Larry Williams Drive

Federated Farmers is calling on the Government to scrap any form of 'water tax' from the proposed RMA replacement bill. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has ruled out this tax, despite it being mentioned in  the proposed Resource Management legislation.  The Country's Jamie Mackay recapped the situation further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute and broadcaster Mark Sainsbury joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! There's growing calls to regulate blind cords following a toddler's unfortunate death. The Government has ruled out establishing new rules around this - do we agree? Are more safety regulations needed?  RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed the Government will not be implementing a 'water tax' following outrage from Federated Farmers. Do we think this is the right move?  NZ First's Winston Peters is now campaigning on a referendum on abolishing the Māori seats in Parliament. Do we think this will get votes?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Thursday, 12 February, 2026, farmers are worried about a water tax - we hear from the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform. Winston Peters explains his push for a referendum on the Māori seats. A survey of children finds their main goal is to be a professional football player - not an All Black. And on the Huddle with Thomas Scrimgeour and Mark Sainsbury we discuss calls for safety regulations on blind cords after a toddler's death. 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.

Right, so in the space of less than a day, a coroner has called for regulations to make corded blinds safe for toddlers, and the family of a little girl who died in one of these blinds has backed that call - and then the Government has said no, there will be no regulation. The whole thing has happened in less than a day. This, by the way - if you don't know what I'm talking about - is a parent's worst nightmare, isn’t it? It’s the idea that something in the house, something seemingly innocuous, kills your child. Corded blinds are the ones with the loopy cord - the one with the little beads on it. Sometimes what happens is the kids get themselves stuck in it, and they can’t get themselves out. The thought of that happening freaks me out. So much so that I’ve already gone around adding cleats to the windows to make the blinds safe, and after hearing the coroner’s report today, I’ve double-checked every blind just to be sure again. I cannot imagine how awful this tragedy is for this family, and I do realise they

Government regulations and the sky aren't the limit for Rocket Lab, with the rocket launch cap multiplied by 10 to 1000. A review of space-launch-debris-regulations judged the environmental risk to be low. New Zealand comes third in the world - for frequency of orbital rocket launches. Rocket Lab's vice-president of communications, Morgan Connaughton says this bump is needed. She says Rocket Lab's already reached 81 launches. "Back when Rocket Lab started launching, 100 seemed like a fantasy. And then here we are, not all that much longer later, and our team is planning celebrations for the 100th launch already."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An industry expert says it's not practical to regulate blind cords.  A coroner's released a report on the death of three-year-old Tilly Cambie in 2023, after a cord tangled around her neck. She's one of several children to die that way since 2009.  They recommend mandatory blind standards - which the Government's ruled out.  Window Treatments chief executive Graeme Rose says blanket regulations wouldn't suit every household. "You can imagine someone installing a blind in a kitchen window with a bench in front of it, and an elderly person trying to operate that blind from an angle having a very short cord."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Electrofishing technology is being utilised to keep Auckland's Western Springs Lake pest-free. Electrocurrents are being used to stun pest fish and turtles so they can be scooped up, brought to land and killed, with no native species being harmed in the process. Auckland Council senior freshwater ecologist Matthew Bloxham says too many people are getting rid of their old pets when they become inconvenient - with many dumping them in Western Springs. "These things become enormous and they're incredibly fecund animals, they're breeding machines. We call them habitat modifiers...what we're trying to do at Western Springs is give the natives a chance."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington's mayor says questions can come later on who'll pay to fix the failed Moa Point wastewater treatment plant. The facility's failed catastrophically and wastewater's still flowing into the ocean - with no end in sight. Work's continuing at the site to lets teams assess what's gone wrong. Andrew Little says regional Wellington mayors have been quick to comment on whether they'll help pay. But he says those decisions haven't been made. "At the end of the day, Moa Point plant belongs to Wellington City Council - it's our responsibility. We need to get it fixed and up and running, we don't want to quibble about who's paying."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has categorically ruled out implementing a 'water tax' that's mentioned in the proposed Resource Management legislation.  Federated Farmers today asked the Government to remove clauses they say give Ministers sweeping powers to tax water as a tool for managing demand.  Bishop says it's not that simple, and it's not a policy the current Government is proposing. "There's a provision in there to allow it to be turned on into the future, if the Government did policy work around that, and I can tell you that we're not doing a policy work on our water tax." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our newsroom can reveal Parliament's Speaker's been filing incorrect property declarations for the past two decades.  Gerry Brownlee last year amended 15 of his 19 pecuniary interests declarations, dating to 2005.  But some changes still appear to be incorrect.  The inconsistencies stemmed from failing to declare a property entirely - and even declaring one he didn't own. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper explained further, and revealed whether Kiwis should be concerned. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley is facing additional leadership challenges after Angus Taylor resigned from the party's front bench. Reports claim Taylor's supporters have requested a special party room meeting to consider a so-called spill motion, meaning the party's leadership is up for contest. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says the Liberal Party is seeing a significant drop in the polls, and Ley's popularity is on the decline. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lofty goals for the All Whites at this year's World Cup. New Zealand Football has confirmed a warm-up fixture against fourth-ranked England, nine days before their opening pool game against Iran. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters won't say if a referendum on abolishing the Māori seats would be a post-election negotiations sticking point. He's announced the NZ First policy today - reigniting its 2017 campaign, which didn't make it into the coalition agreement with Labour that year. Peters says things could be different this election.  "No use saying it's the bottom line if they don't give you the tools - how can it be a bottom line? If you walk in here with not enough votes, you're not going to be able to get there." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Morris Williamson, Auckland councillor and former National Party minister, and Jack Tame, host of Saturday mornings and Q&A, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  Nicola Willis announced a surprise inquiry into the Reserve Bank's actions during Covid with questions arising over the timing.  And, Winston Peters visits Saudi Arabia and sits ringside at Joseph Parker's fight.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tell you what—I'm not feeling terribly hopeful about the situation for vulnerable kids in this country after reading the coroner’s recommendations following the death of Malachi Subecz. You’ll remember the case of Malachi. I’m not going to go through the details again; sufficient to say it happened about four and a half, nearly five years ago, and it fired up public anger because of the number of times his wider family tried to warn authorities that something was going to happen—and yet he was not protected. One of the recommendations the coroner has made today in her report is that Oranga Tamariki—OT, formerly CYFS—run a public awareness campaign to help people identify possible signs of abuse and understand how to take action. To be fair to her, that idea isn’t new. It came from an earlier review. She’s simply pointing out that it still hasn’t happened, and is reiterating that the campaign should go ahead. But really? Is that what we need in this country—a public campaign to tell us what child abuse looks l

A memoir has been written by shamed business titan Ron Brierley who was imprisoned and lost his knighthood after his conviction for possession of child sex abuse material in 2021.  The book, titled The History of Brierley Investments Ltd - Not As Boring As You Think, is being published by Henry Newrick. Newrick defended his decision to publish the book saying, "he's perfectly entitled, anybody's entitled to, write about whatever they want to write about." He told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "I did it on a matter of principle, and also because I found the subject interesting." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 11 February, 2026, Nicola Willis tells us why the Government's now decided to do an inquiry into Reserve Bank actions during Covid-19. We ask the Safeguarding Children chief executive if an abuse awareness campaign is likely to be effective in the wake of the murder of five-year-old Malachi Subecz. The publisher of a new book on Ron Brierley explains why he thinks people need to hear the disgraced businessman's story. And on the Huddle, Jack Tame and Maurice Williamson on whether they'd sample a michelada - beer with tomato juice. 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.

An independent external review of the Teaching Council was carried out by consultant Debbie Francis late last year. It has found that the agency has lost focus on its core function of safeguarding children and needs transformative change. CEO Lesley Hoskin is on agreed leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation into her conduct. The report identified multiple issues in the operations of the council. Education minister Erica Stanford told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "those two things together are a recipe for disaster: we think that we're a friend to the profession, and we're not hiring people who are actually have any experience." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malachi Rain Subecz was 5 years old when he was murdered by his caregiver, Michaela Barriball, who is now serving a life sentence with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years. Coroner Janet Anderson has now made several recommendations including the development and implementation of an awareness campaign to encourage the identification and reporting of suspected child abuse.  Safeguarding Children CEO Willow Duffy told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "I think a very well designed public health campaign would be excellent, but it cannot just be done on its own. "It needs to be supported by many other factors that we know work to make a public health campaign successful." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US correspondent Dan Mitchinson joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to chat about today's biggest news in the USA.  Congress is seeing a mass exodus with 51 House members and nine senators choosing to not stand for re-election this year.  Mitchinson said the departures have been partially attributed to a 'toxic partisan atmosphere'. They also spoke about the news that one person has been detained over kidnapping of TV anchor, Savannah Guthrie's, mother Nancy Guthrie.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.