Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

There's tension between the US and the UK, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticised Donald Trump and claimed the Government 'does not believe in regime change from the skies'. The US President also recently condemned the UK 'taking too long' to allow US forces to use its airbases to attack Iran. UK correspondent Enda Brady explains further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US-Iran conflict could affect New Zealand’s red meat exports to the Middle East, the Meat Industry Association says. Reports reveal New Zealand red meat exporters were closely monitoring the situation in the region, due to the disruption to the Strait of Hormuz. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson and former Auckland mayor Phil Goff joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Prime Minister Chris Luxon has copped some backlash over his non-committal response to the crisis in the Middle East. Who's to blame here? How bad does this look in an election year? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 3 February, 2026, we talk to a former CIA officer about the US war in Iran - and how the conflict is growing. The Children's Minister tells us why there'll be another boot camp for young offenders. A new take on cell-phones - we hear from an advocate of putting a phone in every prison cell. And on The Huddle, Phil Goff and Maurice Williamson battle it out over the fighting in the Middle East. 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.

All right, we need to talk about Chris Luxon and that performance yesterday. “Oh, I mean… we obviously understand… we’re not saying that… what we’re saying is… we… we… we understand this… I don’t know how to be any clearer, guys…” You know what’s going wrong here, eh? The Prime Minister doesn’t want to say what he actually thinks. He doesn’t want to take a position on the air strikes on Iran. If he says he supports the strikes, he risks copping it from what may be a majority - but almost certainly is a very vocal minority - of New Zealanders who don’t like anything the US does militarily. If he says he opposes the strikes, then he risks creating an international headline like 'New Zealand criticises US air strikes' and getting this country offside with the most volatile US president in modern history - and whatever comes with that. So either way, he’s in a tough position. A generous interpretation is that he’s trying to protect New Zealand from Trump. A less generous interpretation is that he’s trying to protect himself from unhappy voters. The problem is that, as always, Chris Luxon trying to avoid taking a position ends the way it always does: he looks clumsy and uncertain. He makes mistakes - like saying he supports anything the US may do to prevent nuclear weapons, including carpet bombing - which he’s now had to walk back today. And Luxon’s been here before, hasn’t he? Remember the three-minute interview with Mike Hosking where he wouldn’t take a position on whether he would have sacked Andrew Bayly? I’d say that in trying to avoid choosing between supporting or not supporting the air strikes, he created a third position altogether - making himself look foolish. And for a leader in an election year, that is the worst choice possible. It is better - even if the position is unpopular - to pick one, than to look like he does today. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Propopoly is a startup that aims to give everyday New Zealanders a chance to enjoy the benefits of being a property developer. The business allows people to buy shares in a property development and get a payout when those properties are sold. Founder Dehardt van der Merwe explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted the plans of many travellers, who may be in for more bad luck by insurers. Much of the region’s airspace has been shut after the US and Israeli attack on Iran and its retaliatory strikes in the region - and travel insurance companies have invoked the war clause in their policies. Consumer NZ CEO Jon Duffy says it's important for Kiwi travellers to check their policies, as there could be a way through this.  "Insurance policies do cover cancellations if it's due to an airspace closure...but because it's hostilities and military action - typically, cover is excluded." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's considering raising phone call entitlements for prisoners, amid a push from a petition and the Ombudsman. The law says prisoners are entitled to just five minutes on the phone each week. Former head of the Wellington Howard League for Penal Reform, Christine McCarthy, petitioned Parliament to change the rules - saying current technology would make restrictions easy to enforce.  "We have increasingly wonderful technology - so you have to remember the context that prisoners have to apply every telephone number that they're going to ring, that has to be approved. And when you have electronic systems, you can know...the way you can monitor stuff, the way you can access and record things is just way ahead." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GrabOne is getting a second life under brand new owners.  Wellington's Paradigm Group has bought the GrabOne brand and assets. It went into liquidation last October, leaving many consumers with vouchers they couldn't use.  The new boss Paul Raeburn says they're bringing back half a dozen key GrabOne employees. He says they're energised to get the platform back to what it was.  "I stopped looking at GrabOne probably five or six years ago, because there wasn't anything I wanted to do there. We've got some real heat today - Cordis Hotels, Flamingo scooters, Holy Moly, all of those staples." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Children's Minister says another boot-camp for young offenders is about to start, because of promising results from the first one. Newstalk ZB understands the programme is starting in Palmerston North on Monday for 10 young offenders. They'll spend more time in the residential facility than in the pilot, and this iteration's getting more input from local iwi. Karen Chhour says the first camp saw helped drive change for those young people. "We can't just keep having a revolving door policy and allowing them to just keep coming in and out without actually supporting them once they return to the community." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US and Israel's accelerating battering of Iran is wreaking havoc in the Middle East. More than 1200 Iranian targets have been bombed, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is warning harder strikes are yet to come. Iran's responded with attacks targeting US assets in surrounding states, including the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia.  It's also blocking the Strait of Hormuz - an important oil shipping route.  Former CIA intelligence officer Glenn Carle says blowing up the air defence systems is one thing, but without US forces on the ground, there will still be armed revolutionary guards.  "What do the United States and Israel do, to force whoever's holding the guns out, or to do what the United States wants?" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister has copped some backlash over his stance on the US and Israel attacking Iran.  Chris Luxon strongly condemned the Iranian regime's retaliatory strikes. He also acknowledged the US claim Iran was developing weapons that could threaten overseas nations.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Luxon's faced a lot of scrutiny from MFAT over this matter.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The conflict in the Middle East continues to rage on, and there's concerns about what it could mean for the Australian economy. The US and Israel have struck more than 1200 Iranian targets, with plans to ramp up the bombardment in coming hours, and Iran has launched more strikes and choked oil tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says RBA governor Michele Bullock says it's too early to know the impacts, but economists have warned this could see petrol prices rising by 40 cents a litre.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another chief executive of a national sports organisation is leaving their post. New Zealand Rugby League boss Greg Peters is standing down after eight years in the job. The NZRL have launched their search for a replacement and Peters will support the board in a transitional capacity. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New data shows the cost of private school isn't a deterrent to Kiwi parents. A report by the Ministry of Education shows that private, or independent, schools are growing at a much faster rate overall than their public school counterparts. Independent Schools of New Zealand CEO Guy Pascoe says there's a wide range of reasons why parents could be making this choice. "Small class sizes, it could be specific curriculum, pedagogies, high academic results - the schools we represent range in size from about 15 students as our smaller school to about two and a half thousand."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Turmoil in the Middle East as countries are drawn into the US and Israel's aggression against Iran, aiming to obliterate its nuclear programme and topple its regime. Tehran has vowed to avenge the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other officials, and has launched region-wide retaliation. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's granted the US permission to use their military bases - as in Britain's best interests. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says criticisms have been made over this move, with many accusing the Government of 'flip-flopping'.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The recent conflict in the Middle East has sparked concerns about the wide-reaching implications for the global economy. The US and Israel launched strikes at Iran over the weekend, killing Ayatollah Khamenei - and Iran has since launched strikes from Tehran. Harbour Asset Management expert Shane Solly explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's concerns about what the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could do for oil prices and inflation. Iran's sent retaliation strikes across the Middle East after US and Israeli attacks killed their Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamene. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen unpacked the short and long term concerns. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson of Sherson Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  The US and Israel have launched strikes in Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and kicking off more conflict. What do we make of this? How will this impact our economy? The Government has given councils permission to authorise the killing of protected species under incoming RMA replacement bills, according to new reports. What do we make of this? Is this a good idea? New research out of Australia has raised concerns about the microplastics in chewing gum. Should we be concerned about this? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Okay, let's talk about the debate Helen Clark has sparked on whether New Zealand should be condemning the US air strikes on Iran. As you’ll have noticed, New Zealand hasn’t condemned the strikes. In fact, in a radio interview this morning, the Prime Minister said that our position aligns with Australia’s - and Australia has openly supported the strikes. The logical conclusion, then, is that we support the strikes too, even if we’re not saying so explicitly. That lack of condemnation has upset Helen Clark because, as she points out, the air strikes are illegal under international law. And she is right about that. But can anyone seriously argue that the strikes shouldn’t have happened? Consider the counterfactual - the strikes didn’t happen at the weekend. Ayatollah Khamenei is still alive. He continues to kill tens of thousands of Iranians for protesting, continues to fund Hamas to attack Israel, continues to fund and support the Houthis as they cause turmoil in the Middle East, continues backing Hezbollah to create further instability, and continues causing trouble as far away as Australia, where Iran allegedly directed the firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne just a few months ago. This is exactly the same dilemma the world faced in Venezuela with the capture of Maduro. It shouldn’t have happened, it broke the rules - but no one is sad that someone broke the rules to do what many believed needed to be done. Now, obviously, this doesn’t guarantee success. Bombing a country to force regime change almost never works. What comes next could be worse. The disruption to the Middle East could be greater than any benefit gained. But all of those are unknowns right now. What is known is this: the Iranian regime was murdering its own people, destabilising the region and attempting to cause disruption even further afield. So yes, what happened at the weekend broke the rules. But tell me - are you upset that it did? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.