Former US Ambassador to NZ Scott Brown weighs in on his country's election

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. 

What the latest statements reveal about the Government's finances

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 pro…

Tory Whanau on what's next for Wellington after airport sales plan voted down

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 sp…

Why the majority of local councils are backing Māori wards

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 New…

How does the Government plan to tackle infrastructure?

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…

Central Government takes aim at council spending at LGNZ conference

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 Welling…

Minister Simeon Brown discusses Government's plans for water and local councils

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 'Thre…

The Greens vs Darleen Tana and Act vs Te Pāti Māori - inside Parliament's latest drama

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 bullyi…

Chris Hipkins reflects on move into Opposition and what's next for Labour

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…

Mahé Drysdale discusses his plans for fixing Tauranga

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 n…