A warning US ships could encounter mines, missiles and small boat attacks if they try to shepherd commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump has announced 'Project Freedom' - a plan that will involve 15,000 service members and 100 military aircraft. 

Massey University Centre for Defence and Security Studies' John Battersby says there are many unknowns.  

"We can't guarantee that they can protect from that kind of attack, and that's going to weigh on commercial operators. Do we run this risk? Have we got enough confidence in the Americans that we're safe?" 

LISTEN ABOVE

A warning US ships could encounter mines, missiles and small boat attacks if they try to shepherd commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Donald Trump has announced 'Project Freedom' - a plan that will involve 15,000 service members and 100 military aircraft.&nbsp;
Massey University Centre for Defence and Security Studies' John Battersby says there are many unknowns. &nbsp;
"We can't guarantee that they can protect from that kind of attack, and that's going to weigh on commercial operators. Do we run this risk? Have we got enough confidence in the Americans that we're safe?"&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

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

John Battersby: Massey University Defence and Security expert on Donald Trump's 'Project Freedom' plan for the Strait of Hormuz

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/d7c56bfd-163d-46d2-a3dd-b4400062d589/transcript

Tonight on The Huddle, Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani and Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! 

Educators have raised concerns with the Government's planned changes to school curriculums - what do we make of the backlash? Did we need these changes to fix declining achievement rates? Do the teachers have a point?

Judith Collins has claimed people don't like strong women in a recent interview with Audrey Young. Do we think this is really an issue?  

LISTEN ABOVE

Tonight on The Huddle, Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani and Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!&nbsp;
Educators have raised concerns with the Government's planned changes to school curriculums - what do we make of the backlash? Did we need these changes to fix declining achievement rates? Do the teachers have a point?
Judith Collins has claimed people don't like strong women in a recent interview with Audrey Young. Do we think this is really an issue?&nbsp;&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

The Huddle: Is there a gender issue in politics?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/6ce56dd1-f9d0-4121-ba6b-b440007ee9ea/transcript

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday  4 May.

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 Monday 4 May. 
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Full Show Podcast: 04 May 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/166a2c30-de42-4b10-9340-b44000767085/transcript

Judith Collins has two weeks left as an MP and she’s given an exit interview to Audrey Young at the New Zealand Herald in which she says people don’t like strong women - obviously referring to herself.

Now, I don’t disagree with Judith that she is a strong woman. She’s formidable.

But I do disagree with her that people don’t like strong women, because what is Helen Clark if not a strong woman? So strong, they used to say that the softest part of her was her teeth - and yet she was elected and re-elected by the New Zealand public three times.

That’s more than Jacinda Ardern achieved and Jacinda Ardern is not what I would call a strong woman.

Now, look, I realise there are too many variables to ever make a truly fair comparison across elections like that. But if you did strip everything else out, you’d look at it like this: Helen, the strong woman, won three elections, compared with Jacinda - the milder personality - who won two and only really won the second because of COVID.

Judith Collins doesn’t explicitly blame the fact that she’s a strong woman for her poor showing at the polls when she led the National Party - what did she come in at, 24 percent or something like that?

She’s really referring to the fact that she copped more outrage for rolling a sitting MP for a seat in 2002 than John Key did for doing the same thing in the same year.

But just for the avoidance of doubt: Judith’s problem as leader of the National Party was not that she was a strong woman. In fact, that was part of her attraction at the time.

The problem was that she was up against Jacinda in the COVID election, which was really a hiding to nothing - and she was doing weird things like praying in church for the cameras and making comments about fat people during the campaign. Much as I might have agreed with her, that was not a smart move.

But I really wish that women like Judith would stop blaming their gender for how people react to them because more often than not it is not their gender that’s the problem - it’s something else. And by blaming their gender, they’re avoiding being honest with themselves and honest with others about what that other thing is.

More importantly - much, much more importantly - this reinforces to younger women that they’re up against it simply because they’re women, that being a woman, and especially being a strong woman, is somehow a problem.

 It is not a problem. People like strong women. Most of us have strong women for mothers.

LISTEN ABOVE

Judith Collins has two weeks left as an MP and she’s given an exit interview to Audrey Young at the New Zealand Herald in which she says people don’t like strong women - obviously referring to herself.
Now, I don’t disagree with Judith that she is a strong woman. She’s formidable.
But I do disagree with her that people don’t like strong women, because what is Helen Clark if not a strong woman? So strong, they used to say that the softest part of her was her teeth - and yet she was elected and re-elected by the New Zealand public three times.
That’s more than Jacinda Ardern achieved and Jacinda Ardern is not what I would call a strong woman.
Now, look, I realise there are too many variables to ever make a truly fair comparison across elections like that. But if you did strip everything else out, you’d look at it like this: Helen, the strong woman, won three elections, compared with Jacinda - the milder personality - who won two and only really won the second because of COVID.
Judith Collins doesn’t explicitly blame the fact that she’s a strong woman for her poor showing at the polls when she led the National Party - what did she come in at, 24 percent or something like that?
She’s really referring to the fact that she copped more outrage for rolling a sitting MP for a seat in 2002 than John Key did for doing the same thing in the same year.
But just for the avoidance of doubt: Judith’s problem as leader of the National Party was not that she was a strong woman. In fact, that was part of her attraction at the time.
The problem was that she was up against Jacinda in the COVID election, which was really a hiding to nothing - and she was doing weird things like praying in church for the cameras and making comments about fat people during the campaign. Much as I might have agreed with her, that was not a smart move.
But I really wish that women like Judith would stop blaming their gender for how people react to them because more often than not it is not their gender that’s the problem - it’s something else. And by blaming their gender, they’re avoiding being honest with themselves and honest with others about what that other thing is.
More importantly - much, much more importantly - this reinforces to younger women that they’re up against it simply because they’re women, that being a woman, and especially being a strong woman, is somehow a problem.
&nbsp;It is not a problem. People like strong women. Most of us have strong women for mothers.
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Is being a 'strong woman' really such a problem?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/9322aa99-4e17-4344-91fe-b44000793029/transcript

John Battersby: Massey University Defence and Security expert on Donald Trump's 'Project Freedom' plan for the Strait of Hormuz

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