Podcast
Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive
Hosted by Newstalk ZB · EN
With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.
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Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Should we be worried about the state of professional netball in NZ?
4d ago00:02:25Tap to summarizeIs professional netball in New Zealand now in a death spiral? Unless something really significant happens to change the trajectory, are we watching the death spiral of a sport? I think all netball fans should be very concerned about the financial revelation from Netball New Zealand's chair: the organisation is expected to run at a loss of $6 million a year and it does not have enough money to absorb losses like that indefinitely. The last time I checked, Netball New Zealand had around $12 million in the bank. If that's still roughly accurate, they'll now have about half of that left and possibly even less. If they can't afford to run the competition next year in the same way they did this year, then surely the most obvious option, though not the only one, is to ask players to either play for free or accept another pay cut on top of the reduction they've already taken this year. And if players are asked to take another pay cut, or even play for free, isn't the most obvious response for the best of them to leave and play in Australia or the UK, where they can earn reasonable money? Let's say six players decide they need to be paid for the work they do and head overseas. I'm making that figure up but let's go with it. We've already lost eight players from the competition this year. Suddenly, we're talking about a dozen or 14 players leaving. That's the equivalent of two teams' worth of talent disappearing from the competition. Now you've got a much less compelling competition next year because the best players are gone. In that scenario, does TVNZ look at a significantly weaker product and decide, "I'm not sure we want to broadcast that"? And even if they do decide to stick with it, do the rest of us, the fans, tune in and think, "This isn't much good. All the stars are gone," and then stop watching? If the audience falls away, do sponsors start leaving as well because they're no longer getting the reach they expected for their investment? And if all of that happens, netball surely generates even less revenue in the years ahead. Does the cycle then begin again? With less money coming in, do players get asked to take another pay cut, prompting more departures and continuing the downward spiral? You can see how this could keep happening, over and over again, until there's very little left. That's why there has to be a circuit-breaker. Something has to interrupt the cycle. I don't know what that solution is. Is it privatisation? Is it joining the Australian league? I don't know. But it's clear that something major will be required to secure the future of Netball New Zealand. Because if it wasn't already obvious, the numbers should make it crystal clear: professional netball in this country appears to be at the beginning of a death spiral. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Full Show Podcast: 24 July 2026
5d ago01:40:37Tap to summarizeListen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 24 July. 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.
Transcribe →Ryan Fox: Golf Open Champion on returning home
5d ago00:05:07Tap to summarizeRyan Fox returned to New Zealand on Friday, July 24, bringing along the Claret Jug following his triumph at the Open Championship on Monday. He spoke to Heather du Plessis-Allan about the feeling of extra pressure going forward. "There's gonna be a whole lot more eyeballs on me, and there's gonna be a whole lot more expectation." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Joshua Tan: ExportNZ Executive Director on Trump's 12.5% tariffs
6d ago00:03:15Tap to summarizeThe United States has announced it will impose new tariffs on 60 trading partners, including New Zealand. After his previous tariffs were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, Trump is using the excuse that the countries are not doing enough to stop the imports of goods associated with forced labour to justify the increase. ExportNZ Executive Director Joshua Tan told Heather du Plessis-Allan that even if New Zealand fixed the alleged issue it would likely not change the tariff. "Look, simply put, the Trump administration wants a way to to enforce higher tariffs across the imports, and this is the mechanism that they've chosen. There is simply no way of avoiding it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Heath Milne: Development West Coast CEO on giving away flights between Wellington and Westport
6d ago00:02:41Tap to summarizeA new campaign offering free round-trip flights between Wellington and Westport is the latest bid to save a regional airline route operated by Nelson-based Originair, but those taking up the offer must book a rental car in Westport first. The campaign hopes to draw interest while the Government decides whether to support the route in the long-run. Development West Coast CEO Heath Milne joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Steve Watt: Police Association President discusses the impact of Lyn Fleming's killing on officers
6d ago00:01:58Tap to summarizeHayden Donald Jason Tasker sentenced to at least 22 years in prison for the murder of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming on New Years Day 2025. Police Association President Steve Watt said despite justice now being served, the impact the event has taken on her colleagues around the country will remain. "Our members often will carry that emotional weight of what they've witnessed, what they've experienced long after the headlines fade," he told Heather du Plessis-Allan. "You know, colleagues will continue to struggle with the grief, the trauma, and the reality that a routine shift can change lives within an instant." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Gil Barndollar: Former US Marine on Trump threat of "massive" attack on Iran
6d ago00:04:44Tap to summarizeUS President Donald Trump says he is close to deciding whether to launch “a massive attack” against Iran. But, senior fellow at Defence Priorities and a former US Marine Gil Barndollar believes that that like many of Trump's threats, this is unlikely. "He's already killed the Supreme Leader. He's already done a tremendous amount of damage to Iranian infrastructure..." he told Heather du Plessis-Allan. "You know, what more can he really do after that?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The amalgamation plans are descending into chaos
6d ago00:02:11Tap to summarizeIf you're a fan, like I am, of scrapping as many councils as possible because of how poorly the numpties on those councils are running the place, you're about to learn, as I am, that just because you and I like an idea doesn't mean everyone else does. We are two weeks away from Chris Bishop's deadline for councils to submit their amalgamation plans so that we end up with a few large councils instead of dozens of small ones. And, two weeks out, the wheels are starting to come off. Upper Hutt City Council has changed its mind. It doesn't want to amalgamate with Wellington anymore. By the looks of things, it made that decision this week. That's a little worrying because the Wellington amalgamation felt like the slam-dunk, easy one. It's been talked about for such a long time, the boundaries are obvious, there should just be one council and the carve-up of a small region into so many councils is unbelievably stupid. But despite all that, there's a problem. It doesn't look like it's going to happen easily. Wairoa is flat-out refusing to amalgamate with anyone and it makes a good case for why. As the ever-sensible Mayor of Wairoa, Craig Little, says, the efficiencies would flow to the centres, not the edges. Wairoa is on the edge and, to be honest, he's right, isn't he? Nelson wants to go with Tasman. Tasman doesn't want to go with Nelson. Canterbury has five different options for how it could do this but it doesn't know which one to choose. Hamilton also doesn't know how to do it. "Megatron" is apparently one option. Kaipara doesn't want to join up with the other Northland councils, although they're happy to join up with each other. Of course, this was always going to go this way when you think about it. Of course it was always going to descend into a fight. Auckland descended into a fight. It still is a fight for some people. There are still people who moan about the Super City in Auckland and it's been nearly 20 years. Spare a thought for Chris Bishop on this one because he's the minister responsible for all of this. His life already sucks. He's already breaking promises about Roads of National Significance. Auckland has already given him a good spanking over the density rules. Christopher Luxon has already taken away some of his favourite jobs. He's got the RMA reforms coming at him fast and those are going to be contentious as well. And now he's got this drama, which, in the next two weeks, is likely to blow up in his face.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Ah-Leen Rayner: Forbidden Pharmacy Spokesperson on cost of medicines that aren't publicly funded
6d ago00:05:09Tap to summarizeThe Forbidden Pharmacy is an art pop-up in Auckland's Shed 10 that took place on Friday, July 24. In the installation there are over 200 medicines that are currently unfunded in New Zealand but needed by patients. "The literal cost of living here is what it costs patients to either live, extend their life, or live well," Forbidden Pharmacy Spokesperson Ah-Leen Rayner told Heather du Plessis-Allan. "What we know is that an increase of 0.1% of GDP would clear the backlog, and that's of the medicines that Pharmac would like to fund if they had the money today. And that still leaves us investing only a third of what other developed nations spend on medicine access." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Enda Brady: UK correspondent on Andy Burnham announcing 20 percent cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues
6d ago00:04:15Tap to summarizePubs, clubs and live music venues in England will get a 20 percent cut in business rates from next April, as confirmed by Andy Burnham. This is the new Prime Minister's third policy, after he announced most bus fares in England will be capped at £2 from January and VAT will be cut from household electricity bills in October. UK correspondent Enda Brady says this sector has been hit hard amid the ongoing cost of living crisis. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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