Checkpoint for Tuesday 8 September 2015

6:52 PM.More surgery beckons for a chimpanzee at Wellington Zoo as staff seek to preserve hearing in the chimp's only functioning ear. Audio

6:50 PM.Questions about the economic health of the regions and refugees as Parliament resumes after a week's break. Finance Minister, Bill English, concedes some regions are struggling and confirms that an… Read more Audio

6:48 PM.The Ngati Kahu leader Margaret Mutu says the government will have to sit down and talk with the iwi if it wants Kaitaia airport to reopen; The Labour MP, Peeni Henare, says Te Puni Kokiri is burdened… Read more Audio

6:45 PM.The Government says the telecommunications industry is changing fast and state regulation needs to catch up fast. Audio

6:40 PM.Aucklanders have responded to a controversial 1.5-million-dollar state house sculpture that has been granted resource consent. Audio

6:38 PM.The Wellington City Council is trying to create a strategy to cope with its biggest intake of Syrian refugees in a decade. Audio

6:35 PM.Immigration New Zealand says it's focusing on Wellington for the first influx of Syrian refugees because there are already some living there. Audio

6:25 PM.The police are warning about a new kind of internet scam, where men are being blackmailed after performing sexual acts over Skype. Audio

6:22 PM.A human rights lawyer says he plans to fight for the release of the country's longest serving prisoner - 77-year-old child sex offender, Alfred Vincent. Audio

6:18 PM.The ACT leader says he hasn't been done over by the National Party over the paid parental leave issue , rather he's just much better informed now about the support available to some families. Audio

6:15 PM."For the fifth time in a month, frontline response police officers have had to deal with armed and clearly dangerous offenders," Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today. Audio

6:12 PM.A man is dead after he opened fire at a McDonalds restaurant in the centre of Upper Hutt. The police shot the man when he turned his firearm towards them on Main Street just after half past twelve… Read more Audio

6:08 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:54 PM.An Auckland man's pun-laden video of a walk in the bush has gone global. Audio

5:51 PM.A Waikato dairy farmer tried to chase down two thieves in the middle of the night wearing nothing but his thermal underwear and gumboots. Audio

5:50 PM.A BNZ bank in Manukau was robbed today and the police say it could be connected to two other robberies in the past eight days. Audio

5:47 PM.With the future of a troubled boarding school hanging in the balance, the campaign to keep it open is gaining traction, with the district's mayor out in support, and a National and Labour MP in… Read more Audio

5:44 PM.The Government is rebuffing calls to reject a multi-million-dollar payout from Housing New Zealand, saying the dividend encourages the agency to be more efficient. Audio

5:42 PM.Kaitaia Airport has been taken over by a group of protestors from a Far North iwi who have locked the gate, stopping planes from taking off or landing. Audio

5:36 PM.The country's longest serving prisoner has again been denied parole. Audio

5:33 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:27 PM.Two managers of a popular Indian restaurant chain in Auckland have admitted exploiting workers, including paying a chef just forty dollars for two month's work. Audio

5:22 PM.Invercargil's Civic Theatre was the centre of an emergency today after several children rehearsing for a school production fainted. Audio

5:20 PM.The New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters, is suggesting New Zealand only accepts refugees who are women and children, and sends the men back to fight against Islamic State. Audio

5:10 PM.The police have shot dead a man who opened fire in a McDonalds restaurant, before shooting at police in the middle of a busy street in Upper Hutt. Audio

5:00 PM.Police shoot dead the Upper Hutt gunman;NZ First suggests only accepts women and children from Syria;Children faint on stage;Restaurant managers admit exploiting workers;Longest serving prisoner… Read more Audio