On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday, 25 August 2025, did the PM overstep when he said he thinks the Reserve Bank should have cut the OCR more than they did? Finance Minister Nicola Willis says no but banking expert Dr Claire Matthews says yes!

The Police Association's Chris Cahill says senior police officers are being too harsh on their new young colleagues - after a survey found the oldies don't think the young ones are not up to scratch.

A concert promoter and a hospitality boss weigh in on what we should do to attract more big events to NZ.

Pic Picot tells Heather why he decided to sell a 51% stake of his brainchild Pic's Peanut Butter to an Australian company.

Plus, the Huddle debates whether house prices need to fall, and whether Chris Bishop is just a brave politician saying it out loud.

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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Further work on tackling the supermarket duopoly is in the wings.

The Finance Minister claimed an update is imminent on plans to improve competition in the supermarket sector.

She says this has been an issue for decades - and she'll have more to say in coming weeks.

Nicola Willis says the announcement won't be a 'silver bullet' but it will reveal what the Government's been working on.

"I'm not going to be announcing an international supermarket chain with 50 stores that's going to be opening up next month."

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The police union says senior police officers' apparent lack of confidence in incoming cops will provide an opportunity for development. 

Senior officers have criticised the quality of new officers in a police college survey.

More than half believe new staff were 'barely' or 'not at all' well equipped with procedures around making an arrest.

Police Association President Chris Cahill says it demonstrates where effort is needed.

"We've always said over the years that the group after us aren't as good as we were and there's an element of that in there, but it certainly gives a steer where they need to put more resources in

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A private Australian firm has bought a majority stake in the famous Kiwi peanut butter firm Pic’s.

The hugely successful Nelson-based company is now 51.3 percent owned by Melbourne-based Scalzo Foods, with founder Pic Picot keeping the rest.

Picot says he's happy with this move, as the company needs the extra money.

"We have big plans and we were getting sort of stuck with a bit too much debt - and I'm ready to do other things."

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A pharmacist says her industry's under an unsustainable amount of pressure, off the back of two high-profile cases.

New reports revealed a pharmacist failed to consult a man's GP three times on his blood thinner medication before he suffered a fatal brain bleed.

Meanwhile, a Dunedin woman suffered an overdose of fentanyl after being given six times her prescribed dosage.

Mangawhai Pharmacy director Lanny Wong says we need to rethink how pharmacists are funded.

"For the last two decades, we've been doing the same type of work for less. So in order to keep our business viable, we need to dispense more prescription."

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A banking expert believes changes to capital requirements would impact home loans and other lending.

The Reserve Bank's seeking feedback on proposals to lower the requirements.

The Government is concerned the current settings are inhibiting economic growth. 

Head of Massey University's Finance school, Dr Claire Matthews, says a lot of people have said the bank's gone too far with those requirements.

"It's just taken the Government intervention to actually force them to have another look at it." 

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The Prime Minister's stressing he doesn't tell the Reserve Bank what to do, but does offer his view.

Chris Luxon told Mike Hosking this morning he gives interim Governor Christian Hawkesby his reckons before the OCR's set.

Speaking this afternoon, Luxon denied he has any influence over the bank's decisions. 

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper wonders if this is still too much for Luxon.

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Deadly mushroom cook Erin Patterson will face members of her husband’s family for the first time after a jury found she murdered three people with a poisoned beef Wellington.

Patterson was found guilty of  three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder last month relating to a fatal lunch she hosted in the Victorian country town of Leongatha more than two years ago.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says over a dozen members of her victims’ families arrived for the hearing - but Patterson has yet to make a statement.

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There's hope among fans that the All Blacks can bounce back as they gear up to face the Springboks next week at Eden Park.

The All Blacks crashed to their first loss to Argentina on Argentinian soil - and fourth defeat to Los Pumas overall.

Sportstalk host Jason Pine explains further.

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Prime Minister Chris Luxon recently claimed he wants a constant flow of events to draw in international guests in order to stimulate the economy.

This follows big names in the tourism sector, like Sudima Hotels, calling for further investment into major events. 

Eccles Entertainment founder Brent Eccles says the nation's major events fund has only covered sporting events, not concerts.

"It's quite a long lead time to access the fund - and with contemporary music, you don't have that lead time, it's pretty hard and fast. So we'll never quite be able to qualify."

Steve Armitage Hospitality NZ chief executive agrees extra funding is needed to bring more events to New Zealand. 

"There are a lot of other artists I think it'll be great to bring here - Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles... first class, international entertainment works well in a stadium."

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