Happy Budget Day! The Tova pod takes you behind the scenes at Parliament as Nicola Willis unveils the Government's first bash at the books. We bring you expert reaction from inside the lock-up, the zingers and stingers from the debate, reaction from our panel of everyday Kiwis and, in an interview with Stuff, the Finance Minister explains how she got one crucial number so wrong.

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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.

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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.

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This is an audio version of Tova O'Brien's analysis piece titled The week politics completely blew its gasket, from stuff.co.nz

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In the white heat of last year’s coalition negotiations, when none of the party leaders would talk about their top-secret meetings, we convened an alternative. We brought together a senior figure connected with each of the three parties poised for power. You loved the show, and they were prescient in their predictions, so, six months into the Government’s term, and with its first Budget looming, we’re bringing it back, albeit with a reshuffle in personnel. Chris Finlayson (National), Heather Roy (ACT) and Tau Henare (NZ First, and National) analyse the PM’s performance, policy priorities and party dynamics - including some surprising takes on whether the coalition can survive. Then Andrew Little (Labour) offers the view from the left.

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Section 7AA: A small part of a big law causing an enormous legal and political fracas. Former Children’s Minister Tracey Martin oversaw the introduction of the Oranga Tamariki Act. She explains why it remains enlightened legislation and why children will suffer if the Government completes its plan to repeal it. She also talks job cuts at the child protection agency, having her work undermined by her old boss Winston Peters and the prospect of a political comeback.

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After our bumper mortgage episode 'Home discomforts: living on the edge', all about the people affected by interest rates hikes and the cost of living, we wanted to explore the issue even further. We drill into the state of the property market with a property economist and find out what the change of government could mean for first-time buyers and investors. We also sit down with former Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard to better understand the thinking that drives the decisions which determine our interest rates.

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Interest rates and mortgage misery - the number of people falling behind on their payments has hit a four-year high. With the Government promising to help the so-called squeezed middle in its looming first Budget, we explore the issue from every angle: the property owners forced into life-changing decisions; a money adviser; the Finance Minister in charge of that Budget; and an extended interview with the chief executive of one of our big five banks.

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This is an audio version of Tova O'Brien's analysis piece titled Claims that Winston Peters hadn’t been given media cabinet paper “bullshit” - source, from stuff.co.nz

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