Checkpoint for Monday 9 March 2020

5:07 PM.The government has unveiled the beginnings of a business rescue package which will include a wage subsidy scheme for those affected by the economic downturn brought by Covid-19.

Treasury has also… Read more Video, Audio

5:08 PM.Air New Zealand's new chief executive says redundancies cannot be ruled out as the company weathers financial turbulence in the Covid-19 outbreak. Read more Video, Audio

5:19 PM.There have been no more confirmed or probable cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, but health officials are ramping up their efforts to stamp out the virus.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield… Read more Video, Audio

5:22 PM.Health campaigner Dr Lance O'Sullivan says he could have had mobile medical clinics ready months ago to use in emergencies, but the Ministry of Health would not listen.

It comes as the government… Read more Video, Audio

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

5:40 PM.The government wants public feedback about whether to change the road rules to let people cycle on the footpath.

It is one of a raft of proposed changes including imposing speed limits on all wheeled… Read more Audio

5:51 PM.The Conservation Minister has unveiled plans to make New Zealand predator free by 2050, but admits we don't yet have the science to get there.

The plan includes short-term goals, like wiping out… Read more Audio

6:06 PM.Targeted wage subsidies are on the cards as the government looks to bolster the economy in the face of the fallout from Covid-19.

BNZ has warned New Zealand's risk of a recession is building by the… Read more Audio

6:06 PM.Some tourism businesses in New Zealand say they are losing tens of thousands of dollars due to cancellations.

Others say they're also seeing far fewer tourists in typically busy hotspots, and are… Read more Audio

6:20 PM.A wildlife veterinarian says he strongly suspects that hundreds of gulls found dead on beaches in Horowhenua were poisoned.

Scores of dead black-backed gulls have been found on beaches from the… Read more Video, Audio

6:24 PM.Droughts are likely to be declared in more regions as the big dry spreads further south and farmers continue to struggle with water shortages.

Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor says sprinklings of… Read more Audio