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.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For something a bit different this week, Thomas is joined by Scott Brown, who served as the US Ambassador to New Zealand during Donald Trump's term as President. He discusses his views on what the big issues to voters are, and why he believes Trump will be voted in for another term.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 are going to cost, and later talks with Far North District...

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 omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 notably, Christopher Luxon's sharply worded speech about council...

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.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Thomas is joined by Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls to discuss the latest political drama, namely the Greens and their ongoing internal strifes after suspending MP Darleen Tana, and Act and Te Pāti Māori clash over political pins and stickers, and accusations of race-based bullying.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode, Thomas has a long-form chat with Labour leader and former Prime Minister turned Leader of the Opposition, Chris Hipkins, to discuss seven months in the role, Labour's analysis of its failed re-election campaign, what they'll do differently next time, and what needs to change in the political climate..  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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’s next for the city.   See omnystudio.com/listener for...

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 and US politics enthusiast, Todd Muller.  See...

Labour's deputy leader, and former deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni joins Thomas this week. She discusses how Labour lost Auckland and their response to crime in the city, before a deep dive on welfare, benefits, and what needs to be done to fix this issue.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, call 111. For counselling and support: ...

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.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parliament has spent all week scrutinising the Government Ministers and heads of public agencies in a first-of-its-kind Scrutiny Week. In this special episode of On the Tiles, Thomas gets reactions on what we learned from the proceedings from Claire Trevett, Adam Pearse and Sophie Trigger.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a little over six months since the 54th New Zealand Parliament was sworn in, and there have been plenty of highs and lows from the different parties. So which MPs across the House have been performing the best? This week, Thomas is joined by Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls to discuss the best MPs from National, Labour, the Greens, ACT, NZ First and Te Pāti Māori.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It has been nearly five years since the Tauranga City Council was sacked by the Government and replaced with Commissioners, after infighting and dysfunction between councillors and the Mayor.  Now, the council is going to return to "full democracy", and a new Mayor and councillors will vote them in next month. Georgina is joined by Bay of Plenty Times senior journalist Kiri Gillespie to discuss what went wrong in 2020, who is running now, and how people in the city feel about the council's...

For a special episode going through Budget 2024, Thomas is joined by NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny and Interest.co.nz's Dan Brunskill to discuss the highlights, lowlights, surprises - or lack thereof - from the Budget, and what it signals about the economy and the years to come for this Government.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Green MP and MP for Rongotai, Julie Anne Genter, made headlines at the start of May after she crossed the debating chamber and yelled at Minister Matt Doocey during a Parliamentary debate. She is now facing disciplinary action by the Greens and has been referred to the Privileges Committee.  Now, in her first sit-down interview since this incident, Genter talks to Georgina about the incident, the aftermath and feedback from the public, the other allegations that emerged from constituents in...

We are well and truly in Budget Month - while it's not delivered until May 30th, the Government has started their pre-Budget funding announcements, while Finance Minister Nicola Willis has delivered her first preview speech. This week, Thomas is joined by Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny and Interest.co.nz's Dan Brunskill to discuss what we could expect from a Budget that's promised low-spending and tax cuts for all.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After years in Parliament, former Green Party co-leader James Shaw this week exits politics. Shaw's careers has seen many highs - particularly around passing world-leading climate change legislation - as well as coalition struggles and internal party strife, which became an issue once again this week. As he leaves the Beehive, Shaw joins Thomas to reflect on his time in politics, his friendships across the aisle, farmer's fractured feelings about climate change, his relationship with former...

Diplomat Terence O’Brien was at the centre of New Zealand’s foreign relations for nearly half a century, forging new ties with Asia, negotiating New Zealand’s market access to what became the European Union, or running the first successful campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. His new post-humous memoir, Consolations of Insignificance, comes out next month. His son, Diplosphere co-founder Dan O'Brien, joins Thomas to discuss his father's life in public service, and how...

The Coalition Government has seen its first cabinet reshuffle.  Melissa Lee has lost her Broadcasting Minister portfolio and has been demoted out of Cabinet.  Meanwhile, Penny Simmonds has lost her Disability Commission portfolio.   To discuss this, The Front Page's Chelsea Daniels is joined by the host of the On the Tiles podcast, and NZ Herald deputy political editor, Thomas Coughlan. .   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.