On the Tiles: Parliament protest, Russia v Ukraine, Luxon, Omicron response

Police and protesters clash at the Parliament occupation. Photo / George Heard

For three weeks now, the protest outside Parliament has dominated the political discourse in New Zealand - but it's not the only big political happening this week.

On this week's episode of On the Tiles, the NZ Herald's politics podcast host, Thomas Coughlan, is joined by AAP New Zealand correspondent Ben McKay and Newsroom political editor Jo Moir to discuss the protest and the other big political stories of the week.

The episode touches on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the early response from New Zealand, but it was recorded before Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced more details of the sanctions New Zealand is placing on Russia.

They go deep on the protests and what it has been like living and working in Wellington as the protest camp has grown. The panel also discusses the speech National Party leader Chris Luxon delivered earlier this week about New Zealand being a divided nation, and whether he had a point or not.

And as Omicron continues to take hold in New Zealand - with more than 12,000 cases reported today shortly after the podcast was recorded - they discuss the Government's response to the outbreak and the changing advice from the Ministry of Health.

McKay also discusses the state of play as Australia gears up for a federal election before the end of May, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison facing the prospect of a major loss, but history suggests he could make a comeback.

• On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

• You can find more New Zealand Herald podcasts at nzherald.co.nz/podcasts or on iHeartRadio.