On the Tiles

For the final Local Edition of 2024, Georgina is joined by  Herald senior writer Simon Wilson and former Mayor and Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett to wrap the highs and lows of local politics. They discuss:

• The issues facing Tory Whanau and Wellington Council
• How Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown bounced back from a rough 2023
• What central Government wants from councils 
• Rising rates and costs
• Which ...

Boris Johnson is one of the most instantly recognisable British politicians of this century. He was involved in politics in some capacity for 22 years as an MP, the Mayor of London, and as Prime Minister for three years from 2019 to 2022. He ultimately quit this role and politics off the back of a growing number of scandals, but his influence on British politics this century is indisputable. 

Johnson has now written a book about it...

The Government has appointed a Crown observer at Wellington City Council. The council has been called “a shambles” after it stopped the sale of its stake in the airport and now has to cut community projects to plug the resulting hole in its budget.
On this week’s episode, Georgina speaks with former Cabinet minister and current Nelson mayor Nick Smith about how Crown observer Lindsay McKenzie can help turn things around at the t...

Thomas is back from the US covering the election, which former President Donald Trump won in a landslide over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Also there was former Labour MP Naisi Chen, who was campaigning on the ground for the Democrats side. She joins Thomas to discuss what she saw and heard from voters, the factors that led to Trump winning, and what New Zealand politicians can learn. 

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After a short hiatus, Thomas is back for a panel with Jason Walls and Jenee Tibshraeny. They discuss what the latest Government financial statements show about the state of ACC and the rest of the Government's books, as well as the improvements in the economy and who can take credit for it, the property market and the push to build more homes, and the renewed debate about Capital Gains Tax.

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Wellington City Council has voted to stop the controversial sale of its 34% share in the airport. The move has left a big question mark over the city's councils, with the long term plan now needing a re-think to plug a multi-million dollar hole left by the sale.

On this week's episode, Georgina speaks with Mayor Tory Whanau, who supported the sale, about the move and what's next, and she addresses her plans to run for re-election. 

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After a change in central government policy, councils have overwhelmingly voted to keep Māori wards, but we'll first have to ask the public what they think via a referendum.

There's concern these polls will put more costs on councils that they simply can't afford.

This week, Georgina talks to Newstalk ZB Wellington reporter Azaria Howell to discuss the political background to this law change and exactly how much these referendums a...

This week has seen the Building Nations conference hosted by Infrastructure NZ take place in Auckland, with Ministers, Mayors and a range of experts speaking about the state of the country's infrastructure.

New Zealand is believed to have an infrastructure deficit in the billions, if not trillions - so how can we go about fixing it?

BusinessDesk Infrastructure Editor Oliver Lewis joins Thomas this week to dig into the issue. 

See om...

Council leaders from around the country have met in a convention centre that the Prime Minister thinks is an example of wasteful spending and is just down the road from a burst water main that has turned a street into a paddling pool.

The Local Government New Zealand conference was held in Wellington this week at the city’s new $180 million convention centre Takina, and Georgina this week takes us through the highlights - most nota...

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has unveiled changes to allow new council-owned water companies to be able to access more cheap borrowing from the Local Government Funding Agency. 

To discuss what these changes mean, in the wake of years of public debate over the previous Government's 'Three Waters' proposal, this week Georgina is joined by the Minister to get the explanation on how this will work. 

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Over the last few weeks, Tauranga residents have been able to vote in their first local election since the city council was replaced with commissioners at the end of 2020.  

Preliminary results are in, and in a landslide result, former Olympic rower Mahé Drysdale is expected to become the city’s new Mayor.  

For this bonus episode of On the Tiles: Local Edition, he catches up with Georgina ahead of the final results to discuss what...

It has been a tumultuous week in US politics, with former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump nearly assassinated in a shooting days out from the Republican National Convention. This happened as US President Joe Biden remains defiant over his future, despite growing calls for him to drop out.

To discuss what might happen next with both parties, and the November election, Thomas is joined by former National Party leader ...

WARNING: This episode discusses mental health, depression and suicide.

In May, Brody Cameron, the son of Act MP Mark Cameron, died as the result of a suspected suicide.

Mark has not spoken publicly about this tragedy since it happened, but joins Thomas for his first in-depth interview on Brody's death and his own mental health struggles.

Suicide and depression help services:

If it is an emergency and you or someone else is at risk,...

As councils struggle with rising rates, failing infrastructure and blown out budgets, one of the solutions proposed to keep these institutions afloat has been city deals to improve the relationship between central and local government.

To explain how these could work and what progress is being made on them, Georgina this week talks with Local Government NZ President Sam Broughton. 

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