Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joined his Australian counterpart to call for international co-operation following 'consecutive crises'.  Carney says Canada and Australia should work together as 'strategic cousins' and team up to boost  sovereign capabilities including in the areas of critical minerals, defence and AI. Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Carney called for smaller nations, or 'middle powers' to lead the way in repairing 'what's left of the world order'. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Black Caps have reaped the rewards of preparation at cricket's T20 World Cup, reaching their second final at the tournament. That came courtesy of the fastest century in the tournament's history. Finn Allen's 100 not out off 33 balls resulted after an opening stand of 117 in 9.1 overs with Tim Seifert, who also took 33 deliveries to make 58. Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave recapped the action. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concerns have been raised in Gisborne, where rural school bus routes have been altered or cut. Over 100 Gisborne students could be affected by these changes, and parents are calling for a new solution to be found. Gisborne farmer Toby Williams says parents in these rural areas won't be able to get their kids to school efficiently anymore.  "For me, that'd be a hour journey each way to get them there, it ruins the productivity on my farm to try and get my kids to the education they need." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UK Government is bolstering air defences and deploying  a Royal Navy warship to the eastern Mediterranean to improve security in Cyprus. This comes a day after runway of the British air base in Cyprus, RAF Akrotiri, was hit by a drone, prompting security concerns. UK correspondent Gavin Grey explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A record portion of new bank lending to first-home buyers is going to those with small deposits. More than half of the $1.1 billion lent to first-home buyers in January went to borrowers with deposits of less than 20 percent, according to the latest Reserve Bank figures. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's been growing concerns about what the ongoing crisis in the Middle East could do for petrol prices. There's fears Kiwi motorists will soon pay the price at the pump over the escalating conflict, and retailers have been warned not to take advantage of the conflict.  Milford Asset Management expert Jeremy Hutton explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Independent Children's Monitor says Oranga Tamariki still isn't measuring up to national care standards. The percent of young people in OT care suffering abuse has increased from 8 percent to 10 percent in the year to July last year.  The report says a third of those in care aren't seeing social workers enough and only 11 percent had been given an assessment of their life skills. Independent Children's Monitor CEO Arran Jones says it's important to ensure that children in state care are properly looked after - and this data isn't good reading. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland's mayor's adamant he won't be drawing up housing maps and plans for the Minister just yet.  Housing Minister Chris Bishop's recently backed down on Auckland’s housing density plans, cutting the city’s theoretical capacity from two million homes to 1.6 million. He's asked Auckland Council to send an updated summary on provisional zoning changes by March 17. But mayor Wayne Brown says they won't invest millions on maps without more clarity, and they don't materialise at the press of a button.  LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 4 March. 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.

The man appointed today as the coach to take the All Blacks to next year's Rugby World Cup is Dave Rennie. And he's got his work cut out for him.  He can’t start fulltime with the All Blacks until June - he has to finish his contract in Japan first. That wraps up in May, which means there’s a very tight turnaround before the first test against the French in early July. Then he’s got the Italians, then the Irish, and then the South Africans. Baptism of fire, much? And in just over 18 months, he’ll be heading into the Rugby World Cup. Lifting that trophy is going to be a challenge but it’s not impossible. Rassie Erasmus famously took over in 2018 and won the Rugby World Cup with the Springboks the next year. And you could argue the Springboks back then were more of a hot mess than the All Blacks are now, ahead of Rennie taking over. It’s also worth remembering that coaching at international level isn’t new ground for Rennie. He was the Wallabies' coach before he was dumped for the disaster that was Eddie Jones. But if you look at his record with that squad, it’s not exactly inspiring. He had a 38 percent win rate, which makes Razor’s 74 percent win rate look positively outstanding. But if you’re being generous, you’d have to say Rennie had the odds stacked against him with the Wallabies -COVID disruptions, too many tests against the All Blacks, injuries, player unavailability. He still managed to beat South Africa twice, which is no small feat.  And neither of his successors - Eddie Jones nor Joe Schmidt - have done much better. Rennie’s appointment also brings a couple of firsts. The headline one is that he’s the first All Blacks coach of Pasifika descent. But the first I’m enjoying today is this: while it’s not unusual for ex-All Blacks coaches to take over the Wallabies, this is the first time the All Blacks have been taken over by a former Wallabies coach. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.