Exclusive interview: Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster resigned as the head of the Social Investment Agency this week, after a scathing report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

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Coster and several other former senior officers were singled out for mishandling sexual misconduct complaints regarding former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming, who was subsequently found to be accessing child exploitation and bestiality images on his work computer.

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Coster told Q+A's Jack Tame he was wrong to trust Jevon McSkimming but he always acted honestly and in good faith. He claims senior figures knew more about the McSkimming case than they have said publicly — something these parties dispute.

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Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

With Labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds, defence expert Sam Roggeveen, and ACT list MP Simon Court.

Next Sunday is Q+A's last episode of the year.

A visiting defence and foreign policy expert is urging New Zealand to rethink how we prioritise defence spending, arguing we should draw inspiration from the Australian echidna – a small but spiky animal.

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Sam Roggeveen, a programme director at the Lowy Institute in Australia, came to New Zealand as a guest of Victoria University’s Centre for Strategic Studies.

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He says the future of defence of Australia and New Zealand relies on making use of the vast distances any attacker would have to cover, and to purchase equipment designed to sink ships and shoot down aircraft.

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Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

In her speech to Labour Party faithful this week, finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds doubled-down on her pledge to balance the books. But Edmonds has set herself stricter rules to achieve it, meaning Labour has to go further than the current Government is promising when it comes to revenue and/or spending cuts.

Q+A's Jack Tame sat down with Edmonds to ask what choices she'd make.

With Regulation Minister David Seymour, Halter CEO Craig Piggott, and National MP for Port Waikato Andrew Bayly.

Over subsequent Parliaments, ACT has tried to pass a version of the Regulatory Standards Bill — with limited success, until now. Deputy Prime Minister and Regulation Minister David Seymour explains how he thinks the bill will work. Q+A questions him about his selection of principles, whether the Government follows its own ideas of good regulation, and some legal uncertainties created by the bill.

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As Associate Education Minister, Seymour is leading work on setting up charter schools. But the demand for state schools to undergo conversion to charter has been lower than expected. Jack Tame asks Seymour why.

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Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

FULL INTERVIEW: Since founding Halter as a 22-year-old in 2016, Kiwi CEO Craig Piggott has built the company into the darling of the New Zealand agriculture tech sector.

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The company's latest funding round valued Halter at more than NZ$1.5 billion. They're expanding their virtual fencing technology rapidly into new markets.

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Does New Zealand have the support systems in place to foster more successful startups? Q+A sits down with Piggott in Halter's Auckland office.

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Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

With Police Minister Mark Mitchell, Ngāti Kahungunu chair Bayden Barber, new Opportunities leader Qiulae Wong, and NZ First MP Andy Foster.

The political outfit formerly known as The Opportunities Party is continuing to chase the 5% MMP threshold to enter Parliament.

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It's been almost a decade now since the party burst into the political scene, in its early days bankrolled by rich-lister and philanthropist Gareth Morgan who positioned it as a vehicle for "evidence-based" policy that's neither firmly right nor left.

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Q+A meets Opportunity's new leader Qiulae Wong, who has a background in sustainable business. Wong says the party has, in the past, been rightly criticised for being overly focused on policy at the expense of connecting with people.

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Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.

FULL INTERVIEW: Ngāti Kahungunu chair Bayden Barber is calling for reconciliation after Te Pāti Māori's national council expelled MPs Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris.

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Barber, who is trying to broker a peace deal between the factions of the party for the Iwi Chairs Forum, says the unrest has been "pretty damaging" for Māori as a whole. As iwi grapple with the consequences of Government policy, he says Te Pāti Māori needs to focus on the bigger picture rather than fight among themselves.

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Barber says the party "haven't taken heed" of the Iwi Chairs Forum's calls for reconciliation. Q+A asks him what that reveals about how Te Pāti Māori views iwi leaders, and whether John Tamihere can remain president of a united Māori party.

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Join Jack Tame and the Q+A team and find the answers to the questions that matter. Made with the support of NZ on Air.