Checkpoint for Monday 24 August 2015

6:53 PM.A conservation group says the government needs to put an extra one point three million dollars a year into kiwi conservation to save the bird from extinction. Audio

6:46 PM.The Hauraki District Mayor says it's hugely disappointing the Hauraki Collective's treaty settlement negotiations have been stalled since last December; The former chair of the Maori Language… Read more Audio

6:40 PM.New Zealand airshow operators say there's no way of guaranteeing crashes like the one in Britain at the weekend will never happen - but they do everything possible to limit the risk. Audio

6:37 PM.A Queenstown man buried in an avalanche four years ago is making a new push to get heliski companies to use airbags that can save skiers lives. Audio

6:26 PM.A simple help drawn in the sand probably saved the life of a 63-year-old British toursit lost in the remote North Queensland bush. Audio

6:24 PM.Bio-security staff at Auckland International Airport have found poisonous seeds in a set of souvenir maraccas being brought in from Cuba. Audio

6:20 PM.The Government is moving to end the long standing row over Easter Sunday trading and will allow local councils to decide whether shops can open. Audio

6:18 PM.An alcohol watchdog is urging a MPs to reject a bill allowing bars to open later during Rugby World Cup matches, saying it would set a dangerous precedent. Audio

6:14 PM.The High Court has blamed the collapse of a Southland stadium's roof on an Invercargill engineer and the city council. Audio

6:11 PM.A rescue helicopter pilot says a Waitara couple are very lucky to have come away from a plane crash in rugged hill country. Audio

6:07 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:53 PM.Prison nurses failed to give pain relief to two inmates in serious distress, with one of the cases so bad that the jail may face legal action. Audio

5:50 PM.The former chair of the Maori Language Commission, Haami Piripi, wants kohanga reo to be aligned with early childhood education, not just in language nests. The Kohanga Reo National Trust Board is… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.Asian stocks have dived to 3-year lows today as the rout in the Chinese sharemarket gathered pace. Audio

5:41 PM.New Zealand's most successful swimmer is to front a campaign to save the nation's school swimming pools. Audio

5:40 PM.You've heard of cannabis cookies, but what about a P casserole? Audio

5:37 PM.The cousin of a teenager killed in a Grey Lynn street fight has described the moment she saw him stabbed in the neck with a broken bottle. Audio

5:33 PM.Stock markets have continued to plunge as concerns deepen about China's slowing economy. Audio

5:28 PM.The story of the cow shot dead by police in Whanganui is a headline writers' dream. And the quick-witted people of Twitter steered the conversation in a mostly funny direction. Audio

5:25 PM.Prison nurses failed to give pain relief to two inmates in serious distress, with one of the cases so bad that the jail may face legal action. Audio

5:20 PM.A confrontation between a group of car window washer and a motorist turned ugly in South Auckland this afternoon, when the driver was attacked and knocked to the ground. Audio

5:17 PM.It took a dozen gun shots to bring down a cow rampaging through Whanganui's streets after a police officer beat it with a baton and then the cow almost took out a man on a mobility scooter. Audio

5:12 PM.The Government is moving to end the long standing row over Easter Sunday trading and will allow local councils to decide whether shops can open. Audio

5:08 PM.A Waitara couple have emerged virtually unscathed from crashing their single-engine plane in rugged hill country. Audio