Checkpoint for Tuesday 15 November 2011

6:54 PM.The Department of Conservation says up to 34 pilot whales remain stranded on Farewell Spit, after failing to re-float themselves in this afternoon's high tide. Audio

6:49 PM.An iwi health organisation says Whanau Ora is heading into an exciting phase - and it would be destabilising if any changes are made; An advocate for Te Reo Maori - whose contribution has been… Read more Audio

6:46 PM.Union delegates at KiwiRail's hillside workshop in Dunedin have been meeting to decide what action to take as anger grows at the use of contractors Audio

6:42 PM.Canterbury health authorities say 145 of the resthome residents evacuated from quake damaged facilities in February have since died. Audio

6:39 PM.The National Party says it will clamp down on welfare fraud including imposing sanctions on beneficiaries who use drugs, if it is re-elected. Audio

6:36 PM.Five days after the Christchurch teenager, Jade Bayliss was found dead in her home a man has appeared in court charged with her murder. Audio

6:33 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:23 PM.The former executive officer at St Patricks College in Wellington has pleaded guilty to stealing $126,000 of school money, which he spent on prostitutes, a water bed and his mortgage. Audio

6:21 PM.Infatil's half year profit has slipped, but it says it well placed to handle the ongoing market volatility. Audio

6:17 PM.All Black Zac Guildford was due to meet with a woman and bar patrons today to apologise in private after accusations against him of assault and lewd behaviour in the Cook Islands. Audio

6:14 PM.The National Party says it will introduce tougher rules to target benefit abuse if it leads the next Government. Audio

6:11 PM.Former Green MP and current Mana candidate Sue Bradford is with us. Audio

6:09 PM.The man who orchestrated a campaign to deface hundreds of National Party billboards has resigned from the Green Party, and his partner has been stood down from her job at Parliament. Audio

5:53 PM.The Labour Party leader, Phil Goff, says it is outrageous the Government is trying to recruit skilled people in England to rebuild Christchurch, when thousands of young people could be trained to do… Read more Audio

5:49 PM.An advocate for Te Reo Maori - whose contribution has been recognised by Queen Elizabeth - doesn't believe the Maori Party will be able to make the language compulsorily available in schools by 2015… Read more Audio

5:47 PM.An American company has paid almost a million dollars each to buy the Air Force's eight remaining Skyhawks. Audio

5:43 PM.The Electoral Commission is now investigating the defacing of 700 National Party billboards. Audio

5:34 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:29 PM.Most of the Bay of Plenty beaches marred by oil pollution will reopen fully tomorrow, almost six weeks on from when the container ship Rena ran aground. Audio

5:26 PM.The National Party leader, John Key, has defended making a complaint to the police about the secret recording of his cafe meeting with ACT's Epsom candidate John Banks. Audio

5:23 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:20 PM.A representative of families of the 29 men who died at the Pike River Coal Mine says overworked mining inspectors are not to blame for last November's disaster. Audio

5:16 PM.The National Party says it will introduce tougher rules to target benefit abuse if it leads the next Government. Audio

5:12 PM.Russell Norman's executive assistant Anne Heins has been stood down from her job and is being investigated by Parliamentary Services. Audio

5:08 PM.The man who co-ordinated the defacing of hundreds of National Party billboards has resigned from the Green Party. Audio

5:00 PM.The man who planned the attack on election billboards resigns from the Greens. National promises to get tough on benefit abuse and it's back to the beach for Bay of Plenty locals. Audio