Friday Faceoff: Mark Sainsbury and Polly Gillespie dissect the year that was 2024, live from Prefab Cafe

It's the final Faceoff for 2024 - so who better than two Wellington broadcasting legends to dissect the news of the year?  It's been a huge year in politics - and much of it has centered on Wellington. How has both the government and the  opposition performed, and who is the stand-out political pe…

Friday Sport Kickoff: Grant Nisbett and Jason Pine celebrate 2024's sporting successes

It’s been a magnificent year in sport. New Zealand had a record haul of 10 gold medals at the Paris Olympics, Wellington took out the NPC championship and the Phoenix had their best ever season. To talk the sporting successes of 2024, who better than legendary sports broadcasters Grant Nisbett an…

Nicola Willis: Finance minister wraps the year that was 2024

It’s been a big year for Finance Minister Nicola Willis. She delivered her first budget which included her promised tax relief package, she laid off thousands of public servants and she’s facing deteriorating books, all in the midst of a technical recession. So how would she rate her performance …

Politics Thursday: Chris Bishop and Ginny Andersen talk economic outlook, ferries and their thoughts on 2024

Parliament has officially adjourned for the year and MPs and Ministers are journeying home to various parts of the country.  Still in Wellington, though, are the two Lower Hutt-based MPs, Labour's Ginny Andersen and National's Chris Bishop. The pair joined Nick Mills for the final Politics Thursd…

Tory Whanau: Wellington mayor on rates increases, engagement with businesses and how she'd rate her performance

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau says she would rate her performance as the capital's mayor over 2024 as a "seven or eight".  "I think it's gone up and down. Mid-year was probably around five, and if I would do things differently on certain things I would."  It's been a difficult year for Whanau who …

Anita Baker: Porirua mayor reflects on 2025 and how she's kept next year's rates rise low

Porirua could have been in store for a rates rise of more than 10 per cent - but the city's mayor says that could be limited to around half of that after careful spending decisions.  Porirua mayor Anita Baker says the council has been careful how its spent money and made cuts in roles where they w…

Capital Letter: Georgina Campbell on two resignations from Tory Whanau's business group and ongoing ferry fallout

It's been a huge year for Wellington. Local government has hogged the headlines, and repeated issues with ferries have caused the crossing between the North and South islands to become a hot political issue. With her finger on the pulse of the city's news, NZ Herald Wellington issues reporter has…

Brad Olsen: Infometrics chief executive on the government's latest economic forecasts

The Government's half-year fiscal update paints a bleak economic picture for the years ahead. It won't be until 2029 that the government will finally be out of deficit - longer than previously forecasted. Despite that, Finance Minister Nicola Willis is pushing back on calls to make more cuts to g…

Music Time: James Irwin on the best and worst Christmas songs

Christmas is upon us, with festive tunes ringing in stores and even around the home. Wellington Mornings music man James Irwin has compiled a list of some lesser-known New Zealand Christmas tunes, and even uncovered a long lost Beatles Christmas song - released long before Paul McCartney and John …

Wayne Guppy: Upper Hutt mayor on whether he's running for a ninth term

New Zealand's longest serving current mayor has revealed he is running for another term.  2025 will be Wayne Guppy's ninth run for the top job, which he has held since 2001.  This week Wellington Mornings is catching up with the mayors across the Wellington region. Guppy joined Nick Mills to disc…