Larry Williams Drive

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 10 May 2024, Labour’s energy spokesperson Megan Woods responds to government criticism of the 2018 gas and oil exploration ban.   The New Zealand Defence force has had a budget increase, to the tune of $571 million. Defence Minister Judith Collins said this is a move in the right direction.   TVNZ enters mediation after cancelling Sunday and Fair Go, E tū negotiator, Michael Wood said they'll work as quickly as possible to reach an agreement.   The Warehouse closes TheMarket.com after sales worsen. Devon Funds Management head of Retail, Greg Smith told Heather, “They launched this in 2019 as New Zealand’s answer to Amazon.”    Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is on his first trip to Europe in five years, which is likely to be dominated by Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as economic strains between Beijing and Brussels.  Asia business correspondent, Peter Lewis told Heather du Plessis Allan that European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU needed help to protect itself from Chinese imports.   Lewis said “Cina learnt very quickly about ow to make cars and they stole an edge in the EV market.”  LISTEN ABOVE.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economic growth in the UK has reached 0.1%, despite construction and retail being hit by a slow start to the year.  UK Correspondent Gavin Grey told Heather du Plessis Allan that the government has said their economic reforms are beginning to come good. However, the opposition is saying “you’ve been in power for more than a decade and it’s not looking good.”  Grey said “The general election is beginning to focus on the economy; and asylum seekers (which is very much unresolved)”.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Warehouse Group will close the online shopping website TheMarket.com in late June after about five years of business – after it failed to find a buyer.  Earlier this year, they sold Torpedo7 for $1.  Devon Funds Management head of Retail, Greg Smith told Heather du Plessis Allan “They launched this in 2019 as New Zealand’s answer to Amazon.”  Smith said “Part of this is about trying to improve the focus, they do seem to have lost their way,”  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sports Huddle with Matt Brown & Paul Allison: the scrapping of the scrum after the free kick.   Three laws are to be amended which World Rugby said will allow for a better fan experience by "increasing the spectacle, safety and game simplicity".   World Rugby has made changes to its laws to improve the "entertainment factor" of the game and make it easier for viewers to understand. Paul Brown told Heather du Plessis Allan “We’re sick to death of scrums being collapsed and using up time.”     Brown said “All the rules that are being proposed make good. Positive sense.”   LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Defence Minister says New Zealand never wants to go to war - but the geopolitical situation is unstable. The Government has revealed 571-million-dollars from the Budget will go into military coffers." Defence Minister Judith Collins told Heather du Plessis Allan “It is a significant amount, and defence force will come up with a plan for it." Collins said “Since I’ve been Minister I’ve seen a big drop in attrition and we need to see it going in the right direction.”  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AUT says it's considering a controversial social media post made on the private account of the school's dean of law, Khylee Quince The post said: "I suppose it was inevitable that one of the old racist dinosaurs would make a pathetic squeal in an attempt to preserve the status quo... Mr Judd and 'matauranga Maori is not science' friends can go die quietly in the corner I actually don’t think AUT needs to do anything about this, because of freedom of speech But - if they leave this unchecked, it means AUT doesn’t mind this kind of discourse from its senior staff.    LISTEN ABOVE.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'll tell you what, this morning I woke up at seven basically on the dot and when I looked at the time, I thought jeez, it's seven and I pulled my charger out of my phone because just so that I wasn't the one who tipped the entire country into darkness.  It was a relief, wasn't it, that we managed to make it, make it through two hours this morning without the power going out.  Apparently, according to Transpower, it's basically the reason that we managed to do it is because we all chipped in.  We all did our bit, the major electricity users did there.  But in between all of us, we managed to save about 260 megawatts in terms of demand. And that's actually not a bad effort by us, because, yesterday the forecast was that they were going to be down 200 megawatts.  So, we did pretty well. But we need to talk about this because this is not going to be the last time this year that we get this message and that we have to rally and pull our phones out of the chargers, take the bike off the charge. Do not put the kett

TVNZ is being forced to go into mediation after cancelling high profile shows including Sunday and Fair Go. The Employment relations authority this afternoon found the state broadcaster broke a clause in the collective agreement it has with staff E tū negotiator, Michael Wood told Heather du Plessis Allan “We as a union will attempt to sit down with TVNZ over the coming week and try reach an agreeable outcome as quickly as we can." Wood said “If not, TVNZ will be required under this ruling to come back and comply with the collective agreement and follow the process properly.”  LISTEN ABOVE.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has unveiled a 571-million-dollar funding boost over four years - including 163-million for bolstering pay. The rest will go towards upgrading tech and fleets - including the military's NH90 helicopters, and dated vehicles. Senior political correspondent Barry Soper told Heather du Plessis Allan “It’s about interoperability with our defence partners." Soper said “If you look at our spend compared to theirs, it’s small – this spend will bring us up to one percent of GDP.”  LISTEN ABOVE.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hurricanes will play The Blues tomorrow night at Eden Park.  The Hurricanes lead the competition on 42 points, followed by the Blues (41). The Hurricanes beat the Blues 29-21 on March 9. Sports Contributor Jason Pine told Heather du Plessis Allan “I’ve had a quick check on the odds: the Blues has favourites, according to the TAB.  Pines said “I think that’s to do with home advantage. It’s a hard place to win rugby if you’re not from there.”  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US correspondent Dan Mitchinson reports on Stormy Daniels and Trump, Biden and Netanyahu; and hospitals not doing surgeries unless payment is received in full Mitchinson told Heather du Plessis Allan, “Trump’s lawyers are continuing to attack the credibility of Daniels’ testimony Mitchinson said that Daniels responded with “If that story was untrue, I would have written it a lot better." LISTEN ABOVE.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We dodged a bullet this morning, but are we paying the price for Labour's mismanagement?  Grid operator Transpower asked households to conserve power this morning.  The Government's blamed a ban in 2018 on oil and gas exploration, for our short supply of natural gas.  The Labour Party’s energy spokesperson Megan Woods told Heather du Plessis Allan “It was the correct and right thing to do.”  Woods said "I'm concerned that the government has cut funding for other energy storage options."  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prince Harry received support from two of Princess Diana's siblings during his Invictus Games engagement. The Duke of Sussex attended the Invictus Games Foundation’s 10th Anniversary celebration alongside Charles Spencer and Lady Jane Fellowes. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this isn't a good look for King Charles, who was hosting a garden party nearby. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US and Europe have posted several quarterly results - and this season has been labelled 'spicy' and volatile by experts. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds unpacks all the highs and lows found within the results. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AgriZeroNZ, the joint venture fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for Kiwi farmers, has put up millions of dollars in the race for a 'methane vaccine'. The company has invested $9.9 million in U.S. ag-biotech start-up, ArkeaBio, to accelerate a treatment for ruminant animals. The Country's Jamie Mackay examines the impact of these treatments. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's looking increasingly likely that cash is getting phased out. More and more banks have removed their ATMs, and Australia's Macquarie Bank made headlines over its decision to scrap physical money altogether. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann examines the future of physical cash. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 9 May 2024, Transpower's warning Kiwis to reduce their electricity usage to avoid power cuts tomorrow morning. Transpower's Chantelle Bramley tells Heather how bad the shortfall is. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has promised "modest but meaningful" tax cuts. Heather asks her how much money we'll get. The Huddle debates whether the last Government caused the energy crisis we find ourselves in and whether Woolworths should own its promotions mistake. Plus the Baby Reindeer news that has Heather on the edge of her seat... 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 nation is grappling with worsening power and gas shortages - in line with one expert's warning. In September 2023, Enerlytica director John Kidd warned of power shortage risks following the loss of a key gas-fired power plant. Kidd says these issues have been coming for a while. "It is one of those things where you need capacity to cover exactly these types of periods. And over the last few years, we just haven't had that new capacity."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Josie Pagani from Child Fund and ZB host Tim Beveridge joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Transpower has warned customers across the nation to reduce their power consumption from 7am to 9am tomorrow morning due to an unexpected cold snap. Should we have seen this coming? Can we expect this to happen again? Finance Minister Nicola Willis has promised 'meaningful but modest' tax cuts ahead of the 2024 Budget. The Opposition has already labelled it 'crumbs' - what do we think? Should the Government have tackled inflation first? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.