Checkpoint for Wednesday 12 February 2020

5:09 PM.The owner of a Flaxmere property where a four-year-old boy suffered critical injuries says he rented the Ramsey Crescent property about a year ago to a woman and three young children but had no idea… Read more Audio

5:10 PM.Flaxmere residents say they're shocked and devastated that a young child has been seriously injured and brain damaged in a beating at unknown hands two weeks ago.

They're urging those who have… Read more Audio

5:14 PM.Plans to scale-back RNZ Concert appear to have been completely scrapped, with management telling staff that they're going back to the drawing board.

Chief executive Paul Thompson told affected staff… Read more Video, Audio

5:18 PM.New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is teasing a tell-all on the secretive New Zealand First Foundation on his Facebook page on Wednesday night to set the record straight on what he says are "the… Read more Audio

5:22 PM.Tauranga's mayor says people are angry and scared after two people were found dead at a house in a rural area near the popular McLaren Falls.

A homicide investigation has been launched, but the… Read more Video, Audio

5:25 PM.Another wave of passengers infected with coronavirus have been taken off the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in quarantine in Yokohama.

Thirty-nine more people onboard have tested positive for… Read more Video, Audio

5:35 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

5:42 PM.Almost 10,000 tonnes of hazardous waste from Tiwai Point's aluminium smelter, so-called ouvea premix, was at risk from the flooding in Southland last week.

Gore District Council had said they had… Read more Video, Audio

5:46 PM.Te Puni Kōkiri has confirmed to Māori MPs that money earmarked for Whānau Ora services does sit with other government agencies.

It backs up concerns held by prominent Māori claimants, including Dame… Read more Audio

6:08 PM.The Ministry of Health says they will be forced to take action if people who have recently returned from China don't self-isolate in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Around 4000 people have not… Read more Video, Audio

6:09 PM.An American scientist is hopeful a human clinical trial in China will prove an anti-viral drug originally tested on Ebola will work against coronavirus. Read more Video, Audio

6:23 PM.A regional park north of Auckland is almost doubling in size, giving outdoors enthusiasts a whole lot more recreational access to the coast.

Auckland Council has bought almost 100 hectares of private… Read more Video, Audio