PremiumUpdatedShayne CurrieNZME Editor-at-Large·NZ Herald·10 Jun, 2026 10:18 PM10 mins to read‌Newstalk ZB drive host Heather du Plessis-Allan and senior political correspondent Barry Soper. Photo / Greg BowkerNew Zealand’s broadcasting watchdog has upheld a complaint about an exchange between Newstalk ZB broadcasters Heather du Plessis-Allan and Barry Soper, in which Soper stumbled over the pronouns of non-binary former Greens MP Benjamin Doyle and at one stage referred to “it”.

In a decision released today, the Broadcasting Standards