Larry Williams Drive

The New Zealand Cricket board is still deciding the future of the country's domestic T20 game, but a couple of Black Caps have other ideas. The options have effectively been whittled down to launching a privatised NZ20 tournament, given the Super Smash is without a broadcast deal for next summer, or setting up a local team in Australia's Big Bash League, provided they get an invitation. Sportstalk host Elliott Smith explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Energy Minister says Marsden Point made its own commercial decision to close, but even open, it couldn't alleviate fuel issues. Iran's put a stranglehold on global supplies, blocking the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for US and Israel strikes. Resources Minister Shane Jones is blaming Labour for the refinery closing. Megan Woods says even if it was open, that wouldn't get us crude oil. "Shane was given an option a year or so ago, said - if you're really worried about this, you can spend billions of dollars and you can set up a new refinery in Taranaki. Now he hasn't proceeded with that."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump has renewed his criticisms of the UK Government's response to the Middle East conflict. The US President said the UK needs to be 'involved enthusiastically' in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid oil supply concerns. UK correspondent Enda Brady says Trump has urged Starmer to help get the Strait open again.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in Australia, the Reserve Bank bumped the OCR up to 4.1 percent, up by 0.25 percentage points. This is the second significant hike it two months, and it's got experts speculating about what this means for the economy on the whole. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham wondered what this could mean for other global markets.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of the next GDT auction, there's concerns about what the ongoing Middle East conflict could do for prices. The conflict has seen oil prices spike, and experts have warned this will likely impact other key sectors of the economy. The Country's Jamie Mackay speculated further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Black Caps have been put into bat by South Africa in the second of their five T20 matches in Hamilton tonight. A strong start by the Kiwi openers Tom Latham and Devin Conway has them at 36 without loss after five overs a short time ago. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and former Green MP Gareth Hughes joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  Chris Hipkins' ex-wife posted a series of allegations about the former Prime Minister on Facebook, and Hipkins denied the allegations in a media conference earlier today. Is this even our business?  New Stats NZ figures show food prices rose 4.5 percent, with steak, mince and chocolate shooting up over 20 percent. How will this impact the Government ahead of the election? And what does this mean for inflation? Do we need to start working from home before the fuel reserves run low?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We need to talk about inflation, because inflation is making me pretty sure now that the National Party needs to rethink its plan for this election. We’ve just had the food inflation data out today. No surprise - food has gone up in price again in the year to February, up 4.5 percent. The biggest increase in a single item was mince. It went up 23.2 percent. That is the highest recorded jump in mince in two decades. Mince is a reasonably big deal in this data, I reckon, because mince - and sausages, obviously - is one of those bits of meat we go to when we’re feeling the pinch, right? If you can’t afford the sirloin steak, you go for the mince instead. So if the so-called cheaper option is becoming that much more expensive, well, that tells you how hard it’s going to be for families to make ends meet. And it’s, of course, not just the mince. Everything - everything - has gone up in price. There are a few items that have come back down but for the most part, the things you really need - not the snacks, the esse

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 17 March, 2026, food prices are up - and a Kiwi staple, mince, is leading the way. We ask Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen if it's going to get worse. We'll tell you about a new ratings system for schools. An economist on why more of us should be working from home right now. And on The Huddle, we ask Jordan Williams and Gareth Hughes if the private lives of politicians like Chris Hipkins should be aired in public. 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 Resources Minister is insistent Crown funds should help heat the geothermal sector. A Government strategy has been released on its plan to double the use of geothermal energy by 2040. It's also ring fenced $50 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund for the development of geothermal energy projects.  Resources Minister Shane Jones says it's a worthy investment. "The Crown stepped up to the plate in the 1950s, did an enormous amount of drilling - not always successful, but a number of those drill holes have turned into major electricity suppliers."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New reports indicate young people aren't going to op-shops as often, and experts have raised questions as to why this is. Despite the ongoing cost of living, it seems like younger people wanting discount fashion prefer other options - with less barriers. Otago University professor Lisa McNeil says the extra effort to look for quality pieces is perceived as a lot of extra labour, and young people are put off. "It's hard for them, it's expensive when they compare it to some of the cheap new options that are available in the market." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A top economist advises thinking about working from home to save fuel. Iran's maintaining its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz - retaliating to the continued bombing assault by the US and Israel. It's led Sri Lanka to move to a four-day working week from tomorrow.  Westpac economist Kelly Eckhold says unless things change quickly, something will have to be done within the next three weeks.  "Through the Covid period, we were able to save quite a lot of fuel with the hard lockdowns. We're not going to save anywhere near that amount, but it'll certainly help provide more fuel for the higher-priority users of it."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's fears there'll be no slowdown any time soon to the rapid rise in food prices. Stats NZ figures show they rose 4.5 percent in the year to February. Steak, mince and chocolate all shot up more than 20 percent. Infometrics head, Brad Olsen, says the spike in oil prices because of the war in Iran will do nothing to help.  "We know that not only oil prices are key to transport costs, but also just the production. Now if you're a farmer, you've got to use diesel to move stuff around to run the tractor and everything else. So this is going to hit." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A return towards decentralisation is being painted as Health New Zealand's next chapter. The Government's reverting to giving hospitals more control - letting them decide staffing, budgets, and service delivery from July. It's adamant it's not a return to District Health Boards, with planning still done nationally. Acting chief executive Andrew Brant says Health NZ's finances are looking good and it's delivering more, but this ensures improvement continues. He explained the key change is bringing the operating model much more into the frontline - and communities into decisions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Hipkins says he won't discuss family matters publicly - verging on tears at a press conference this afternoon.  On Sunday, his ex-wife Jade Paul posted allegations on social media, none relating to unlawful conduct. The Labour leader denies them and says he hasn't spoken to Paul, who is overseas. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says it's clear Paul felt like she needed to speak out as Hipkins makes more campaign promises ahead of the election. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian Reserve Bank has increased interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, up to 4.1 percent. This is the second month the RBA has lifted rates, with the bank hiking up to 3.85 percent in February. Australian correspondet Murray Olds says the vote to increase rates was divided, but there's concerns about inflation brought on by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is copping heat today for cancelling the EV subsidy a couple of years ago. Critics now say it looks like a mistake, because oil prices are rising and, as a result, petrol prices are rising too. They argue that, of course, we’d all be better off in electric vehicles - which we supposedly would have been if the Government hadn’t cancelled the subsidy at the end of 2023. Now let me tell you why it was not a mistake to cancel it, why what’s happening right now actually proves that, and why the lovies saying this are wrong. What’s important in this argument is being specific about who would have owned those electric vehicles if the Tesla subsidy had continued. It wouldn’t have been workers living all the way out in Pōkeno, driving into the city, it wouldn’t have been people out in Silverstream commuting into Wellington, it wouldn’t have been solo mums trying to make ends meet - they can’t afford new EVs. It would have been well-heeled people living in central-city leafy suburbs, getting eight grand

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to send warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing concerns. US President Donald Trump has reportedly called for reinforcements to keep an eye on the waterway after the Middle East conflict led to a spike in oil prices.  UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Starmer isn't offering to help police the area, but Donald Trump has spoken to other world leaders about the matter. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 16 March, 2026, we talk to the Retail NZ chief executive about an increase in card spending - will it last? The boss of Freightways says people are getting a bit 'hysterical' about petrol price rises. We talk to an entertainment reporter in the US about this year's big Oscar winners. And on The Huddle, Josie Pagani and Phil O'Reilly on whether Nicola Willis' 1pm press conference brought back any unfortunate memories.  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 Government is considering its options if petrol prices keep rising, but the head of Freightways is warning people not to panic. The conflict in the Middle East has entered its third week, but the Finance Minister has ruled out measures like reducing the fuel excise. Freightways CEO Mark Troughear says there's plenty of fuel in the country and more on the way - and there's plenty of supply to keep things going.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.