On the Tiles

Todd Muller has been a part of the fabric of Parliament for decades, having first worked for Prime Minister Jim Bolger as a staffer and returning in 2014 as a National MP after a career in the private sector. A backbencher initially, he rose to national prominence after rolling Simon Bridges as leader - before resigning months later citing mental health concerns.  As he prepares to deliver his valedictory speech, Muller joins Thomas to discuss his early political interests, his time with Bolger, what brought him back to politics, and what he learned from his public mental health journey. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Herald has been running a 'Poll of Polls' to look at what all the polls coming out say about how Parliament will look come October. Thomas is joined this week by the man behind the data, the Herald's Chris Knox, to discuss how polling works, how that informs the Poll of Polls, and some of the fiddlier bits of polling such as margins of error, electorate polling, and if they can become self-fulfilling prophecies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phil Mauger has spent 10 months as the new mayor of Christchurch, and says the experience has made him appreciative of his predecessor Lianne Dalziel's tenure as he digs into it. He talks to Georgina about his pitch for the Commonwealth Games, if more national focus should be put on Christchurch, and what he's learnt on the job. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Councils in New Zealand are in a precarious position and require a significant overhaul to secure their future which could include four-year terms, lowering the voting age to 16, amalgamation, and an annual transfer from central government starting at $1 billion. The independent Future for Local Government panel released its report into the sector last month after two years of work and meeting with every council in the country as well as other stakeholders. Panel chairman Jim Palmer joins Georgina on the podcast this week to discuss some of the recommendations and why local government needs an overhaul. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Tiles is taking a break from new episodes this week due to Matariki and the rare Friday public holiday, but in a week where the polls are pointing at a close election leaning towards National and Act, we're revisiting Thomas' chat last year with Act leader David Seymour on his political philosophy and priorities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh off following PM Chris Hipkins around China, Thomas is joined by Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls to review the trip, the highs and the lows, and look ahead to Hipkins' 'Hot Girl Summer' in Europe - is a secret trip to Ukraine on the way?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Thomas is away following Chris Hipkins around China, Georgina is going national this week - and what a week it has been! While Hipkins is finding success with our biggest trading partner, Minister Kiri Allan has come under fire, proving a welcome distraction for National after dropping the ball on their big law and order policy. To discuss all this and the other big political moments of the week, Georgina is joined by Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Aaron Dahmen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Coalition of chaos’, ‘bread and butter’, ‘if I may’ - all politicians have phrases they like to deploy in interviews and media appearances to try and sway the public to their cause, or take control of the interview. A new series from RNZ has taken a deep dive into the phrases and words used the most by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, National Party leader Christopher Luxon, and former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern when they are being grilled by the media. The Interview journalists Guyon Espiner and Farah Hancock join Thomas to discuss what they learned from the data. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For this week's Local Edition, Georgina is looking at the biggest stories across the country at a council level. She is first joined by Bernard Orsman for an inside look at Auckland Council's contentious budget process, and Katrina Bennett to discuss Welington's latest water concerns and why the issue is likely to get worse before it gets fixed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's trade deal with China makes it one of our most important foreign partners - but it's a relationship proving increasingly controversial as China faces diplomatic battles with many of our other allies. Sam Sachdeva, author of the new book The China Tightrope, joins Thomas to discuss our relationship past, present and future, and how different leaders have handled the juggle. Plus, they dig into a problematic week with the Government that National failed to capitalise on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.