This week on the Raw Politics podcast: Grant Robertson's eye-of-a-needle Budget narrow political options, plus Act's disciplined caucus amid chaos.

The politics is raw and so is the pre-Budget analysis this week - as we take a Budget-adjacent look at what lies in store for the country and the parties next week.The Finance Minister Grant Robertson is already signalling a uniquely difficult setting for next Thursday's big reveal. "It is hard to imagine a period in our post-War history when the wellbeing of our nation has been put under greater strain, from an economic, environmental and a social perspective," he said in a pre-Budget speech Thursday.

And triggered by the candidacy of Federated Farmers leader Andrew Hoggard for the Act Party, we take a look at Act's tightly-run caucus this term and prospects of growing it again from October.

A questioner asks if there's any chance the term 'coalition of chaos' will catch on with the voters. And the panel recommends for your weekend pleasure a deep dive Newsroom inquiry into the workplace shenanigans at the little Gore District Council, a Mike Hosking interview with Chris Hipkins and revelations two Act MPs could head to Taiwan regardless of a cross-party group declining.

Every Friday, Jo Moir, Sam Sachdeva and Tim Murphy talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.

Moir is Newsroom’s political editor, having been in the gallery for eight years also with Stuff and RNZ, Sachdeva is our national affairs editor, former political editor and was a Stuff political writer and Murphy is Newsroom’s co-editor, a former member of the Parliamentary press gallery and former editor-in-chief of the NZ Herald.

Watch Raw Politics on YouTube, or download or listen to it as a podcast on Spotify, or via Apple Podcasts. And send us your burning political questions to jo.moir@newsroom.co.nz and we’ll endeavour to find the answer and explain the issues.

This week's recommendations:

• Mud and Gore: Ex-staff speak out about decades of complaints (by Vaneesa Bellew on Newsroom)
• Two ACT MPs to travel to Taiwan after cross-party group decides against trip (from Thomas Manch at The Post):
• Mike Hosking interview with Chris Hipkins on Tuesday (on Newstalk ZB)