Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 15 September.

Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 15 September. 
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Full Show Podcast: 15 September 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/29372ae9-51ea-4d60-af3c-b4c60076b3b6/transcript

There's growing debate about the TMO's role in rugby, with many claiming they'd like to hear less from officials.

Sir Graham Henry was one of the big names to recently claim that less TMO involvement is the way to go, following the latest All Blacks-Springboks clash over the weekend.

International rugby referee and expert Ben O'Keeffe says television match officials still serve a purpose.

"I like having the ability to have the technology available, but it actually comes down to the application of how I actually try and use it."

LISTEN ABOVE

There's growing debate about the TMO's role in rugby, with many claiming they'd like to hear less from officials.
Sir Graham Henry was one of the big names to recently claim that less TMO involvement is the way to go, following the latest All Blacks-Springboks clash over the weekend.
International rugby referee and expert Ben O'Keeffe says television match officials still serve a purpose.
"I like having the ability to have the technology available, but it actually comes down to the application of how I actually try and use it."
LISTEN ABOVE

Ben O'Keeffe: international rugby referee and expert on whether less TMO influence improves rugby

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/d24fd339-93b0-4f0c-9a29-b4c60085ddf8/transcript

Tonight on The Huddle, lawyer Liam Hehir and NZ Herald senior correspondent Katie Bradford joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and Local Government Minister Simon Watts have traded strong words after the Government announced it was moving to ban voting rights for non-elected members of council committees. What do we make of this? What's really going on with Wayne Brown?

The findings of the Tom Phillips inquiry have been released today, and the report has revealed the extent of how the relevant officials have mishandled the case. Who looks worse - the police or Oranga Tamariki? How could this have been handled better? 

Nicola Willis has hinted more tax cuts could be on their way - once the books are back in surplus. Are we excited for this, or does the wait put us off? 

LISTEN ABOVE

Tonight on The Huddle, lawyer Liam Hehir and NZ Herald senior correspondent Katie Bradford joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and Local Government Minister Simon Watts have traded strong words after the Government announced it was moving to ban voting rights for non-elected members of council committees. What do we make of this? What's really going on with Wayne Brown?
The findings of the Tom Phillips inquiry have been released today, and the report has revealed the extent of how the relevant officials have mishandled the case. Who looks worse - the police or Oranga Tamariki? How could this have been handled better?&nbsp;
Nicola Willis has hinted more tax cuts could be on their way - once the books are back in surplus. Are we excited for this, or does the wait put us off?&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

The Huddle: What's going on with Wayne Brown's latest Government feud?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/3e703cb1-65fe-459a-8986-b4c600829cea/transcript

So the Government has apologised to Tom Phillips' children for failing to keep them safe. And, man, that apology is not overdoing it when you read the report and realise just how many times officials completely stuffed up trying to find those kids and keep them safe.

Probably the most shocking mistake was made by the police. A woman called them and said she had Phillips in her car, and she even took a photo of him to show them, but they never showed up.

She'd come across his broken-down car somewhere around Marokopa and the kids were with him. She and another family member, a mother-in-law or something like that, tried to help him jump-start the car. After they'd done that, she went home and immediately called the cops.

The police sent officers over but they ended up being redeployed to another job before they even reached her so they never turned up.

That was May 2023. Those kids had already been in the bush for 18 months. Everybody in this country knew about the Phillips family by then. It wasn't as if the police didn't know who they were looking for. There was no excuse for treating it that way.

For me, the second most alarming thing is that police knew Phillips was an alcoholic and a weirdo who'd done strange things, like wearing a full military gas mask around Ōtorohanga, talking about doomsday prepping and at times drinking a box of beer and a bottle of vodka in a single day.

And yet, he had the kids in his care.

And that was known in October, by the way. October is important because that's the month he runs away the first time. He comes back and authorities realise what they're dealing with: an alcoholic, deeply eccentric man. Yet before he runs away the second time, they leave the kids in his care.

How is this a country where we leave kids with someone who gets that drunk?

Now, what I've told you is by no means an exhaustive list of what went wrong. There was the case of OT actually closing its file in February 2022. The kids had been missing for 74 days  and they said they had no concerns for their welfare.

When he first disappears the second time, police say they're not worried about the kids' safety. Again, this is a guy who gets completely rotten drunk on a frequent basis.

When his ute is found near Marokopa a month after he disappears, police don't bother turning up for nearly a week. They leave it there for six days. When they finally arrive, they simply leave a note and then leave.

And it goes on and on and on, the failures.

The basic finding in this review is that police and OT could have stopped him from going bush with the kids the second time but they didn't. Police also could have tried to get those kids out earlier but they didn't.

Which means, if you know what the suppressed information is, they could have stopped all of that from happening and they didn't.

And that is more horrific than bears thinking about.

LISTEN ABOVE

So the Government has apologised to Tom Phillips' children for failing to keep them safe. And, man, that apology is not overdoing it when you read the report and realise just how many times officials completely stuffed up trying to find those kids and keep them safe.
Probably the most shocking mistake was made by the police. A woman called them and said she had Phillips in her car, and she even took a photo of him to show them, but they never showed up.
She'd come across his broken-down car somewhere around Marokopa and the kids were with him. She and another family member, a mother-in-law or something like that, tried to help him jump-start the car. After they'd done that, she went home and immediately called the cops.
The police sent officers over but they ended up being redeployed to another job before they even reached her so they never turned up.
That was May 2023. Those kids had already been in the bush for 18 months. Everybody in this country knew about the Phillips family by then. It wasn't as if the police didn't know who they were looking for. There was no excuse for treating it that way.
For me, the second most alarming thing is that police knew Phillips was an alcoholic and a weirdo who'd done strange things, like wearing a full military gas mask around Ōtorohanga, talking about doomsday prepping and at times drinking a box of beer and a bottle of vodka in a single day.
And yet, he had the kids in his care.
And that was known in October, by the way. October is important because that's the month he runs away the first time. He comes back and authorities realise what they're dealing with: an alcoholic, deeply eccentric man. Yet before he runs away the second time, they leave the kids in his care.
How is this a country where we leave kids with someone who gets that drunk?
Now, what I've told you is by no means an exhaustive list of what went wrong. There was the case of OT actually closing its file in February 2022. The kids had been missing for 74 days &nbsp;and they said they had no concerns for their welfare.
When he first disappears the second time, police say they're not worried about the kids' safety. Again, this is a guy who gets completely rotten drunk on a frequent basis.
When his ute is found near Marokopa a month after he disappears, police don't bother turning up for nearly a week. They leave it there for six days. When they finally arrive, they simply leave a note and then leave.
And it goes on and on and on, the failures.
The basic finding in this review is that police and OT could have stopped him from going bush with the kids the second time but they didn't. Police also could have tried to get those kids out earlier but they didn't.
Which means, if you know what the suppressed information is, they could have stopped all of that from happening and they didn't.
And that is more horrific than bears thinking about.
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The failures in the Tom Phillips investigation go on and on

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/694651c9-6c3d-43b6-9227-b4c6007cef02/transcript

Full Show Podcast: 15 September 2026

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