Checkpoint for Friday 2 May 2014

6:53 PM.An Auckland hapu has struck a deal with a retirement village operator to use a portion of tribal coastal whenua; In a pre-budget announcement, the Government says 16 million dollars will go towards… Read more Audio

6:37 PM.After a 27-year parliamentary career the National Party MP, Maurice Williamson, has resigned as a government minister. His crime was to ring the police about their investigation into domestic violence… Read more Audio

6:32 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:25 PM.People at a Government information session about offshore oil and gas drilling in Otago say they left with more questions than they went with. The meeting last night at Araiteuru Marae in Dunedin… Read more Audio

6:17 PM.The Government has given a Canadian company the 440 million dollar job of upgrading the weapons on board the Navy's two frigates. But it says Lockheed Martin Canada is looking at ways to give some of… Read more Audio

6:15 PM.Some dairies around the country have begun to take cigarettes off their shelves. Health advocates are hoping those numbers will continue to grow as more stores decide to take a stand. Audio

6:13 PM.One charge of rape against the Whangarei manager of a Child Youth and Family home has been dropped because of a lack of evidence. And a second rape charge against Taite Kupa has been reduced to… Read more Audio

6:08 PM.To Australia, where a police detective has told a hearing of his shock at the response to the killings of three Aboriginal children more than 20 years ago. Nobody has ever been convicted for the… Read more Audio

5:57 PM.The secondary teachers' union says a private company should not be helping with the first trial of online NCEA exams. The Qualifications Authority says it will trial a level one maths test at 20… Read more Audio

5:52 PM.The Justice Minister Judith Collins joins Checkpoint. Audio

5:50 PM.New documents show the Justice Minister's office asked for an official briefing before a controversial dinner with Oravida executives in China. The Justice Minister has been defending allegations of a… Read more Audio

5:46 PM.An Auckland hapu has struck a deal with a retirement village operator to use a portion of tribal coastal whenua; In a pre-budget announcement, the Government says 16 million dollars will go towards… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.Australia is raising the pension age to 70 almost 20 years earlier than officials had recommended. The Treasurer Joe Hockey today confirmed the entitlement age will rise from 2035. The qualifying age… Read more Audio

5:42 PM.A former Police Minister, Judith Collins, says all MPs, not just ministers, have to be extremely careful when dealing with the police, as they're in a totally different category to other government… Read more Audio

5:36 PM.More now on the preliminary report out into the disappearance of flight MH370. It shows that it took 4 hours after last contact was made for search and rescue operations to begin. Audio

5:33 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:28 PM.The Government and the Christchurch City Council are again at loggerheads over the rebuild of the city - this time over the final costs. The council has estimated the work to cost three-point-four… Read more Audio

5:25 PM.A large bronze Paul Dibble sculpture worth 65 thousand dollars has been stolen from a central city walkway in Wellington, and for weeks no-one noticed it had gone. Police are now appealing for… Read more Audio

5:22 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:16 PM.A senior police detective cleared of a sex complaint has resigned and will no longer face an employment investigation. Detective Inspector Mark Gutry had been stood down from duties after a woman… Read more Audio

5:09 PM.The disgraced National MP Maurice Williamson, who resigned as Minister after he interfered in a police investigation, was not asked by the wealthy businessman or his interpreter for help in the case. Audio

5:00 PM.Maurice Williamson was not asked to intervene; Detective Inspector Mark Gutry resigns; Paul Dibble sculpture goes missing and no one notices for weeks; The cost of the Christchurch rebuild in dispute… Read more Audio