Checkpoint for Wednesday 8 July 2020

6:24 PM.The army is getting an upgrade with the purchase of 43 Bushmaster armoured vehicles. They can fit and protect up to ten army personnel and are expected to be used both in New Zealand and overseas. Our… Read more Video, Audio

6:20 PM.Claims of dirty politics, cries of anger and disgust, and clear bitter division. The usually circumspect arena of the Otago Regional Council chamber had it all this morning, as three-quarters of… Read more Audio

6:16 PM.Meanwhile residents in Hamish Walker's electorate are shocked he's behind the leak of Covid-19 patient details to media. Hamish Walker won nearly 60 percent of MP votes in the last election - but a… Read more Audio

6:13 PM.The National Party is in damage control mode, and urgently looking for a new candidate for its Southland electorate. It comes after MP Hamish Walker confessed to leaking the personal details of 18… Read more Audio

6:07 PM.A Countdown branch was closed today as a precaution after a positive Covid-19 case entered its doors. Kiri Hannifin is the spokesperson for the supermarket chain and joins us now. Read more Audio

5:53 PM.Winter has ramped up a gear -- as temperatures plummeted across the country today. While the southerly blast has been tough on drivers and farmers, it's been welcomed by skiers - just in time for the… Read more Audio

5:47 PM.The Government is pouring money into upgrading the country's drinking, storm and wastewater systems. An investment of $761 million was announced in Havelock North today. But councils will have to sign… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has once again downplayed the likelihood of a travel bubble with New Zealand anytime soon. As Melbourne prepares to go into lockdown, he says stopping the… Read more Audio

5:40 PM.The New South Wales premier has signalled she may lockdown towns on the Victorian border if people don't follow the strict border closure rules that came in last night. And at midnight tonight - the… Read more Audio

5:36 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:27 PM.Small businesses in the tourist town of Waitomo are crying foul over big government handouts being passed on to larger operators - while they struggle to survive. Discover Waitomo, one of the town's… Read more Video, Audio

5:17 PM.The Minister in charge of Managed Isolation & Quarantine, Megan Woods, speaks to us about the 32-year-old man who did a runner last night from managed isolation. Read more Video, Audio

5:07 PM.There are calls for tighter security in managed isolation after a man who tested positive for Covid 19 escaped a hotel to visit a supermarket. A security guard was watching as the man left the… Read more Audio