Greg O'Connor joins Nick Mills to talk his retirement from politics

The Hurricanes have made it to a home semi-final against the Blues on Saturday, to celebrate Hurricane Billy Proctor chats to Nick Mills. Proctor talks how the team are prepping, their mindset going into the game and can they feel the pressure? They chat about Proctor's relationship with fellow mid-fielder Jordie Barrett and defence coach Cory Jane.  And how is the mission to fill the tin going? What does having the crowd show up mean to the boys? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Friday Faceoff, Nick is joined in the studio with political commentator, Lawyer and Director of Franks Ogilvie Brigitte Morten, and political commentator and former Chief of Staff to Jacinda Arden Neale Jones.  Starting with the Golden Mile. The review is in, and unsurprisingly over budget. Morten and Jones share their thoughts on blowout of consultancy spend, the next steps for Courtnay Place, and the barring of Councillor Karl Tiefenbacher's vote due to a conflict of interest.  The panel face off over Labour's newest policy - a $20 fare cap for public transport. Are the numbers even correct? What sort of narrative does this set for Labour? Morten and Jones clash over whether this policy will make a different for voters. Then onto the revelation KiwiRail stalled system upgrades for the Wellington train networks due to funding. Nick and the panel debate where the priorities lie in terms of government spending and campaigning.  Also on the agenda is the controversy of Superintendent and Labour candidate Rakesh Naidoo. Has Police Commissioner Richard Chambers made the situation too political and publicised? Plus, Monday's state of emergency for the coast, how do we get Wellingtonians not in the affected area to not overreact? Should coward punch law changes go harder? Is TOP the party to watch?  And the panel give us their hot and nots. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a weekend for the Hurricanes. Newstalk ZBs sports experts Jason Pine and Adam Cooper join Nick Mills in the studio to talk the sports weekend ahead.  Fill the tin! Over 20,000 are expected to be at Hnry Stadium backing the boys in yellow. Will the Hurricanes beat the Blues and get that home final? The crew chat the season so far, the success that has got them to this point and what to expect from Saturday nights game.  They look into the coaching team, and acknowledge the incredible work of Clarke Laidlaw. Can the canes lock in these big coaching names? Plus, the Pulse play their last game this weekend, the crew talk the season and what could happen next with broadcasting rights and should the team be worried? And the Saints have what Nick is calling the "season defining game" - will they beat the Tuatara? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Its Politics Thursday and this week Nick is joined by National MP Tim Costley and Labour MP Camilla Belich to discuss the top political issues of the week. Labour's new policy $20 cap for public transport - is it too good to be true? The panel look at the viability of the $65 million cost and is it fair to rural taxpayers?  Then onto the investigation launched by the police commissioner into conduct of superintendent Rakesh Naidoo whilst announcing his candidacy for the Labour Party. The panel discuss the labour list rankings, and Greg O'Connor's departure from politics. Also charter schools - a mixed bag of results, are they worth it? Would Labour keep them? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Julia' at Circa Theatre is earning rave reviews, star Lara Macgregor graces the studio this morning to chat with Nick Mills. Julia centres around former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, diving into her life and legacy leading up to her landmark 2012 "misogyny speech". The play examines gender, power and the pressures of political leadership through Julia's lens.  Lara talks about her research and experience stepping into the shoes of Julia, but also the sexism she has experienced herself in the theatre world.  Lara says, "Women deserve a better standard than this." Nick and Lara discuss if pressure eased for women in politics or is it still just as brutal now as it was for Julia Gillard? Check out the hit play 'Julia' on at Circa Theatre till Saturday 27th June. Buy tickets at circa.co.nz. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dire Straits saxophonist Chris White makes his return to NZ with 'The Dire Straits Experience'. The tribute group brings back the hits from the iconic 80s band to Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre this August. Chris joins Nick on the show today to reminisce on the old days with the original band and frontman Mark Knopfler. Chris and Nick talk his return to NZ, the success of tribute bands, bringing the music back to the stage and his favourite songs to play live. Get tickets for the Dire Straits Experience at Michael Fowler Centre August 20th on Ticketmaster.co.nz LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EDITORIAL: Can I ask a simple question this morning? At what point does being prepared become being overprotective?  Now before anyone jumps on me and has a crack at me, let me make one thing crystal clear. Safety comes first.   If lives are genuinely at risk, authorities should act.   Nobody wants to see people injured or killed because someone was too slow to make a decision.  And I'm certainly not suggesting we ignore severe weather.   In fact, the latest figures show between March 2025 and the end of February this year, we had a damaging storm every eight days on average.   More than 33,000 insurance claims were lodged for flooding, wind and storm damage.  The risks are real.  But Wellington has now been through another state of emergency over predicted waves and high winds, and the reality is that what was forecast simply did not eventuate.   Mayor Andrew Little himself acknowledged that the predicted conditions "hadn't materialised.”  There had been no reports of major damage. The state of emergency has now been lifted.  So, my concern now is: are we becoming too quick to shut the city down?  I did some rough calculations this morning, because this whole thing concerns me greatly. Wellington's economy is worth around $56 billion a year.   Spread that across a normal working year and you're talking about roughly $200 million of economic activity every weekday.   Even if only 10 or 20 percent of that is disrupted because people stay home, businesses close, customers disappear and workers can't get into the city, that's potentially tens of millions of dollars affected.  Yesterday I walked into a well-known clothing store in the CBD and asked how it was going, didn’t even think about the state of emergency.  The answer? They hadn't had a single customer all morning.  Is that because of the weather? Maybe partly. The weather was fine in the city.  Is it because the city was under a state of emergency? I'd bet dollars to donuts that played a major role.   If you're told your city is in a state of emergency, you're probably not heading into town to buy a new jacket.  Then think about the ripple effects—  Parents scrambling with childcare, employees worried about getting home and small businesses, already battered by years of economic hardship, losing yet another trading day.  Preparation and resilience are good things. Panic is not.  And here's the other thing. We are Wellingtonians.   We are proud to be Wellingtonians.  We live in one of the windiest capitals in the world.   Windy Wellington.   We know what a southerly look like, and some of us actually love southerlies.  We know what big seas look like. We live on a coast.  Storms are part of living here.   Meanwhile, Wellington Airport remained open and aircraft continued landing. State of emergency and our major international airport was open.  Life carried on, in many respects. But in the back of everyone of everyone's minds: state of emergency. Panic, panic, panic.   Of course, authorities acted on the advice they had, and Mayor Little has defended the decision by pointing to the destructive 2020 storms and the uncertainty of forecasting.   I’m not saying what we did was wrong, I’m saying do we need to be more careful.  There will also be a review of the declaration, and that's exactly as it should be.  But perhaps we need a wider conversation.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's semi-finals time for Wellington's Hurricanes and the mission is 'fill the tin." Owner Malcolm Gillies and CEO Tony Philp join Nick Mills in the studio to celebrate the semis and reach their goal to sell 25,000 tickets. Gillies talks bringing the life back to super rugby, and what the future holds for privatisation.  Philp and Gillies say the team is ready for the clash against the Blues, and there's lots of excitement coming up to Saturday.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ōhāriu MP Greg O'Connor joins Nick Mills this morning to talk his exit from politics, the Labour list and Rakesh Naidoo candidacy controversy. After three terms as the Ōhāriu MP for Labour, O'Connor is calling it quits. He chats to Nick about the reason, and if it has anything to do with the list rankings released yesterday.  O'Connor says he wouldn't have enjoyed being a list MP as much as looking after his electorate. They look back at his successful political career and forward to his future, and if he could appear in another party one day. Then O'Connor shares his thoughts on the Labour list, including Superintendent Rakesh Naidoo.  Naidoo has appeared 13th but has been in hot water over informing Police Commissioner Richard Chambers later than Chambers believed was acceptable. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZ Music Month lives on into June, on Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills and James Irwin. The crew discuss which Kiwis have had major global success and what are the top hits from 2000 to now. They also take a look at Pagan records and the huge names that have bloomed from the label.  And James shares his story of hitch-hiking with one of the most beloved New Zealanders ever. Find out who on Music Time. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.