Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Employers and Manufacturers Association has high hopes for tomorrow's reveal of the Resource Management Act overhaul. The Government's announcing significant changes tomorrow, foreshadowing it as one of this term's biggest pieces of reform. It says it'll be introduced this year - and pass before next year's election. EMA Advocacy Head, Alan McDonald, told Ryan Bridge councils interpret the current RMA for themselves - letting planning differ from region to region. He says the old RMA system did not protect the environment. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talked to Ryan Bridge about today's political hot topics. Luxon sold the RMA reform we'll see tomorrow from Chris Bishop and Simon Court. Minister of Police Mark Mitchell is at odds with former police commissioner Andrew Coster over who knew what and when in the McSkimming scandal. A New Zealand war ship is being shadowed by a Chinese fleet near Taiwan.  And, Helen Clark's father passed away. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netflix is set to acquire Warner Bros Studios in a Netflix agrees to acquire Warner Bros Studios in a $125B deal including HBO Max.  Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said theatrical releases will become more limited, as Netflix sees them as not 'consumer friendly'. Media commentator Duncan Greive told Ryan Bridge: "historically, Netflix has been at best tepid, probably more accurately hostile, towards movie theatres." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 5 December. 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.

HSBC Chief Economist Paul Bloxham joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to consider the question, will New Zealand ever be a rockstar economy again? The phrase 'survive until 25' promised economic prosperity this year, but in reality little growth was seen.  But, Bloxham says the key is to "aspire to try and be a rock star." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Sports Huddle sports journalist Nathan Limm and Jeff McTainsh from Sky Sport joined in on a discussion about the sports issues of the week - and more! TVNZ cricket commentator Scotty Stevenson called Christ College students 'syrup suckers' on live TV. Was he out of line? A proposed cricket league is causing a stir. Are former cricketers right to be concerned about the NZ20 league? And, should Etzebeth have to miss international tests for his eye-gouging incident? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper talked to Heather du Plessis-Allan about today's political hot topics. Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has been reinstated to Te Pāti Māori, for now, after she took her expulsion from the party to court. A leaked phone call between European leaders shows confidence in Trump's loyalty to Ukraine is not strong. And, ten years ago we voted against changing the flag. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s membership of Te Pāti Māori has been reinstated after she took her expulsion from the party to court. Although, the decision is an interim measure ahead of a substantive hearing on February 2, where legal expert Graeme Edgler believes her reinstatement will be reversed.  Edgler told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "ultimately, if Te Pāti Māori wants to get rid of this person from their party, they'll probably be able to do it, and the courts will probably let them." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2021, the night before the infamous January 6 insurrection, bombs were placed at Democratic National Convention and Republican headquarters. Police were able to deactivate the bombs, but, until now, the culprit was a mystery.  On December 4, the FBI arrested a 30-year-old Virginia man, Brian Cole Jr., for the crime. And, the US continues to target alleged drug boats, yesterday killing four people in the pacific.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's a question for you... is our summer holiday too long? Are we going to the beach and staying away from the office for too long? There's a chap called Toss Grumley who thinks so, he's written a column about it. He's a young mover and shaker, business advisor, director, investor in multiple New Zealand entities. He reckons that our summer breaks are so long now that we're pretty much winding down from November and then we're only sparking up again in February, which means that we're taking about 10 weeks of productive conversations out of the business calendar and it's hurting our productivity. And we have no retail spending in January really to speak of, and businesses have poor cash flow at the start of the year when they come to have a look at it in April, May because they are taking excessively long shutdown periods. Now, I think Toss has got a point here. We do this. This is why you'll see the Reserve Bank leaves the economy basically in park for two months until they come back in February. But then again, I don't want this to change. Do you? I would rather work flat out for 11 months a year and then take a nice long break over summer than work all year round at an even pace. I think this is just human nature because summer is for enjoying. Summer is for spending with your kids, it's for going out there, having a swim, getting out in the sun, doing all the things that make life worth living, seeing your family, all the good stuff. Plenty of countries do this too, we're not the only ones. Try getting anything done in Europe in the month of August and you are out of luck. This year, the Bank of England just by way of an example, you go look at any central bank, Bank of England will not make a single decision for the entire month of August and then also for the first two weeks of September. Now, maybe Toss has a point that the summer is getting too long. Maybe we should be powering ourselves right up until Christmas, then stopping and then coming back after maybe 4 or 5 weeks and getting stuck into it again at the start of February rather than taking 10 weeks off with our brains. Fair enough. But can I just say this ... I urge caution here. We have a really great work-life balance in this country. We understand that life is for living, not just for working. We have a joy about our lives. Don't throw that away too easily.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.