Heather du Plessis-Allan (born 1984) is a New Zealand journalist, television and radio broadcaster. She has worked for several broadcasters including TV3, Radio Live, TVNZ and Newstalk ZB. [1]
Heather du Plessis-Allan was born in South Africa in 1984. [2] She migrated to New Zealand at the age of 12. [3] [4] Her mother Elizabeth [5] is of Afrikaner descent while her father is of English descent and moved to New Zealand during his teenage years. [3] Her parents separated when she was five years old. du-Plessis Allan's mother later remarried a New Zealand-born South African man, who fathered her two younger brothers. [3] [4]
While living in South Africa, du Plessis-Allan attended a semi-private high school that was adjusting to the end of Apartheid in 1994. [3] After migrating to New Zealand, du Plessis-Allan and her family initially lived in Pukekohe before moving to Tuakau, Waikato. There, she studied at Tuakau College. During her final high school years in New Zealand, du-Plessis Allan's mother and stepfather divorced. She and her brothers opted to remain in New Zealand. [3] Her mother Elizabeth became a real estate agent working for Barfoot & Thompson. [5]
Du Plessis-Allan later studied political science at the University of Auckland. [1] [3] She credited her father for inspiring her interest in politics by giving her a copy of former ACT Party operative Simon Carr's The Dark Art of Politics. [3]
After graduating from University of Auckland, du-Plessis Allan briefly interned at TV3 before joining Radio Live as a broadcaster. [1] [3] She then worked as a broadcast journalist for TVNZ for ten years, including two years for TVNZ's current affairs programme Seven Sharp . [1] [3] In early 2015, du-Plessis Allan became a political journalist at TV3's current affairs Story programme. [1] [3] She also rejoined Radio Live. [1]
In 2015, du-Plessis Allan produced a report on Story covering the ease of buying guns online in New Zealand. In response, her home was raided by the New Zealand Police. du-Plessis Allan had used false details to purchase a firearm online without holding a licence. Despite the police minister describing this as a "pretty serious offence", no charges were laid. [6] [7] The New Zealand Government also passed legislation amending the procedures for purchasing firearms. [1] In 2017, du-Plessis Allan left her journalism job at TV3 following the cancellation of the Story programme. [1] After participating in a New Zealand Herald interview covering the cancellation of Story, TV3's parent company MediaWorks New Zealand ordered her "off the air." [4]
In 2017, du-Plessis Allan became a morning host at the New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME)-owned radio station Newstalk ZB. She subsequently became the host for their news and current affairs show Drive in 2019. [1] [2]
In September 2022, du-Plessis Allan was criticised by Rose Cook and School Strike 4 Climate organiser Mia Sutherland for allegedly bullying teenage School Strike 4 Climate organiser Izzy Cook during a live-interview. [8] [9] In late February 2023, the Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled that NZME was right to uphold a complaint against du-Plessis Allan's interview with Cook. NZME agreed that the interview breached fairness standards due to Cook's age and vulnerability. du Plessis-Allan and NZME apologised to Cook. [10]
Du Plessis-Allan has been married to New Zealand journalist Barry Soper since 2009. [3] [11] The couple live in Auckland. [5] [2] On 26 February 2022, she gave birth to a son. She is also a step-mother to Soper's five adult children. [11] [2]
Du Plessis-Allan is bilingual and speaks English and Afrikaans. [4] She is fan of New Zealand writer Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries , whom she had interviewed. [4]
Du Plessis-Allan has advocated scrapping the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) school certificate, citing concerns with academic quality and rigor. [12]
In December 2024, du Plessis-Allan defended Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's decision not to attend the annual Waitangi Day events at Waitangi in February 2025. [13]