Checkpoint for Thursday 29 October 2015

6:51 PM.A Kapa haka exponent and cultural entrepreneur is one of five artist recognised with the Arts Foundation Laureate Award. Audio

6:43 PM.Thousands of patients with chronic kidney disease who struggle to get the nutrients they need from food now have another option. Audio

6:39 PM.People living alone are the fastest growing households in the country according to new projections. Audio

6:39 PM.The moderators of the third Republican debate had to dodge just as many swings as the candidates in Boulder, Colorado this afternoon. Audio

6:36 PM.A New Zealander is fighting to get out of immigration detention in Sydney to look after his partner who's dying of lung cancer. Audio

6:27 PM.Forest and Bird have release drone footage showing extensive damage to Northland's native forests. Audio

6:22 PM.AgResearch says it's confident the work it's currently doing won't be stopped or slowed after making 21-percent of its science technicians redundant. Audio

6:19 PM.Sixty people in Akatarawa near Upper Hutt in Wellington are cut off tonight because floodwaters have taken out their local bridge. Audio

6:16 PM.Andrew Mc Gregor is a consultant accident investigator who wrote a report for the families of the skydiving crash victims. Audio

6:13 PM.TAIC does concede its original conclusion that weight and balance issues caused the crash is probably wrong. Audio

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

5:55 PM.The New Zealand under-17 football team has suffered a heartbreaking 1-nil loss to Brazil in their World Cup round of 16 game in Chile. Audio

5:52 PM.The Reserve Bank has left the cost of borrowing on hold at 2 point 75 percent - at least for now. Audio

5:49 PM.A lawyer for the children of a Lincoln woman run over by her farmer husband says the police dropped the ball when they looked into her death. Audio

5:45 PM.Anti-oil campaigners say they've been let down by the Auckland Mayor for not taking a stance against the government's plan for deep sea oil exploration off the west coast. Audio

5:43 PM.A Somalian refugee with a long list of convictions since he arrived in New Zealand in 1999, is to be held as a special patient in a secure psychiatric unit, while attempts continue to deport him. Audio

5:39 PM.Kiwirail has made an impassioned plea for support from the Government and from the the public. Audio

5:36 PM.At an emergency meeting held today at the Māori boarding school Hato Petera the Bishop of Auckland Pat Dunn has closed the boarding halls once and for all. Audio

5:34 PM.The country's biggest bank - ANZ - has reported a slight lift in its annual profit to 1-point-7-7 billion dollars, driven by growth in mortgage and business lending. Audio

5:27 PM.Carmel Stanwell is dying from lung cancer while her partner wrestles to get out of immigration detention to care for her. Audio

5:23 PM.The man who stole a two million dollar French painting at gunpoint in 1998 has today been sentenced for stealing a rare motorbike described as a mechanical piece of art. Audio

5:19 PM.Our reporter, Tom Furley, is next to the slumped bridge in Upper Hutt. Audio

5:17 PM.Sixty people in Akatarawa near Upper Hutt in Wellington are cut off tonight because floodwaters have taken out their local bridge. Audio

5:13 PM.Our Queenstown reporter Peter Newport has been following the case from the beginning and was part of the team which dug up the wreckage.sh Audio

5:11 PM.Tim Burfoot is TAIC's Chief Investigator says it's not the best outcome but is defending the original investigation as thorough and useful. Audio

5:08 PM.Victims' families feel betrayed but the Transport Accident Investigation Commission is refusing to apologise to them over its investigation into the Fox Glacier skydive crash Audio

5:00 PM.The bungled investigation, into the Fox Glacier skydiving crash. Flood waters buckle a bridge and sixty people are cut off and first a two million dollar french painting and now he's stolen a rare… Read more Audio