Larry Williams Drive

Te Pāti Māori's pledged to concentrate on policy - and listen more.  The party held its promised reset event at Parliament this afternoon, reflecting on its history and looking towards next year's election. Former Te Pāti Māori co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell says a party reset would be a good move. "What that means in terms of translating into policy gains, what it means in terms of taking an approach to the country and reflecting the original kaupapa for Te Pāti Māori - I think still remains to be seen." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oriini Kaipara is promising to use te Reo Māori as much as possible, as she launches her political life. The newly sworn-in Te Pati Māori MP presented her maiden speech to Parliament today, followed by a number of waiata in the House. Parliament was temporarily suspended when people in the public gallery broke out in a haka - met with dismay by Speaker Gerry Brownlee. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper recapped the day's events. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump says Israel and Hamas have signed off the first phase of a peace framework for Gaza.  Mediators in Egypt have been overseeing negotiations over several days. The first phase includes releasing all hostages - and initial withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of the Strip. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says the Australian Government has voiced support for these new measures. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Breakers are on the board in their ANBL basketball campaign with a 117-88 win over the Hawks in Auckland. Guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright scored 20 points and registered a franchise record 17 assists. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's growing support for a call to decriminalise drugs in order to reduce harm. The Drug Foundation's released a report calling drug laws of the past 50 years a 'colossal failure'.  It is pushing for decriminalising use - and more investment in health and addiction services.  Victoria University criminology professor Fiona Hutton says the status quo isn't working.  "Things like drug overdoses are rising, addiction hasn't really been properly addressed, things like methamphetamine use are causing real harm in our communities." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sharesies is launching its own debit card today and promising the new product will be a change from traditional card reward programmes. The micro-trading platform says the Sharesies Debit Mastercard will earn customers 1% “Investback”. That meant earnings accrued from using the card would automatically be invested on a weekly basis into a nominated investment on the Sharesies app. Sharesies Personal General Manager Scott Nixon joined the Afternoons team to discuss further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government says it has no intention of decriminalising drug use, despite a confronting new report.  The Drug Foundation paper suggest the Misuse of Drugs Act has compounded harm - and needs overhauling.  But Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says change isn't on the agenda this term.  NZ Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm joined the Afternoons team to explain further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Top British security officials will face questions over an aborted China spying case brought by its chief prosecutor, which collapsed as it is seeking to rebuild economic ties with the country. The case against Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash, who were charged last year under the Official Secrets Act over allegations they spied for China between 2021 and 2023, was dropped last month. UK correspondent Gail Downey explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank today slashed the OCR by 50 basis points to 2.5 percent, prompting markets to make readjustments. This recent cut wasn't full priced in, and it's got some experts re-thinking their OCR outlooks ahead of the end of the year. Milford Asset Management's Remy Morgan explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and broadcaster Mark Sainsbury joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  Eight international rugby unions, including New Zealand, have tried to warn their players off joining the proposed Rugby 360 league. What do we make of all this?  The OCR dropped another 50 basis points today - should we be celebrating? Or could the central bank have done more? National recently dropped below 30 percent in the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll. Should the coalition be worried here? New reports on truancy have found that many families are still taking their kids out of class for holidays. Do we need to stagger holidays around the country so that flights to Fiji aren't so expensive for a specific 2-week period? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ASB recently agreed to pay $135.6 million to settle a class action for allegedly breaching the  Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act. ANZ has refused to settle, and it's prompted concerns over recent proposed banking reforms are at risk. Banking Reform Coalition convener Kent Duston explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A major new report is warning that more than 1000 seaside homes could suffer significant damage from extreme weather by 2060. And hundreds of thousands of homes worth an estimated $180 billion are located in flood-prone areas, according to Our Marine Environment 2025 from the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ. Alison Collins from the Ministry for the Environment says many of these homes are in low-lying coastal communities and on flood plains. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 8 October 2025, the Reserve Bank has pulled out the big guns and cut the official cash rate by 50 basis points today. Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr speaks to Heather. Former National Party staffer Ben Thomas says National polling in the 20s is not good news for Chris Luxon. NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson explains why rugby unions across the world don't want players playing for a new rival league backed by Saudi Arabia. New Zealand's best big airport is .... Queenstown Airport! Heather is surprised? She speaks with Queenstown Airport Chief Operating Officer Todd Grace. Plus the Huddle debates that poll and Tory Whanau's final speech as Wellington mayor - surprising? 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.

Good news - the Reserve Bank has finally done the thing many of us thought was necessary, and they've gone for a double cut in the OCR of 50 basis points. That's the good news. The bad news is that they've been forced to do it because they didn't do it earlier, as in, they haven't cut as quickly as they should have. I mean, think back to July when they actually chose not to cut at all, which was clearly a mistake at the time - but became even more of a mistake when we saw the shock GDP number that followed. We saw that in the three months before that decision, the economy had actually contracted by a whopping 0.9 percent and the Reserve Bank hadn't really noticed at all. And the bad news, I suppose, again, is that they could have done a double cut last time when two of them on the Monetary Policy Statement said we should go double cut. But more of them said, no, let's just go with the single cut. So they've gone with a double cut today - vindication for two, it would seem. We're gonna stick to the good n

Eight international rugby unions, including New Zealand, have warned players that they won't be eligible for high-level selection if they switch to the proposed Rugby 360 league. There have been rumours of monetary offers directed at high-level rugby and league players for the competition, which is being promoted by former England international Mike Tindall. NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson says many of the other unions haven't been as clear or public as New Zealand's has, because of the scrutiny, but they wanted to make things clear. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queenstown Airport is flying high, thanks to a surge in visitors. It's been named Large Airport of the Year at the national awards - with judges praising its strong safety record, commercial success, and community engagement. They were also impressed with its new end-of-runway safety system. Chief operating officer Todd Grace says the airport's seen strong growth since Covid. He says they're the only airport in New Zealand operating back past pre-Covid levels. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's claims a rebounding economy could propel National to another election win. But a former senior National staffer also says next year's election is looking like a toss-up. The recent Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll has the party on just 29.6 percent - one of its lowest results since returning to Government.  Ben Thomas says that's not a good place to be.  "That is a psychological threshold - we used to be thinking that anything in the middle-low 30s was a disaster for a National Party leader." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's 50 basis point OCR cut could go some way to getting our economy growing again. The Reserve Bank's slashed the cash rate to 2.5 percent. ANZ has lowered its floating and flexible rates, on top of all major banks already lowering fixed term offerings. Kiwibank chief economist, Jarrod Kerr, says he's been calling for a 2.5 percent cash rate for two years. "We knew it needed to go below neutral, which is three, and we needed to get some stimulus into the economy to really ignite the recovery." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank has cut the OCR by 50 basis points to 2.5 percent, despite acknowledging inflation is still above where they'd like it. Finance Minister Nicola Willis says they've factored in broader economic conditions. She says the central bank clearly thinks any fluctuation in inflation will be constrained by spare capacity in the economy. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says this will come as good news as more people are set to roll into lower mortgage rates. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Locking down a new trade deal is front of mind for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as he met for talks with US President Donald Trump.  Negotiations have been ongoing since August, when Trump imposed 35 percent tariffs on Canadian goods.  Canada remains the only G7 country without a deal - something Trump attributes to a 'natural conflict' stemming from their proximity. US correspondent Jonathan Kearsley says this meeting appeared to be a positive one, when compared to their previous discussion.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.