Checkpoint for Tuesday 8 March 2016

5:14 PM.As dairy debt balloons, Fonterra, who - in May of last year - said "We can expect prices to recover going forward", today cut their forecast payout for milk solids by 25 cents a kilo. Audio

5:20 PM.One of the 28 people evacuated last night because of a major scrub fire near Hanmer Springs says the blaze came extremely close to homes and it's lucky nobody was hurt. Audio

5:27 PM.The jury in the high court trial of Russell Tully has retired to consider if the accused is guilty of two counts of murder, but has reached no verdicts today. Audio

5:34 PM.The sporting world was shocked today by the news former tennis world number one Maria Sharapova failed a drug test at the Australian Open in January. Audio

5:37 PM.Richard Ings, the former Chief Executive for the Australian Sports Anti-doping Authority, says Sharapova had a responsibility to remain aware of which drugs were banned. He joins Checkpoint. Audio

5:44 PM.The Justice Minister is backing a Law Commission recommendation that non-fatal strangulation should become a specific crime. Audio

5:45 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:48 PM.Thousands of workers at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment may have been underpaid for decades. Jane Patterson reports. Audio

5:51 PM.The families of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH-370 say they're no closer to getting answers, two years after the plane disappeared. Audio

5:53 PM.A shooting has shocked residents of the small Otago village of Seacliff, where a woman was found dead at her home and a man seriously injured. Audio

5:55 PM.The Heart Foundation has doubled the recommended limit of eggs people with increased risk of heart disease can crack into. Audio

6:09 PM.New Zealand's dairy debt has reached $37.8 billion - a level one farming consultant is describing as a crisis point. Janette Walker joins Checkpoint. Audio

6:15 PM.One of the students seriously injured when a balcony collapsed at the Six 60 concert in Dunedin on Friday night has spoken of his injuries. Audio

6:17 PM.The Government wants to establish one of the world's largest fully protected ocean areas - the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary in New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone. Audio

6:20 PM.29-year-old Christchurch woman Anna McPhee is on the ground in Greece helping with refugees who have recently arrived from Syria. Video, Audio

6:26 PM.Decades of lobbying and restoration sank into the Auckland harbour overnight along with the Kestrel. Audio

6:55 PM.Labour scores a big hit by winning a snap debate on its exposure of financial mismanagement of the Health MInistry's refurbishment of its Wellington head office. Health Minister, Jonathan Coleman, is… Read more Audio