With polls predicting that Winston Peters will - once again - hold the whip hand after election day, ACT leader David Seymour and NZ First's Shane Jones are pushed on how the parties could possibly work together in government - given they can’t stand each other - and what they're doing about conspiratorial candidates. Warning: A short section discusses mental health and suicide. For free help, text or call 1737, 24 hours.

Coalitions, chaos, culture wars and conspiratorial candidates

Tova O’Brien hosts Stuff’s political podcast holding the powerful to account and putting the concerns of real people front and centre.
With regular guests Andrea Vance, picking the winners and losers of the week in Snakes and Leaders, and Luke Malpass, calling key moments for the coming week  in Beehive Buzz.
You can read analysis supporting this podcast on stuff.co.nz.
Need more great podcasts? Check out Stuff's full catalogue here.
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Email tova@stuff.co.nz.
CREDITS
Host and producer: Tova O'Brien.
Senior journalist and producer: Aaron Dahmen.
Sound design, audio editing and mixing: Connor Scott and John Ropiha.
Executive producer: Chris Reed.

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No one knows exactly how much fraud costs New Zealand each year, but it runs into the billions. Yet significantly fewer people are being convicted than two decades ago. Why? And is the system - an alphabet soup of agencies with a range of responsibilities - fit for purpose? In a specially extended investigation, victims share stories of devastating loss, a leading investigator explains why he thinks too few people are getting justice, and the Minister charged with scam-busting acknowledges the need for better coordination - and promises a plan.

Scams, fraud and deception: Are we tough enough on white collar crime?

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Big Budget Special

With the cost of living crisis hitting hard, we assemble a panel of Kiwis doing it tough or feeling the pinch in what politicians love to call the squeezed middle. We ask how they're coping and what they're hoping for in next week's Budget. And, with rising food prices the great unifier, we check out the work of the Grocery Commissioner - the man charged with easing the challenge at the checkout.

Bills, bills, bills and the Budget

What started as the home of song and dance videos is beset by claims of spying by the Chinese government and fears about the mental health of young users. A cybersecurity authority whose company cracked the TikTok code reveals how much data it collects and what it does with it. And, if you’ve noticed kids behaving differently after too much screen time, public health expert Dr Samantha Marsh explains why in a sobering but must-hear interview. Plus the PM on whether he restricted his kids’ access to social media, where he stands on the proposed US TikTok ban and how he’s TikToking so furiously around the Beehive if the app’s gone from all parliamentary devices.

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This week a deep dive into water. We all need it - clean drinking water, working sewerage systems and somewhere for stormwater to go. But with buggered pipes and faeces at the beach, we’ve been getting it woefully wrong for far too long. In the wake of Three Waters, will we really pay less for better services? We tap the man leading the Government’s water reforms, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, and the man who drove them under Labour, Local Government Spokesman Kieran McAnulty, for answers.

Coalitions, chaos, culture wars and conspiratorial candidates

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