Checkpoint for Friday 16 May 2014

6:52 PM.A major financial services company, Deloitte, says the real economic benefits for Maori won't come until all treaty claims are settled; The country's Maori Research Centre of Excellence says pressure… Read more Audio

6:37 PM.After six years of running deficits the Government is poised to run a budget surplus in the next financial year. As well, in his sixth Budget the Finance Minister, Bill English, has found the money to… Read more Audio

6:34 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:24 PM.About 80 people closed down a central Auckland street today in a protest outside the Sky City convention centre where the Prime Minister was delivering his post-Budget speech. Audio

6:20 PM.To Australia, and the Budget there has caused far more ructions than the one here, with Labor now vowing to block in the Senate billions of dollars of spending cuts and tax hikes. Audio

6:14 PM.The police have re-opened a decade old cold case of a missing Dunedin woman and believe there may have been foul play. Audio

6:08 PM.The Prime Minister and his Finance Minister have spent the day selling their Budget to mostly upbeat business leaders, but protestors have also had their say. Audio

5:56 PM.A new study has found a high sugar diet increases the risk of heart disease regardless Audio

5:48 PM.Yesterday's budget earmarks four million dollars over the next four years for what one patient lobby group says will be for a national transplantation service. Audio

5:45 PM.The country's Maori Research Centre of Excellence says pressure from indigenous researchers abroad helped prompt the government's decision to continue funding rangahau Maori; A major financial… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.The Tertiary Education Union is calling the Budget bleak but the Government says it shows it is increasing its investment. Audio

5:38 PM.The RSPCA has joined another animal rights group in condemning the ongoing kosher killing of sheep in New Zealand - saying its inhumane and leads to unnecessary suffering for the animals. Audio

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

5:29 PM.John Key says it would outrageous if allegations are made tarring all New Zealand sportspeople because of the Lou Vincent match-fixing scandal. Audio

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

5:24 PM.US defence officials have outlined in stark terms the barriers to helping Nigerian soldiers rescue hundreds of kidnapped schoolgirls - citing the military's gross human rights abuses. Audio

5:19 PM.Senior Government ministers say a spike in immigration should be celebrated because it shows more people want to stay here. Audio

5:16 PM.The police have re-opened a decade-old cold case of a missing Dunedin woman because they think someone may have killed her. Audio

5:13 PM.Only four ballooning companies still operate in New Zealand. Audio

5:09 PM.The parents of the youngest victim of the Carterton balloon disaster have made a tearful plea to the Coroner to recommend compulsory drug and alcohol testing of pilots and ground crew. Audio

5:00 PM.Family of balloon victim demands drug testing, Police re-open decade old missing persons case, Govt minister play down warnings about migration spike next year and Barriers to helping Nigerian… Read more Audio