Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Labour has overtaken Reform UK in a voter intention poll for the first time in more than a year after Andy Burnham took over as Prime Minister.
The weekly tracker of voting intention by the nonprofit agency More in Common shows Labour up four points to 28 percent while Reform dropped to 24 percent.
UK correspondent Elizabeth Callaghan says Burnham's new cost of living policies are proving popular with voters, but Burnham's made it clear he's not getting carried away.
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World anti-doping bosses have told Kiwi sports officials to take a harder line on New Zealand’s elite athletes in order to keep sport drug-free.
Montreal-based World Anti-Doping Agency officials travelled to Auckland in late September 2025 for its first full review of New Zealand’s anti-doping regime.
The audit found multiple errors in New Zealand’s anti-doping practices, including the nation's failure to keep track of some athletes in the elite Registered Testing Pool, meaning detailed and updated whereabouts information wasn’t on-hand for no-notice drug testing.
Sport Integrity Commission CEO Rebecca Rolls says this information is useful, and New Zealand can learn from the feedback.
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Tonight on The Huddle, Tim Wilson from the Maxim Institute and broadcaster Mark Sainsbury joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
New Stats NZ data shows how much the cost of living has gone up - and it's not just down to the ongoing fuel crisis. What do we make of this? What could this mean for the election?
Do we believe the claims that someone was spying for New Zealand in Russia?
A painting by Bill Hammond is expected to sell for between $1.4 million and $1.8m as part of a major private collection being auctioned at Webb’s. What do we make of this?
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On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast with Ryan Bridge for Tuesday, 28 July, 2026, former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp on whether he really believes a Russian was spying for New Zealand.
Economist Cameron Bagrie tells us if there are any positives in the cost of living rising by an average of 3.2%.
Sport Integrity Commission chief executive Rebecca Rolls on whether we deserve a telling off from the World Anti-Doping Agency.
And on The Huddle, Mark Sainsbury and Tim Wilson on what they make of the Bill Hammond painting Zoomorphic Lounge III going up for auction.
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Veteran broadcaster and Waitaki District councillor Jim Hopkins has died at the age of 79.
Hopkins’ career spanned television, radio, newspapers and publishing before he devoted nearly two decades to local government.
He was a reporter on the 1980s science programme Fast Forward, authored several books, and hosted talkback on Christchurch's Radio Avon.
He was then elected to the council in the Oamaru Ward in 2007 where he remained until his death.
The Country's Jamie Mackay paid tribute - and looked back on some earlier memories with Hopkins.
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