Newstalk ZB Political Editor joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. On the agenda was the cost of living payment, today's unemployment figure and Nanaia Mahuta copping criticism over claims councils will continue to own infrastructure in the Three Waters reform.

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Newstalk ZB Political Editor joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. On the agenda was the cost of living payment, today's unemployment figure and Nanaia Mahuta copping criticism over claims councils will continue to own infrastructure in the Three Waters reform.
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With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Barry Soper: ZB Political Editor on cost of living payment, unemployment and Three Waters

Is there any real surprise in what we've learned from the latest Andrew trade envoy files?

So, we've found out Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor got the job as the UK trade envoy because his mum, the late Queen, pushed for it. It was the Queen's wish - she was very keen that he should have a prominent role.

We've learned he wasn't vetted for the job. We've learned that he was a brat - that he told them he preferred the ballet to the theatre, that he liked visiting more sophisticated countries rather than less sophisticated ones and that he should not be offered golfing functions abroad.

Now, this is no surprise whatsoever, is it? There's no surprise in this. We already know the Queen had a blind spot for her favourite child. We already know he's an entitled pain. And it surprises absolutely no one to learn that he didn't earn the job - he got it because his mum wanted him to have it. 

What he had done beforehand would not have qualified him for the job, would it? Other than being born a royal - that's the only thing.

Now, of course, a lot of republicans will be feeling reasonably vindicated by this because it shows nepotism in action. It lays bare the fact that huge amounts of taxpayer money are spent finding things for spare royals to do, to keep them in the news and amused.
But everyone else - and even some republicans - will probably be unmoved by this because yes, it is a story about an archaic institution trying to justify itself and probably stretching the limits of taxpayer tolerance

 But it's also the story of a mum who kept trying, for as long as she was alive, to protect her boy - who is a dropkick - and who couldn’t see all the way through just how much of a dropkick he really was.

In the end, that’s what this story is about. And that’s a pretty human story about a family, isn’t it?

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Is there any real surprise in what we've learned from the latest Andrew trade envoy files?
So, we've found out Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor got the job as the UK trade envoy because his mum, the late Queen, pushed for it. It was the Queen's wish - she was very keen that he should have a prominent role.
We've learned he wasn't vetted for the job. We've learned that he was a brat - that he told them he preferred the ballet to the theatre, that he liked visiting more sophisticated countries rather than less sophisticated ones and that he should not be offered golfing functions abroad.
Now, this is no surprise whatsoever, is it? There's no surprise in this. We already know the Queen had a blind spot for her favourite child. We already know he's an entitled pain. And it surprises absolutely no one to learn that he didn't earn the job - he got it because his mum wanted him to have it.&nbsp;
What he had done beforehand would not have qualified him for the job, would it? Other than being born a royal - that's the only thing.
Now, of course, a lot of republicans will be feeling reasonably vindicated by this because it shows nepotism in action. It lays bare the fact that huge amounts of taxpayer money are spent finding things for spare royals to do, to keep them in the news and amused. But everyone else - and even some republicans - will probably be unmoved by this because yes, it is a story about an archaic institution trying to justify itself and probably stretching the limits of taxpayer tolerance
&nbsp;But it's also the story of a mum who kept trying, for as long as she was alive, to protect her boy - who is a dropkick - and who couldn’t see all the way through just how much of a dropkick he really was.
In the end, that’s what this story is about. And that’s a pretty human story about a family, isn’t it?
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Are we surprised by the latest Andrew trade envoy files?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/500c4d60-7be8-4f6d-9de3-b45400441577/transcript

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 22 May, 2026, $35 million from the Government and more donations coming in. St John's chief executive tells us about a boost for the ambulance service.

Customs has a new tool in its war on drugs. Minister Casey Costello on the remotely controlled underwater vehicle.

We hear how excited The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive is about his new music app, Lume.

And on the Sports Huddle, D'Arcy Waldegrave and Alex Powell on the chances of another penalty shootout for Auckland FC in the A-League grand final.

Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

LISTEN ABOVE 

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 22 May, 2026, $35 million from the Government and more donations coming in. St John's chief executive tells us about a boost for the ambulance service.
Customs has a new tool in its war on drugs. Minister Casey Costello on the remotely controlled underwater vehicle.
We hear how excited The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive is about his new music app, Lume.
And on the Sports Huddle, D'Arcy Waldegrave and Alex Powell on the chances of another penalty shootout for Auckland FC in the A-League grand final.
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Full Show Podcast: 22 May 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/876e72a1-ca82-4a06-ac3d-b4520076b5c6/transcript

A vote in the House of Representatives was heading towards a resolution that would require President Donald Trump to come to Congress for formal approval for his war in the Middle East.

But, the Speaker of the House pulled the vote as it became clear the Republicans were going to lose it.

Although it was unlikely that if the vote had gone through that anything would have resulted, yet US and Middle East correspondent Gordon Robison says this shows falling support for the war. 

"The fact that the vote was going to pass in the House indicates that support for the war is slipping and slipping very dramatically," he told Heather du Plessis-Allan.

"So it doesn't change anything in the short run, but as we approach elections in November, it indicates that the politics around the war are changing very quickly."

LISTEN ABOVE 

A vote in the House of Representatives was heading towards a resolution that would require President Donald Trump to come to Congress for formal approval for his war in the Middle East.
But, the Speaker of the House pulled the vote as it became clear the Republicans were going to lose it.
Although it was unlikely that if the vote had gone through that anything would have resulted, yet US and Middle East correspondent Gordon Robison says this shows falling support for the war.&nbsp;
"The fact that the vote was going to pass in the House indicates that support for the war is slipping and slipping very dramatically," he told Heather du Plessis-Allan.
"So it doesn't change anything in the short run, but as we approach elections in November, it indicates that the politics around the war are changing very quickly."
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Gordon Robison: US and Middle East correspondent says US support of war is 'slipping very dramatically'

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/a9e307a4-562d-4ce8-8fa2-b4520070c122/transcript

Barry Soper: ZB Political Editor on cost of living payment, unemployment and Three Waters

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