divest investment in Israeli companies complicit in illegally occupying Palestine.  Their lawyer, Frances Joychild KC says the court has asked the Superfund to re-write its policies to align with their statutory duties. She says the problem was that their policies didn't have any human rights standards - which could be used as benchmarks. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.