Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills

OPINION Well, Louise Upston did warn us.  The Social Development minister told us she was going to get tough on beneficiaries who were not complying with the requirements set out for them. There were going to be sanctions; and a lot of them. And now we're seeing it happen. It's a new approach from the government, an approach some might call heavy-handed. I call it completely reasonable. The first...

Inflation has hit 3.3%, inching ever so closer to the Reserve Bank's one to three per cent target range, so how soon will we see interest rate cuts? And what will the impact be of David Seymour's direction to Pharmac that they stop considering the treaty in decision making?  Those were the questions for the Wellington Mornings politics panel this week, with Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Ander...

A new poll has revealed New Zealander's thoughts on selling the Interislander, and a Wellington school is facing further allegations of bullying.  To talk through the stories, NZ Herald's Wellington issues reporter Georgina Campbell joined Nick Mills for her regular Capital Letter slot.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been revealed the ownership of Wellington's derelict Amora Hotel, sitting on prime CBD land, has changed hands.  The owners of the building are now listed as Precinct Properties - the developers behind Auckland's Commercial Bay and Wellington's Willis Lane. Wellington City Councillor John Apanowicz joined Nick Mills to talk through his hopes for the central city.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio....

How lively is Wellington's CBD right now, and what impact have new dedicated beat police officers had on crime and safety in the city? Those were the questions for this week's business panel with Swimsuit Cafe owner Tait Burge and Shoe Clinic Wellington owner Hamish French.  The pair joined Nick Mills, where they also discussed parking and roadworks in the city and the future of the Golden Mile pr...

Fresh from following Christopher Luxon around the United States, Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls says the trip went well for the Prime Minister.  Also, how have New Zealand's leaders reacted to the news of an assassination attempt against former US President Donald Trump, and has there been any success with Kainga Ora's crackdown on unruly tenants?  Jason joined Nick Mills for the Beehive...

US President Joe Biden will be gone as Democratic nominee by the end of next week, Childfund CEO Josie Pagani and Infrastructure NZ CEO Nick Leggett are picking.  The pair joined Nick Mills for Friday Faceoff this week, where they talked about Biden's future after another day of gaffes, what the Greens should do about Darleen Tana, and the future of the Interislander. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.c...

It's round two of the All Blacks v England this weekend at Eden Park - a ground the All Blacks haven't lost on in more than 30 years. How will the team go, and what should we expect during the Euro's final between England and Spain on Monday morning?  Those were the questions for our Friday Sport panel with Weekend Sport host Jason Pine and Newstalk ZB newsreader and football fanatic Max Towle.  L...

The Aratere is on its way back to Wellington, but how was it that NZ First revealed the suspected cause of the grounding?  Also, is Labour actually looking at introducing an inheritance tax policy, and should Darleen Tana resign from Parliament?  Those were the questions for our politics panel, consisting of Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Labour's health and Wellington issues spokesperson Ayesh...

There will be no excuses for   timed-out kicks at goal at Eden Park on Saturday, after rugby bosses decided a 'shot-clock' counting down how long a player has for a shot at goal will be displayed on the big screen.  It comes after All Blacks first-five Damian McKenzie was deemed by referee to have taken longer than the time limit when lining up a penalty kick in the first test against England in D...

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau needs a win after months of controversy, NZ Herald's Wellington issues reporter Georgina Campbell says.  After pushing for the council's sale of its stake in Wellington Airport and the failed Reading Cinema deal, Whanau desperately needs something positive to point to, Campbell told Nick Mills. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was an idea dreamed up by a Wellington primary school's parent-teacher association; what if we buy the best tickets at London's Wembley Stadium for Taylor Swift's upcoming tour and raffle them off? Well the school has done exactly that - paying for the tickets from the proceeds of cake stalls - and now the raffle looks likely to net them $100,000 to go towards an upgraded school hall.  Clyde Qu...

Darleen Tana has officially resigned from the Green Party, but will she stay on as an MP?  That's the question across the halls of power today, and there's some discussion the Greens may utilise the waka jumping legislation so Tana is removed from Parliament.  NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan joined Nick Mills to talk through what happens next.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/lis...

OPINION How many car parks have we lost in Wellington in the last year? Too many to count. There's a story out today about Wellington City Council giving the use of 50 car parks exclusively to one company in Wellington. The deal has been in place since 2010, but it was only made public today.   There are signs on these 50 carparks in Miramar. The signs say private parking... authorised by Wellingt...

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau says the so-called collapse of her council majority is just "political theatre".  Whanau is fresh from passing the council's long-term-plan, controversial with many councillors due to her support for selling the council's 34 per cent stake in Wellington Airport.  Councillors Ben McNulty, Nureddin Abdurahman and Green councillor Nīkau Wi Neera all alleged Whanau abandon...

Belinda Cordwell was the last New Zealand woman to reach the quarter-finals at a tennis Grand Slam, but this morning her feat was matched by New Zealander Lulu Sun. Sun beat hometown-favourite Emily Radacanu at Wimbledon.  Cordwell, who lives in the Wairarapa, joined Nick Mills to discuss what was going through her head immediately after the win, and her advice for Sun. LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystud...

As UK election results slowly began rolling in, who better than political commentators Dr Bryce Edwards and Brigitte Morten to discuss what it means.  The pair joined Nick Mills for Friday Faceoff, and also discussed the proposal for a Wellington super-city, criticism of David Seymour responding to teenagers on social media eight years ago, and the closure of Newshub.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio....

It's Scott Robertson's first test as All Blacks coach tomorrow night, and all eyes are on Dunedin to see how his new team performs.  Live from Dunedin, Weekend Sport host Jason Pine joined Nick Mills to preview the match, alongside Wellington's All Sport Breakfast host Adam Cooper.  Also discussed was the Tall Blacks' loss to Slovenia overnight, killing the team's hopes of an Olympic appearance. ...

What are the aims of the government's latest moves to loosen restrictions on building more houses, and what impact will more testing have on our students? Those were the questions posed to the political panel this week, consisting of Labour's Health and Wellington issues spokesperson Ayesha Verrall and National MP for Otaki Tim Costley.  Also on the agenda was the government's latest moves to supp...

All Blacks  coach  Scott Robertson has named his first side of the season with one big surprise. Blues fullback Stephen Perofeta has the nod over veteran Beauden Barrett at fullback in Robertson's first match as coach against England  in Dunedin on Saturday. Weekend Sport host Jason Pine joined Nick Mills with his immediate reaction just minutes after the announcement. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio....

Kiwirail says the grounded Interislander ferry Aratere should be back up and running soon, and the organisation has also confirmed multiple board members have left the organisation. To run through the latest news, NZ Herald Wellington issues reporter Georgina Campbell joined Nick Mills.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How well is the Wellington City Council engaging with businesses, and has Wellington lost its way from where it was fifteen years ago?   Those were the questions for the business panel today, consisting of Village Goldsmith owner Ian Douglas. Joining him was perhaps one of Wellington's best known businesspeople; art collector and former Wellingtonian of the Year Chris Parkin.  The pair joined Nick...

A new poll has revealed New Zealander's thoughts on whether the government should replace the Defence Force's struggling 757s, and July 1 marks the start of a raft of new changes brought in by the government.  Joining Nick to talk through that, as well as what we can expect in the government's new quarterly action plan to be released this week, was Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls.  Nick a...

It has been revealed the Mayors of Porirua, Wellington, Upper Hutt and Hutt City met in May to talk through the idea of a Wellington super city, which would see the four councils merged into one.  Three mayors seem to be on board with the discussion, but Wellington mayor Tory Whanau says while an eventual amalgamation "probably makes sense", residents weren't asking for the change.  Hutt City mayo...

Its been a tough week for Kiwirail. The Aratere ran aground on Friday night, and it was also revealed the same ship lost power last year due to faulty tape that was holding wiring in place. To top it off, Kiwirail’s chair resigned last week, alongside revelations that the Finance Minister hauled Kiwirail bosses over the coals after discovering exorbitant consultant spending. Act leader David Seymo...