Larry Williams Drive

Over in Australia, the Reserve Bank has opted to leave interest rates on hold at 3.6 percent, in line with expectations from economists. Experts had largely predicted this, given the current state of inflation data in Australia. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says it's unlikely Australians will see a rate cut until 2026. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The NRL will look into Tonga's handling of Eliesa Katoa's head injury assessment. The news comes after he suffered seizure activity and brain bleeding following three knocks in the space of 90 minutes in the build-up and during the league test defeat to New Zealand on Sunday. He underwent surgery in Auckland yesterday. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave recapped what we know so far. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smokin' Romans and Torranzino are preparing to carry the hopes for New Zealand-trained horses set as the 24 hopefuls for today's Melbourne Cup are saddled up at Flemington. It's a decline of two Kiwi runners from last year's race, while six set out for the 3200 metre journey in 2022. Melbourne Cup correspondent Donna Demaio says there's concerns about rain impacting the race. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Witnesses have described horrifying scenes of train passengers trampling over each other to escape a mass stabbing in the UK. A 32-year British national is now the only suspect for the stabbing on a London-bound train, which police are not treating as a terror attack.  One of the 11 victims - described by police as a hero who tried to intervene - remains in a critical condition. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says the driver also moved quickly to get the train the in the right lane so police could intervene.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Westpac New Zealand recently saw a significant profit boost - and it's prompted discussion. The Australia-owned bank's reporting a 13 percent jump in net profit after tax of of $1.20 billion in the year to September.  Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explained the market reactions. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump has made significant progress on establishing critical mineral deals with Australia and Japan, prompting speculation from experts. Rare earth minerals contribute to plenty of modern technology, including drones, smartphones and EVs, and these deals have seen stocks shoot up since. Mineral economist Dr Allan Trench explained these deals further - and what investors can learn here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  New research out of Australia has revealed the cost of unpaid labour - and it's sparked discussion and backlash. How much housework do we do? Is it more than our partners? Dame Noeline Taurua went out on multiple interviews today, and it's been revealed she didn't know what she did wrong - and she's been reinstated without agreeing to making any changes. What do we make of all this? Does someone need to lose their job?  Z Energy has had to apologise for an ad campaign that claimed they were getting out of the petrol business. Did they really need to apologise over this? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 3 November 2025, Dame Noeline Taurua has raised more questions than answers after her round of interviews. Employment expert Max Whitehead says it's clear Netball NZ has not acted appropriately in the saga. 120 police officers are under investigation for falsifying 30,000 breath tests. Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers explains how this happened.   Media commentator Duncan Greive reacts to news that Simon Dallow will step down after 19 years at the 6pm newsreader desk. Finance Minister Nicola Willis on Andrew Bayly and Westpac's 13% profit rise. Plus, the Huddle debates new research that has quantified the amount of unpaid labour we do in a day. 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.

How is it possible that the Dame Noeline Taurua crisis has actually got worse today? How is it possible that she's got her job back today and this thing has still got worse? I'm getting the impression that Netball New Zealand do not realize how bad this is today. If they don't realize the enormous damage that Dame Noeline has done to them by going on at least three radio interviews and one TV interview and saying repeatedly the same thing -  that she does not know how she was stood down, that there was no investigation to clear her before she was brought back - if they don't realize how enormous this is, I can't explain it to them. They're not responding today to Dame Noels' comments and they're not saying if she's right or wrong.  All we know is that the Netball New Zealand minder who was with her when she was doing the interviews told her to stop telling Mike Hosking that she didn't know why she was stood down. Now let me, for the benefit of everyone - but particularly I think for Netball New

It's been a busy time in Australia, with Kiwis flying over to see Oasis - prompting speculation about the future of events in New Zealand. The bed tax debate lingers, but the Finance Minister has promised discussions are taking place to bring more events to New Zealand. Nicola Willis says Minister Louise Upston has been working hard behind the scenes to draw in events and get the economy going. "There'll be announcements over the coming months, Louise Upston is in negotiations and there'll be some exciting events coming to a city near you." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's hope for a smooth transition at TVNZ as its shakes up the flagship 6pm news bulletin. Presenter Simon Dallow's stepping down this month after almost two decades - to be replaced by weekend newsreader Melissa Stokes. Media commentator Duncan Greive says TVNZ's made the safe choice, given it's not reaching a lot of new viewers. "If you look at the ratings for ThreeNews, there's not a lot there, they've gone down a bit." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research out of Australia has revealed the cost of unpaid household labour - and it's a high figure not recognised in economics statistics. These tasks - including cooking, cleaning and caring for family members -are reportedly worth about A$688 billion, according to new reports.  Canberra University economics professor Leonora Risse says many of these tasks are essential services, and most of these are carried out by women. "If we're not recognising it, then what we're doing is we're not recognising women's overall contribution to the economy - the productive activities that hold our economy together. So it's about shining a spotlight on it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The police have confirmed no review will take place - after it was revealed more than 100 officers are under investigation for falsifying 30,000 tests. The falsified records were only discovered after police built a new algorithm to analyse the data, as the devices themselves cannot distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate tests. Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers says it's unclear what will come out of the employment investigation. "They'll have their own individual investigations now to work through to work out why they did it. I scratch my head, going - what on earth were they thinking? It appears many of them were done on the way from or to legitimate checkpoints." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One expert has made a suggestion Netball New Zealand could be breaching employer obligations in events, including Noeline Taurua's suspension. The Silver Ferns coach is being reinstated, after being stood down in September over player concerns. She says she still doesn’t know why - and and has revealed there was no investigation. Employment expert Max Whitehead says Netball New Zealand shouldn't have acted on this if it couldn't name players or complaints. "The employer has an obligation on good faith and a natural justice to provide her with a name - and what the allegations are." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi says she isn't going anywhere. Te Pāti Māori's President, John Tamihere, has suggested she and Te Tai Tonga MP, Takuta Ferris, should resign from the Party. That's his response to a petition launched by 'Te Tai Tonga Executive'  - calling for his resignation.  He's accusing the two MPs of avarice and entitlement, referencing Hone Harawira’s split from the Party in 2011 - and telling them to do the "honourable thing'. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper recaps the ongoing saga. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over in Australia, new data shows national home values rose 1.1 per cent over the month of October, and 6.1 per cent over the year. All of Australia's major cities saw significant rises, with investors and first home buyers setting records as they tried to outbid each other. Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson raises the question of what this data could mean for future rate cuts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dame Noeline Taurua insists she hasn't agreed to any changes in the Silver Ferns' high performance environment. In announcing her return after being stood down for more than six weeks, Netball New Zealand said the two parties would be working in partnership to embed "agreed changes". Sportstalk host Jason Pine raises questions about Netball NZ's statements. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Z Energy is apologising for any confusion caused by aspects of a 2022 advertising campaign.  In 2022 and 2023, the company ran a 'Moving With The Times' campaign - illustrating its commitments to being more environmentally friendly.  Consumer NZ, Lawyers for Climate Action, and the Environmental Law Initiative later took legal action against Z Energy, claiming it was misleading New Zealanders.  Z Energy chief executive Lindis Jones says the ad was designed to be 'bold and provocative' "That statement was made alongside a whole lot of other information that contextualised it and provided background. So it's a case of - we've agreed to disagree." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 31 October. 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 pump station overflow north of Auckland has resulted in the temporary closure of Oyster farms and the destruction of thousands of contaminated oysters. In an email sent on Thursday, Watercare said the pump station overflowed at about 2.30pm to the stormwater pond and wastewater began entering the Mahurangi River but the overflow was not stopped until 8am the next day. Chair of the Mahurangi Oyster Farms Association, Lynette Dunn, said to Andrew Dickens that this was far from the first time this type of incident had occurred. "I think by recording, we might be up to about 38 or 39 times for the whole year," she said.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.