Larry Williams Drive

Is there any real surprise in what we've learned from the latest Andrew trade envoy files? So, we've found out Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor got the job as the UK trade envoy because his mum, the late Queen, pushed for it. It was the Queen's wish - she was very keen that he should have a prominent role. We've learned he wasn't vetted for the job. We've learned that he was a brat - that he told them he preferred the ballet to the theatre, that he liked visiting more sophisticated countries rather than less sophisticated ones and that he should not be offered golfing functions abroad. Now, this is no surprise whatsoever, is it? There's no surprise in this. We already know the Queen had a blind spot for her favourite child. We already know he's an entitled pain. And it surprises absolutely no one to learn that he didn't earn the job - he got it because his mum wanted him to have it.  What he had done beforehand would not have qualified him for the job, would it? Other than being born a royal - that's the only

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 22 May, 2026, $35 million from the Government and more donations coming in. St John's chief executive tells us about a boost for the ambulance service. Customs has a new tool in its war on drugs. Minister Casey Costello on the remotely controlled underwater vehicle. We hear how excited The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive is about his new music app, Lume. And on the Sports Huddle, D'Arcy Waldegrave and Alex Powell on the chances of another penalty shootout for Auckland FC in the A-League grand final. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A vote in the House of Representatives was heading towards a resolution that would require President Donald Trump to come to Congress for formal approval for his war in the Middle East. But, the Speaker of the House pulled the vote as it became clear the Republicans were going to lose it. Although it was unlikely that if the vote had gone through that anything would have resulted, yet US and Middle East correspondent Gordon Robison says this shows falling support for the war.  "The fact that the vote was going to pass in the House indicates that support for the war is slipping and slipping very dramatically," he told Heather du Plessis-Allan. "So it doesn't change anything in the short run, but as we approach elections in November, it indicates that the politics around the war are changing very quickly." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand saw a 6% spending increase in retail last quarter with the South Island overtaking the North, likely due to farming and tourism.  Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young told Heather du Plessis-Allan that a jump in pharmaceutical spending can be attributed to the increasing popularity of GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy.  "There's certainly high volume of those drugs now being sold, and they're really expensive on a monthly basis. So that just keeps going up and up and up," she said.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health ministers Simeon Brown and Casey Costello have confirmed that the Government will give an extra $35 million to ambulance charities over the next four years. Hato Hone St John CEO Peter Bradley said the government has asked them to direct the money towards specific things including new ambulance stations, and an electronic patient record system.  Bradley told Heather du Plessis-Allan the upgrades will "certainly help with response times".  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZ Customs has announced the introduction of robots that can be used to search underwater for drugs to help prevent illegal substances from entering New Zealand.  "We know that we've had, sea chests and we've had things attached to ships, and that's an overseas trend as well," Customs Minister Casey Costello told Heather du Plessis-Allan. "So, that means that we can search more vessels and we can reduce the need for dive teams to go down." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tell you what I’m loving about this new, New Zealand-made music app that’s been unveiled: predominantly, it’s the confidence these guys have that this thing is going to work—and that it’s going to go global. Now, if you haven’t caught up on it, let me get you across the details. The app is called Lume and it’s going to launch, I think, in the next couple of weeks or something like that. On Lume, you’re not going to be able to stream music like you do on Spotify. Instead, you’ll buy albums—and then you’ll own those albums. They’ll come with some extra stuff as well, if you’re a real music nerd—bonus material, that sort of thing. You’re not going to pay a monthly subscription; you’re going to pay $25 an album. Now, I don’t know if this is going to work but I think there’s a really good chance. I mean, it’s got some very smart people behind it. Duncan Greive, for example, who started The Spinoff at a time when everybody else in the media was in retreat—he’s very clever at seeing small gaps in the market and then

Chancellor Rachel Reeves had to hit back at a heckler while trying to answer questions from the media at a stand-up. Reeves was announcing that a planned increase in fuel duty would be scrapped to help consumers at a petrol station - while a man yelled pro-Reform comments from his truck. UK correspondent Enda Brady explained why more politicians in the UK seem to be copping backlash from certain fringe groups.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nvidia, the world's largest listed company and a critical bellwether on the health of the AI sector, posted record first-quarter earnings on Thursday of more than $136 billion. That's up 85 percent on a year ago, with forecasts for the next quarter of over $153 billion. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zespri has improved its profitability by selling more fruit at a higher value, according to new reports. The grower-owned kiwifruit marketer released its full-year results for the 2025/26 season, and it sold 248.1 million trays, up from 220.9m the year prior, with New Zealand supply reaching 215.6m, increasing from 193m.  The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute and and artist and local Government politician Oscar Kightley joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Why is Napier's mayor in a feud with the city's Youth Council? What do we make of this?  Will Chris Bishop's social housing overhaul fix the issues with the system, or will it contribute to the existing problems? Is this the right move?  Do the Corrections arrests indicate we need a more sophisticated system to control prison power? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 21 May, 2026, Chris Bishop on a social housing overhaul that'll leave some people worse off. The Corrections boss on cracking a network of corruption among her staff. Former Defence Minister Ron Mark tells us how our troops could help Ukrainian armed forces. And on The Huddle, Oscar Kightley and Thomas Scrimgeour on the Napier mayor's beef with the youth council. 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.

For anyone still labouring under the impression that New Zealand is an innocent little place like it was 50 years ago, those prison busts should absolutely shatter that delusion. What happened was the single biggest bust in our prison system: 20 people arrested and charged across three different prisons - Mount Eden, Spring Hill and Auckland South.  They have been charged with allegedly smuggling meth and phones into prison in exchange for cash payments. There are bribery charges and there are allegations that prisoners were organising drug importation and transactions while still in jail. It is not just Corrections guards either, it is also senior officers. That is actually more worrying because it tells you this is not about junior staff just recruited who were not properly vetted. These are people who have been there for a while. These are people on decent money - the kind of money you would not necessarily expect to be corruptible. That is what a network looks like right there. And it is not just in

Elon Musk's SpaceX is set to go public - allowing people to trade shares in the firm on the stock market. The initial public offering (IPO) on the US stock market will likely be one of the largest in Wall Street history. NZ Herald senior business writer Chris Keall says this will likely come close to making Elon Musk a trillionaire.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leaders of the Napier Youth Council wrote to the chief executive of Napier City Council after a public event they attended, claiming Napier mayor Richard McGrath called them a 'bunch of idiots who can't use pen and paper'. McGrath denied he said that and said he believed the Youth Council had been unfairly dragged into a political game. Hawke’s Bay editor Chris Hyde has been following from the sidelines and he says McGrath's been off to a rough start as mayor.  "There are a lot of people still in the council who don't think that he is suitable for the job, and so he's had a really challenging six months."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Defence Minister says our forces will help plug a gap in Ukraine aid. The Government's revealed New Zealand will be involved in an initiative to train Ukraine forces in Poland.  It includes personnel from countries like Denmark, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine. Ron Mark says Ukraine soldiers do basic training before learning specialties.  "What does New Zealand offer? They take the pressure off of the Ukrainian training system, and getting their soldiers through that first phase. That's pretty essential."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of Budget 2026, the Government has confirmed changes are coming to social housing costs. State housing tenants will pay a minimum 30 percent of their income on rent - up from 25 percent from next April. Accommodation supplements for private renters will increase. Housing Minister Chris Bishop says the current system doesn't work for taxpayers or Kiwis on the list for social housing. "There's actually a lot of people on the social housing register who'd like to get in, but can't, because we've got this system where people are essentially trapped in social housing. And we've got a view in society that it's a social house fore life, when it actually should be timely and temporary." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The acting head of Corrections says staff integrity is a priority, after revelations of a major prison corruption investigation. Twenty people have been charged, including 15 Corrections and Reintegration officers at Auckland's Mt Eden, Waikato's Spring Hill, and Auckland South Corrections facilities - and five members of the public. They're accused of smuggling phones, drugs and tobacco to prisoners in exchange for cash. Corrections' acting chief executive Rachel Leota says they will continue to support staff. "Work with our unions - and I met with them last night - there are many other things that we can be doing, and we will continue to commit to doing that to ensure our staff are safe."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A major overhaul of social housing will see costs for renters going up. From next April, 30 percent state tenants' income will go into rent - up from 25 percent, about $31 dollars more a week. That'll be re-invested into increasing the Accommodation Supplement. Housing Minister Chris Bishop says the Government wants to reduce social housing costs, saying it's not getting bang for buck on what it spends. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian media is reporting over 230 cases of diphtheria in 2026, primarily in the Northern Territory, but also in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. The outbreak is the largest in decades, with the disease previously considered largely eradicated - and one person has reportedly died as a result. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says the federal Government aims to get workforce numbers up in order to boost vaccinations amid the ongoing outbreak. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.