Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Brigitte Morton from Franks Ogilvie joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! 

The Taxpayers' Union has released some packaged fudge taking aim at Nicola Willis' track record as a Finance Minister - ahead of the debate between her and Ruth Richardson that's supposed to be taking place. What do we make of all this?  

The US is reportedly looking to require tourists to hand over their social media accounts in order to travel there. How do we feel about this? Would it put you off travelling to the US?

Cancer diagnoses are set to skyrocket in the next 20 years, but experts say at least half of these could be prevented if we smoked less, drank less, ate better and got more exercise. Do we need to take more responsibility for our health? 

LISTEN ABOVE

Tonight on The Huddle, Ali Jones from Red PR and Brigitte Morton from Franks Ogilvie joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!&nbsp;
The Taxpayers' Union has released some packaged fudge taking aim at Nicola Willis' track record as a Finance Minister - ahead of the debate between her and Ruth Richardson that's supposed to be taking place. What do we make of all this?&nbsp;&nbsp;
The US is reportedly looking to require tourists to hand over their social media accounts in order to travel there. How do we feel about this? Would it put you off travelling to the US?
Cancer diagnoses are set to skyrocket in the next 20 years, but experts say at least half of these could be prevented if we smoked less, drank less, ate better and got more exercise. Do we need to take more responsibility for our health?&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: Is the Taxpayers' Union taking things too far here?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/3c412ae7-1846-48f2-829e-b3b00073ad66/transcript

I'm astonished, can I say, that Marty Grenfell, the boss of Tauranga City Council, thinks no one has to quit over the landslide and the damning report. And frankly, that there are not outright calls for him to quit from the mayor and the local MP.

That report, I don't know if it could have been more damning, because it told us Tauranga City Council was warned multiple times that a landslide might happen in exactly the spot where a landslide happened, as early as 1999 and as most recently as only six or seven months before the landslide.

The most recent warning said that because this might happen, the council should put in place a warning system where if somebody saw something untoward, they could then call in and a series of things would kick into motion that would lead to the evacuation of people to save their lives.

On the day of the landslide, someone saw something untoward and they called it in and nothing happened because there was no system. There was no clear direction on who to call and what to do and whether to evacuate people.

Now, Marty Grenfell's strategy is to blame the person who received the report and the manager who saw it for not passing it on to someone who could then create that system, that warning system. And look, that's fair. We've all worked in organisations where that kind of thing happens, right?

But we also know those organisations only exist like that because the boss thinks it's okay that the organisation is a shambles like that. Because the boss thinks it's okay to spend money on consultants to prepare reports that then just get filed away and not acted on. 

Marty Grenfell has been the boss of that organisation in that state of shambles for about eight years. That is more than enough time to tidy it up and he hasn't. So it is ultimately his fault as the boss that the system was that untidy and that people died because of a system failure.

Now, he needs to quit. Either he needs to say that the person who got the report and didn't pass it on needs to quit because they didn't know who to pass it on to, or he needs to quit because he oversaw a system where they didn't know who to pass it on to.

LISTEN ABOVE

I'm astonished, can I say, that Marty Grenfell, the boss of Tauranga City Council, thinks no one has to quit over the landslide and the damning report. And frankly, that there are not outright calls for him to quit from the mayor and the local MP.
That report, I don't know if it could have been more damning, because it told us Tauranga City Council was warned multiple times that a landslide might happen in exactly the spot where a landslide happened, as early as 1999 and as most recently as only six or seven months before the landslide.
The most recent warning said that because this might happen, the council should put in place a warning system where if somebody saw something untoward, they could then call in and a series of things would kick into motion that would lead to the evacuation of people to save their lives.
On the day of the landslide, someone saw something untoward and they called it in and nothing happened because there was no system. There was no clear direction on who to call and what to do and whether to evacuate people.
Now, Marty Grenfell's strategy is to blame the person who received the report and the manager who saw it for not passing it on to someone who could then create that system, that warning system. And look, that's fair. We've all worked in organisations where that kind of thing happens, right?
But we also know those organisations only exist like that because the boss thinks it's okay that the organisation is a shambles like that. Because the boss thinks it's okay to spend money on consultants to prepare reports that then just get filed away and not acted on.&nbsp;
Marty Grenfell has been the boss of that organisation in that state of shambles for about eight years. That is more than enough time to tidy it up and he hasn't. So it is ultimately his fault as the boss that the system was that untidy and that people died because of a system failure.
Now, he needs to quit. Either he needs to say that the person who got the report and didn't pass it on needs to quit because they didn't know who to pass it on to, or he needs to quit because he oversaw a system where they didn't know who to pass it on to.
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The Mount Maunganui landslide report couldn't be more damning

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/608b8de2-e592-443d-9b7d-b4ae01727ffb/transcript

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday 21 August.

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 Friday 21 August. 
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Full Show Podcast: 21 August 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/6585e908-d88f-4c9b-9ae9-b4ad0076bcb5/transcript

Rugby's Greatest Rivalry is counting down to the real action kicking off on Sunday morning, with the Springboks and All Blacks coaches engaging in some pre-match mental games.

South African coach Rassie Erasmus says he can't say who'll win, but it's a four-match series so game three will be the most important.

New Zealand Herald's Rugby Analyst Gregor Paul joins Heather du Plessis-Allan from South Africa, and tells her why he thinks Dave Rennie will be heading into this match with confidence.

LISTEN ABOVE

Rugby's Greatest Rivalry is counting down to the real action kicking off on Sunday morning, with the Springboks and All Blacks coaches engaging in some pre-match mental games.
South African coach Rassie Erasmus says he can't say who'll win, but it's a four-match series so game three will be the most important.
New Zealand Herald's Rugby Analyst Gregor Paul joins Heather du Plessis-Allan from South Africa, and tells her why he thinks Dave Rennie will be heading into this match with confidence.
LISTEN ABOVE

Gregor Paul: New Zealand Herald's Rugby Analyst in South Africa ahead of Sunday's All Blacks test match

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/c044642b-73f8-43d7-89ed-b4ad005f8210/transcript

The Huddle: Is the Taxpayers' Union taking things too far here?

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