Checkpoint for Wednesday 5 March 2014

6:51 PM.The Auckland Council will urge the Government to rethink a proposal conservationists say will push the endangered Maui's dolphins towards exinction. Audio

6:48 PM.A string of tribal groups have travelled to Parliament to tell politicians their rights are being undermined by the Tuhoe Treaty settlement; The country's Maori Research Centre of Excellence has lost… Read more Audio

6:44 PM.Fiji's prime minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama has handed over command of the army today, during a ceremony in the capital Suva. Audio

6:40 PM.Fifteen hundred people in Christchurch are without power tonight and more than a hundred homes evacuated after a 'once in a hundred year flood'. Audio

6:37 PM.Air New Zealand's shares have risen more than 30 percent in the past 12 months but an analyst believes they are likely to rise further. Audio

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

6:26 PM.The United States and Europe are continuing to pile pressure on the Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his troops to their bases in Crimea. Audio

6:22 PM.Some hapu who say their land is being confiscated to compensate Tuhoe want to be left out of Tuhoe's settlement with the Crown, or be guaranteed a slice of the money. Audio

6:19 PM.The Electricity Authority has announced it will investigate the reasons power companies are giving for putting up their prices. Audio

6:17 PM.The chief executive of lines company Orion Rob Jamieson is with us. Audio

6:15 PM.Our reporter Rachel Graham has been out speaking to people today,and joins us. Audio

6:12 PM.More now on the people evacuated in Lyttelton after a cliff collapsed, damaging a fuel tank at the port. Audio

6:08 PM.He says he doesn't know when he will be able to move back into the house again or when it will be liveable. Audio

5:56 PM.Groups representing teachers and principals have dismissed a report recommending they should get a pay rise. Audio

5:53 PM.The Justice Minister has been forced to defend herself against accusations she breached Cabinet rules when she went to the offices of a New Zealand export company in Shanghai. Audio

5:50 PM.The country's Maori Research Centre of Excellence has lost its bid for future government funding, with the centre saying the loss could jeopardise developments in changing Maori society for the… Read more Audio

5:47 PM.The country's biggest transport project has been given the planning go-ahead, but it's still not clear when it might begin or how it will be paid for. Audio

5:42 PM.Dave Irving who heads the volunteer fire brigade at Little River 30 kilometres west of Akaroa says locals have never seen flooding like it. Audio

5:39 PM.Senior Sergeant Mike McRandle from the Christchurch police command centre is with us. Audio

5:35 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:25 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:24 PM.And in the wake of that cancelled hui this morning, the Ngapuhi organisers have called off another meeting that was to be held this evening for Whangarei claimants. Audio

5:18 PM.The Ngapuhi group the government has chosen to settle the iwi's Treaty claims was forced to cancel a hui in Paihia today because of protest action. Audio

5:16 PM.John Law of the MetService is with us. Audio

5:13 PM.The mayor of Christchurch Lianne Dalziel says the floods escalated very quickly from being just a one in-5-year to a 1-in-100-year event. Audio

5:11 PM.Andrea Cummings ended up wading through waist deep water last night on a rescue mission for an elderly woman and her cat. Audio

5:07 PM.Thousands of people are without power tonight and others have been forced from their homes by a slip in Lyttelton and what's being called once in a hundred year flooding in Christchurch and Banks… Read more Audio

5:00 PM.Christchurch battles a one-in-one-hundred year storm. The The Metservice has more and protest action stops a treaty settlement hui in Paihia . Audio