Questions continue to swirl after five men arrested near a UK air base were released on bail. Counter-terror police say no explosives were found, but the Londoners in their 20s are still being investigated over potential links to a foreign state. UK correspondent Enda Brady says something still doesn't add up here, and it's odd that this happened. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hallenstein Glasson is reporting a boost in earnings, with net profit up in the full year ended August. The retail giant posted a net profit of $59.2 million, up from $39.5 million a year ago. Generate investment specialist Greg Smith says the brand's doing well in Australia, but the data shows Kiwi shoppers are also contributing to the growth. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The big Rural Issues Debate is set to go ahead tomorrow night at Mystery Creek, where politicians will discuss the issues impacting rural voters. The debating panel will feature National's Todd McClay, Labour's Jo Luxton, ACT's Andrew Hoggard, NZ First's Mark Patterson and Steve Abel from the Greens. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Auckland Councillor Maurice Williamson and former Labour Chief of Staff Mike Munro joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!  The Pre-Election Fiscal Update shows we're closer to surplus than expected, but Labour has indicated they could restore the pay equity regime if they get elected. What could this mean going forward?  Opportunity has unveiled their political bottom lines - what do we make of this? Did National make the wrong move ruling them out?  Do we need to ditch postal voting? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Tuesday, 29 September, 2026, Nicola Willis "opens the books" before the election - and it's looking better than even four months ago at the Budget. We delve into the numbers with the Finance Minister, Labour spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and on the Huddle with Maurice Williamson and Mike Munro. A big stink in central Otago. Why Federated Farmers are upset about some plans for "poo". Plus Scott Barrett on his All Blacks comeback and why he's wary of the Wallabies. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why did Chris Hipkins choose to announce that he will restore the pay equity regime within the first 100 days of a Labour-led Government? Why did he do that? I'm really confused by it because it's not as if there was a special event or venue that he tied the announcement to. He was just at a public meeting in Spreydon and then seemed to blurt it out. This is hugely consequential for the Labour Party. What it's done is change the focus. It should be about the PREFU and about holding the Finance Minister's feet to the fire over why she's still taking on more debt and why she's trying to sell us a set of figures based on, quote, "heroic assumptions" that essentially ignore the current price of oil and bond yields. But instead of doing that, Chippy has inserted himself into the conversation. Rather than focusing on Nicola Willis, what I'm now much more interested in is this: where is Labour going to find the apparent $13 billion needed to fund its pay equity promise? I don't know if you've seen what's in the PREFU but even though the outlook is much rosier than it was four months ago, we're still borrowing as a country and will continue to do so for the next three to four years. And that's based on optimistic, even heroic, assumptions. We are still, to quote Nicola, "borrowing for groceries". We are still on track to pay $13.7 billion a year in interest costs on our existing debt. And that's without Chippy adding even more to it. So where is he going to find the money for this pay equity promise if it's not going on the debt? Or is it going on the debt? This is the weirdest strategy from Chippy. Frankly, up until now I expected Labour's announcement to be that it would ditch this policy, just as it ditched the so-called landlords' tax policy, albeit for different reasons. Labour has clearly demonstrated it's willing to change its mind and scrap policies that simply aren't going to work. The books have just been opened and shown that we have no money and that our debt is already costing us a fortune. Yet here we are, wondering where Chris Hipkins is going to find another $13 billion for pay equity. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Opportunity Party has revealed its bottom lines for post-election negotiations, as part of any coalition or confidence and supply agreement. These include greater powers for the Commerce Commission, a 10-year plan for the health system,  regulations on lobbying, a cap on political donations, a stronger commitment to the Paris climate deal and phasing out bottom trawling. Leader Qiulae Wong says the Climate Commission is an integral part of New Zealand maintaining its climate credibility - and they're needed to make progress.  "We would advocate for stronger independence and for the Climate Change Commission - because we can't afford to not take action here."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's Finance spokesperson won't commit to delivering a surplus by 2029/30 if it's at the expense of restoring pay equity.  Barbara Edmonds says she is confident Labour could deliver both.  "For example, a choice that we would not make is $300 million for a tobacco excise tax cut."  Labour will release its fiscal plan in coming weeks.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The former All Blacks captain has been recalled to the squad for the Bledisloe Cup tests against the Wallabies. Scott Barrett returns to bolster the second row for the first time this year having recovered from a serious back injury, joining Shannon Frizell in returning. Barrett says he's looking forward to getting back out there, after playing his first post-injury game with Taranaki over the weekend.   "I guess that's sort of building in preparation for the Bledisloe Cup tests, and I'll certainly be putting my hand up for selection."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National's Nicola Willis is putting the rosier Government books - unveiled today - down to Kiwis' hard work, but won't say whether they'll be repaid a dividend in the form of tax cuts.  Forecasts predict the next two years' deficits will be much smaller, and the 2028/29 surplus nearly $2 billion larger than earlier expected.  But much of that improvement is down to income-tax bracket creep, and more revenue from GST and company tax.  Willis says her focus is getting debt down, to buffer against any future shock. "Those are National's budget responsibility rules - we have to deliver on those before we start dishing out the dividend."  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.