Last week, Opposition Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Hon David Parker gave a speech addressing the state of New Zealand's international relations as part of an event for Diplosphere.

Thomas chaired a Q&A after the event between Parker and the audience, and On the Tiles presents the full speech by Parker and that Q&A for this week's episode.

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Health care in New Zealand eats up a huge portion of the budget each year, and it's growing - The Government spent 7.3% of GDP on health in the year to June 2024, more than any year outside of Covid.

Treasury reckons spending is expected to grow to 10% of GDP by 2061 - so how can we get on top of it?

This week, Thomas is joined by Sir Bill English, who served as Health, Finance and Prime Minister during his time in Parliament, for a long-form discussion on what's needed to fix our health system and get spending under control.

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In the first political panel catchup for the year, Thomas is joined by Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls and NZ Herald Wellington Business Editor Jenee Tibshraeny to discuss a hectic period in local politics - ranging from the resignation of Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr, the firing of UK High Commissioner Phil Goff, the latest comments by Christopher Luxon, and Labour's reshuffle.

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Competition for the top job in our biggest cities is heating up ahead of this year’s local body elections, with some potential candidates already causing a stir.

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has confirmed she wants a second term although many people in the capital are wondering why, given her tumultuous entry to the world of local government.

In Auckland, Mayor Wayne Brown has said he is not done with fixing the city and also wants a second term.

And in Christchurch, Mayor Phil Mauger also wants another term in the city’s top job.

On this episode of On the Tiles - Local Edition, Georgina Campbell chats what is happening in the mayoral races.

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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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