Larry Williams Drive

If you've been following the GIB shortage story, you'll recall Simplicity Living recently announced it was sick of waiting on Fletcher Building for their GIB orders.Simplicity Living cancelled their orders and are now importing it themselves from Thailand at a lower price.Fletcher Building says it supports any intiative to supply plasterboard to the industry.Fletcher Building CEO Ross Taylor joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Queen met with her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan for just a quarter of an hour during their visit to the UK for her Platinum Jubilee.According to The Sun, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's time spent with the Queen was kept "very formal".Harry and Meghan, along with their son Archie, 3, and their 1-year-old daughter Lilibet, saw the Queen at Windsor on Thursday, June 2 as Jubilee celebrations began."It was a quick in and out job. It was all quite formal," a source said.Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the visit.The Sun reported earlier that the Sussexes were forbidden to bring a photographer to Windsor Castle to snap the moment the Queen met Lilibet.They were kept at a distance by senior royals for the rest of the Jubilee. They flew back to California last Sunday before celebrations wrapped up, with Harry soon spotted playing polo again back home.Meanwhile, William and Kate took centre stage at the Jubilee pageant, with their youngest son Prince Louis stealing the show. For L

The Deputy Prime Minister is downplaying the controversies surrounding Speaker Trevor Mallard as he gets set to leave Parliament.Mallard will call time on a 35 year career in August to take up a diplomatic posting in Europe.Most recently, he sparked controversy by turning the sprinklers on the protesters outside Parliament and trespassing Former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.Grant Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan few people who have been in politics that long would get away without controversy.“He might’ve had to apologise on occasion, but I think his overall record puts us in a good place for him to be able to represent us.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, well, well. Trevor gets rewarded for being a bad boy.The PM's confirmed he’s resigning from the Speaker’s job later this year and will get a diplomatic posting in Europe.Everyone knows he wants the Dublin posting so maybe he'll get the very thing he's so badly wanted for so many years.Should he though?Sure, it’s a relief for us to have him out of the Speaker’s role because it’s amazing that any one man can do it so badly.I thought after calling an innocent man a rapist and then using taxpayer money to deal with it that it wasn’t possible to sink further.But then he turned on the sprinklers and the Barry Manilow and entrenched the protest.And then he allowed a former Deputy Prime Minister of this country to be trespassed from Parliamentary grounds.And that’s not even mentioning the fortune he spent on constructing a children’s slide outside Parliament.Sure, it's probably a relief for the PM because he is so out of hand she’s burning political capital protecting him all the time. And she no longer has the

Are we a step closer to robots taking over?A Google employee has claimed a computer chatbot he was working on has become sentient.Blake Lemoine published his conversations with the chatbot online and likened it to having the thoughts and feelings of a human child.Google's squashed his claims and put him on paid leave, but could it be possible? Tech commentator Bill Bennett joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sydney Morning Herald has come under fire for forcing Rebel Wilson to come out as gay.The paper gave Wilson a two-day deadline to comment on her new partner and then complained after she announced it on Instagram first.Another pre-departure test horror story as calls to scrap them get louder.A Kiwi who visited Sydney for work had his pre-departure PCR test denied because it was recorded one minute earlier than the 48 hour threshold, and Customs rejected the traveller’s review.Cabinet has had a major reshuffle from what was branded as a “minor” change.Kris Faafoi has left Parliament to be with his family, with Trevor Mallard also leaving to take up a diplomatic role in Europe.Meanwhile, Poto Williams has been replaced as Police Minister by Chris Hipkins and will take up a new role in tacking conservation and disability issues.Neale Jones and Trish Sherson joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on The HuddleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sydney Morning Herald is under fire for forcing actress Rebel Wilson to out herself as gay.The paper gave Wilson two days to comment on her new partner, then complained she had "gazumped" their story when she announced it on Instagram herself.The paper has since said they would have asked the same questions if Wilson's new partner was a man.Media researcher and former NZ Herald editor-in-chief Dr Gavin Ellis joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Calls to scrap pre-departure tests are getting louder as the latest horror story emerges.A Kiwi visiting Sydney for work had his pre-departure PCR test to get back into NZ denied because it was recorded one minute earlier than the 48 hour threshold.  He got customs to review the decision, but customs rejected it.Traveller in question Paul Beswick joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard is leaving Parliament after 35 years.The Prime Minister's Cabinet reshuffle today will see Mallard step down in August for a diplomatic post in Europe.Former Labour Party president Mike Williams told Heather du Plessis-Allan Mallard is ready for a new role.“He looked weary to me. I saw him in Parliament a couple of months ago, he really looked like he wasn’t enjoying it anymore and I suspected then that he was going.”Meanwhile, Immigration, Broadcasting and Justice Minister Kris Faafoi will also leave Parliament to spend time with his family and Poto Williams will be changed out of her Police portfolio.Williams says Poto is known for a soft, warm personality.“I don't think that is appropriate for Police, particularly the way it's developed. When things are quiet, maybe that works.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dramatic changes for the Labour Party.“Minor” changes in a Cabinet reshuffle have seen Kris Faafoi and Trevor Mallard leave Parliament, with Faafoi choosing to leave to be with his family, while Mallard will take up a diplomatic role in Europe.Mallard’s replacement as Speaker is Adrian Rurawhe, while Faafoi’s portfolios will be replaced by Kiri Allan in Justice, Michael Wood in Immigration and Willie Jackson in Broadcasting.Meanwhile, Poto Williams has been replaced by Chris Hipkins as Police Minister, who gives up his Covid-19 Minister portfolio to Ayesha Verrall, while Associate Minister Jan Tinnetti will take a more prominent role in Education.Jacinda Ardern has said Williams will take on conservation and disability issues.NZ Herald Senior Political Reporter Thomas Coughlan joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the back of historic discussions with China, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will travel to Japan this week with a sharp focus on security in the region.Mr Marles will make his first visit to north Asia on Monday, travelling straight from Singapore, where he attended the Shangri-La Dialogue.While there, he held Australia’s first ministerial discussion with China in more than two years, during which he affirmed Australia’s concerns about Chinese military might and its position in the Indo-Pacific.Mr Marles will continue to voice his concerns while in Tokyo, where he will meet with his Defence counterpart, Minister Nobuo Kishi, to discuss the two countries’ shared approach in the Indo-Pacific and to reaffirm a commitment to the Australia-Japan Special Strategic Partnership.“I am delighted to be in Japan as one of my first international visits as Deputy Prime Minister. Australia and Japan share a vision for an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, one where the sovereignty of all states is respected,”

The Christchurch public has eagerly seized its chance to have a say on the stadium question.Public consultation on whether to spend an additional $150 million on a new stadium has only just opened but the Christchurch City Council has received more than 3000 submissions.One group that's been understandably vocal on the subject is the Crusaders, with forwards coach Jason Ryan calling the process a shambles last week.Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shanghai will carry out Covid-19 testing on more than half of its 25 million residents this weekend, fueling fears of a return to more stringent restrictions just days after the financial hub emerged from two months of painful lockdown.The mass testing announcements sparked fears of a return to stringent, prolonged lockdown among Shanghai residents, many of whom had been confined to their homes for two months or more since March.Those fears have triggered panic buying. On Thursday, Shanghai residents rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food and other daily necessities, forming long lines at checkouts and leaving shelves empty, according to photos and videos that circulated on social media.At least seven of the city's 16 districts, with a combined population of 15 million people, will roll out mass testing over the weekend, Zhao Dandan, deputy head of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said at a news conference Thursday. The districts include Shanghai's most populated areas and busy business hubs, suc

The Government is now looking at farmers’ recommendations on how to price farming emissions.This week’s He Waka Eke Noa report has suggested individual farmers would be responsible for calculating their own emissions and paying a levy on those emissions.The levy would then increase progressively over the years but can be reduced through doing things like planting native trees.Business commentator Rod Oram joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Queen Elizabeth II has reportedly pulled out of attending the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham next month.Foreign secretary Liz Truss is meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart over the death sentences of two Britons and a Moroccan sentenced to death in the pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic.UK correspondent Gavin Grey joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It looks like our fractious relationship with Australia for the last few years might be about to get a lot better after the change in government over there.Jacinda Ardern met with new PM Anthony Albanese for the first time today and the signs are really encouraging.A couple of things have caused real stresses in our relationship with Australia in the past few years: the 501 deportees and the problem with China.On the 501s, Albo hasn’t committed to anything yet, but he dropped enough hints for us to have hope that he is going to make a few changes that we would like.He clearly is going to keep sending the Kiwi crims back here, but it sounds like he might stop sending those crims who, although born in New Zealand, have spent so long in Australia, that they are really Australia’s problem and they have no connection with New Zealand anymore.He said he would use common sense on that front and conceded that he’s be annoyed too if he was in Ardern’s shoes.That’s a good sign that would make a big difference, because

The fallout from the GIB shortage continues.Simplicity Living has cancelled all orders for New Zealand-made GIB boards in favour of imported plasterboard from Thailand.They reckon our building code is unnecessarily restrictive when it comes to plasterboard because of Fletcher’s successful lobbying.Building Industry Federation chief executive Julien Leys joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Black and Blues captain Dalton Papalii has avoided a speeding charge.Police were intending to charge him with travelling more than 50km/h over the 100km/h speed limit on Auckland’s Southern Motorway last week, but the charges have been dropped due to a technical issue with the speed detection equipment.Kane Williamson is out of the second test with England.The Black Caps captain will miss the clash at Trent Bridge in Nottingham after testing positive for Covid-19.The Warriors mess continues.Nathan Brown has resigned as coach after refusing to move his family over to New Zealand, with Stacey Jones stepping in to coach the side.The Super Rugby semifinals take place over the weekend.The Crusaders host the Chiefs on Friday night, with the Blues taking on the Brumbies on Saturday.Phil Gifford and Jim Kayes joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss the week’s sports newsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Black and Blues captain Dalton Papalii has narrowly avoided a serious speeding charge.Police were intending to charge him with travelling more than 50km/h over the 100km/h speed limit on Auckland’s Southern Motorway early on Wednesday morning last week.But that can’t proceed with the charge due to a technicality believed to be a problem with the speed detection equipment.Former All Black Steve Gordon joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh snowfall in the south is music to the ears of ski fields preparing for returning international skiers.27 centimetres of snow have already on the Remarkables this morning alone, with more to come over the weekend.Those in Queenstown are saying there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel for the tourist hotspot as the world reopens.Ski NZ CEO Paul Anderson joined Heather du Plessis-Allan.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.