Tonight on The Huddle, Morris Williamson, Auckland councillor and former National Party minister, and Jack Tame, host of Saturday mornings and Q&A, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! 

Nicola Willis announced a surprise inquiry into the Reserve Bank's actions during Covid with questions arising over the timing. 

And, Winston Peters visits Saudi Arabia and sits ringside at Joseph Parker's fight. 

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Tonight on The Huddle, Morris Williamson, Auckland councillor and former National Party minister, and Jack Tame, host of Saturday mornings and Q&amp;A, joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!&nbsp;
Nicola Willis announced a surprise inquiry into the Reserve Bank's actions during Covid with questions arising over the timing.&nbsp;
And, Winston Peters visits Saudi Arabia and sits ringside at Joseph Parker's fight.&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

The Huddle: Covid inquiry, Saudi Arabia trip, and micheladas

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/2d12a4af-670f-4e72-9686-b3ee007fdc3f/transcript

Tell you what—I'm not feeling terribly hopeful about the situation for vulnerable kids in this country after reading the coroner’s recommendations following the death of Malachi Subecz.

You’ll remember the case of Malachi. I’m not going to go through the details again; sufficient to say it happened about four and a half, nearly five years ago, and it fired up public anger because of the number of times his wider family tried to warn authorities that something was going to happen—and yet he was not protected.

One of the recommendations the coroner has made today in her report is that Oranga Tamariki—OT, formerly CYFS—run a public awareness campaign to help people identify possible signs of abuse and understand how to take action.

To be fair to her, that idea isn’t new. It came from an earlier review. She’s simply pointing out that it still hasn’t happened, and is reiterating that the campaign should go ahead.

But really? Is that what we need in this country—a public campaign to tell us what child abuse looks like?

I think we all know what child abuse looks like. I struggle to believe that there are people who do not know that breaking a child’s bone is abuse. So isn’t this just the kind of thing well-meaning people suggest to make themselves feel like they’re doing something, when really it changes nothing—because maybe there’s very little you actually can do?

The problem in Malachi’s case wasn’t that people didn’t know what child abuse looked like. People did see the abuse. They absolutely recognised it as abuse. And they went to OT and said, “Hey, Malachi is being abused. Here’s the proof.” By my count, they did that about five times—if not more. And OT didn’t stop it.

That is the problem.

And it’s the problem in so many of these tragic cases. When a child dies, we often discover afterwards that OT already knew the family—and yet the child ended up dead anyway.

The problem isn’t that you and I don’t know what child abuse looks like. We do.

The problem is that the agency responsible for stopping it apparently doesn’t know what child abuse looks like—or at least doesn’t act when it sees it.

Never mind a public campaign. Fix that fundamental problem at Oranga Tamariki, and you might actually save a lot of lives.

LISTEN ABOVE

Tell you what—I'm not feeling terribly hopeful about the situation for vulnerable kids in this country after reading the coroner’s recommendations following the death of Malachi Subecz.
You’ll remember the case of Malachi. I’m not going to go through the details again; sufficient to say it happened about four and a half, nearly five years ago, and it fired up public anger because of the number of times his wider family tried to warn authorities that something was going to happen—and yet he was not protected.
One of the recommendations the coroner has made today in her report is that Oranga Tamariki—OT, formerly CYFS—run a public awareness campaign to help people identify possible signs of abuse and understand how to take action.
To be fair to her, that idea isn’t new. It came from an earlier review. She’s simply pointing out that it still hasn’t happened, and is reiterating that the campaign should go ahead.
But really? Is that what we need in this country—a public campaign to tell us what child abuse looks like?
I think we all know what child abuse looks like. I struggle to believe that there are people who do not know that breaking a child’s bone is abuse. So isn’t this just the kind of thing well-meaning people suggest to make themselves feel like they’re doing something, when really it changes nothing—because maybe there’s very little you actually can do?
The problem in Malachi’s case wasn’t that people didn’t know what child abuse looked like. People did see the abuse. They absolutely recognised it as abuse. And they went to OT and said, “Hey, Malachi is being abused. Here’s the proof.” By my count, they did that about five times—if not more. And OT didn’t stop it.
That is the problem.
And it’s the problem in so many of these tragic cases. When a child dies, we often discover afterwards that OT already knew the family—and yet the child ended up dead anyway.
The problem isn’t that you and I don’t know what child abuse looks like. We do.
The problem is that the agency responsible for stopping it apparently doesn’t know what child abuse looks like—or at least doesn’t act when it sees it.
Never mind a public campaign. Fix that fundamental problem at Oranga Tamariki, and you might actually save a lot of lives.
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: 'Fix that fundamental problem at Oranga Tamariki'

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/a164ac4b-82fd-4ddc-b518-b3ee0077fac5/transcript

A memoir has been written by shamed business titan Ron Brierley who was imprisoned and lost his knighthood after his conviction for possession of child sex abuse material in 2021. 

The book, titled The History of Brierley Investments Ltd - Not As Boring As You Think, is being published by Henry Newrick.

Newrick defended his decision to publish the book saying, "he's perfectly entitled, anybody's entitled to, write about whatever they want to write about."

He told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "I did it on a matter of principle, and also because I found the subject interesting."

LISTEN ABOVE

A memoir has been written by shamed business titan Ron Brierley&nbsp;who was imprisoned and lost his knighthood after his conviction for possession of child sex abuse material in 2021.&nbsp;
The book, titled The History of Brierley Investments Ltd - Not As Boring As You Think, is being published by Henry Newrick.
Newrick defended his decision to publish the book saying, "he's perfectly entitled, anybody's entitled to, write about whatever they want to write about."
He told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "I did it on a matter of principle, and also because I found the subject interesting."
LISTEN ABOVE

Henry Newrick: Publisher of shamed businessman Ron Brierley's memoir defends the book

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/bd537d4e-04a6-42d5-8694-b3ee00715658/transcript

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 11 February, 2026, Nicola Willis tells us why the Government's now decided to do an inquiry into Reserve Bank actions during Covid-19.

We ask the Safeguarding Children chief executive if an abuse awareness campaign is likely to be effective in the wake of the murder of five-year-old Malachi Subecz.

The publisher of a new book on Ron Brierley explains why he thinks people need to hear the disgraced businessman's story.

And on the Huddle, Jack Tame and Maurice Williamson on whether they'd sample a michelada - beer with tomato juice.

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

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 11 February, 2026, Nicola Willis tells us why the Government's now decided to do an inquiry into Reserve Bank actions during Covid-19.
We ask the Safeguarding Children chief executive if an abuse awareness campaign is likely to be effective in the wake of the murder of five-year-old Malachi Subecz.
The publisher of a new book on Ron Brierley explains why he thinks people need to hear the disgraced businessman's story.
And on the Huddle, Jack Tame and Maurice Williamson on whether they'd sample a michelada - beer with tomato juice.
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Full Show Podcast: 11 February 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/f0a71c32-ce84-4913-8a2f-b3ee00662935/transcript

The Huddle: Covid inquiry, Saudi Arabia trip, and micheladas

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