Checkpoint for Wednesday 28 October 2015

6:53 PM.Christchurch's two neighbouring councils are surprised to hear that they may be asked to contribute to the cost of some of the city's major amenities. Audio

6:46 PM.A world-first study has found a hormone commonly used to induce labour in pregnant women can also help children with autism. Audio

6:43 PM.The deputy mayor of Christchurch is up in arms against the prospect of the fast-food restaurant Wendy's being allowed to sell alcohol. Audio

6:40 PM.A woman who deliberately burnt her toddler's hands and left the burns untreated for months is tonight beginning a 5 year jail sentence. Audio

6:35 PM.In his first major speech since losing office, former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has called on European leaders to close their borders to asylum seekers or risk imperilling their nations. Audio

6:26 PM.The Labour Party is calling the rejection of an Iraqi-born woman from enlisting in the army stupid and ill-informed. Audio

6:22 PM.A new conservation organisation has just been launched which aims to save some of New Zealand's most endangered plants and animals. Audio

6:17 PM.A US economist says sending rubbish to the tip may be better than recycling. Audio

6:12 PM.The funeral industry is set for a major shake-up under a host of recommendations on how New Zealanders should be laid to rest. Audio

6:06 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:57 PM.The signing of the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand is being celebrated on the Waitangi Treaty grounds for the first time, on its 180th anniversary. Audio

5:55 PM.The good ol' Aussie accent has its origins in drunken slurring. Audio

5:52 PM.The Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante says his players were shocked when they first heard the news that Australian football's ruling body had declined the club's request to stay in the… Read more Audio

5:50 PM.The Ministry for the Environment has blasted a report by the OECD on New Zealand's environmental record. Audio

5:45 PM.More light has been shed on what happened to a man whose body was found down a bank on the Paekakariki Hill Road north of Wellington a year ago. Audio

5:41 PM.A group backed by National Party members is hoping to win control of Auckland's Council in next year's elections. Audio

5:37 PM.A coroner's inquest has heard a man who accidentally ran over his wife and killed her, had an affair just months before, and was back on a dating sight only two weeks after her death. Audio

5:33 PM.The BNZ has reported a 22 percent rise in its net profit to a record one-billion dollars for the year to September. Audio

5:26 PM.The 'Richetty grub'.... The ' master of the dark arts of breakdown cheating'... and 'the only thing standing between the Wallabies and World Cup glory'. Audio

5:23 PM.A woman has been awarded 13 thousand dollars for being sacked from her Auckland bar job after she'd worked there for a little over a week. Audio

5:16 PM.A man's private Facebook message has come back to haunt him, costing him thousands of dollars. Audio

5:14 PM.Any relaxing of the rules around people being buried on private rural land, as the Law Commission recommends, would have real impact on the Chatham Islands. Audio

5:12 PM.Being able to be buried on the family farm and making it easier for private companies to run cemeteries and crematoriums are some of recommendations being put forward in a wide-ranging review. Audio

5:08 PM.New Zealand has been given a roasting by the OECD. The Paris-based economic and social organisation says New Zealand has the worst record of all its 34 member states in how much of its waste goes into… Read more Audio

5:00 PM.NZ has been given a roasting by the OECD;Ministry for the Environment's response to OECD report;Relaxing the rules on funerals;Chatham Islands look forward to looser rules round burying at… Read more Audio