This month, the Cook Islands signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China, sparking tensions between the islands and New Zealand. 

It has sparked renewed discussions about China's interest in the Pacific, and how New Zealand should respond, as the Asia-Pacific region remains a hotbed of diplomatic tension between the East and West.

Marco de Jong, a Pacific historian and lecturer at AUT, who has been doing a lot of research into AUKUS, joins Thomas this week to discuss what's happening in the region. 

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The Government has declared 2025 the year of economic growth, with its current action plan for the next quarter honing in on various economic growth plans.

Craig Renney, chief economist for the CTU, and former advisor to Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson, joins Thomas this week to discuss economic growth from a left-leaning perspective and what he thinks needs to be done. 

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On the Tiles is back for 2025, and to kick off the year, Thomas is joined by NZ Herald Wellington Business Editor Jenee Tibshraeny and Interest.co.nz's economic policy reporter Dan Brunskill to look ahead at the economy this year. They discuss their predictions, house prices, credit ratings, the HYEFU from the end of 2024, debanking, and what this all means for the Government and the country. 

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It's been a packed year of politics, with each party facing their own highlights and challenges.

For the final On the Tiles of 2024, Thomas is joined by regular panellists Jason Walls and Jenee Tibshraeny for a recap of the events of the year, looking at the high and lowlights from across the Political Spectrum, thoughts for 2025, and who were the best performing politicians. 

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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 mayors from small towns performed the best - and who needs improvement?

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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 all, Unleashed, and this week he arrived in New Zealand as part of that promotional tour and for a series of luncheons up in Auckland. Ahead of his visit, Thomas caught up with Johnson for a chat covering AUKUS and nuclear power, his relationship with Jacinda Ardern and New Zealand, and his thoughts on Donald Trump. 

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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 troubled council.

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This week, Thomas is joined by Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls to recap the week in politics, which was dominated by the thousand-strong hīkoi to Parliament over the Treaty Principles Bill.

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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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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. 

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