Checkpoint for Wednesday 18 November 2020

5:09 PM.The costs are piling up for retailers and importers who are waiting on shipments to pass through the Ports of Auckland.

A backlog of ships waiting to get into the port is compounding worldwide… Read more Audio

5:12 PM.An Auckland wharfie estimates Ports of Auckland is half as efficient as it used to be, because of problems switching to an automated system to load and unload freight containers.

Some ships are… Read more Video, Audio

5:20 PM.Tourism operators are surprised their new minister has been so dismissive of the benefit of backpackers to the country.

Some also believe the promised benefits of wealthy visitors is a hollow one.

… Read more Audio

5:23 PM.The Australian government is making a play for Kiwi pickers, offering a cash reward if they cross the ditch.

Canberra is offering New Zealanders $2,000 in relocation fees to move across to pick… Read more Audio

5:26 PM.Wellingtonians are balking at the idea of a double-digit rates raise to fund a series of important infrastructure projects.

RNZ understands a discussion document has been presented to city… Read more Audio

5:30 PM.Karangahape Road businesses are up in arms after a years-long roadworks' project has pushed them to breaking point.

Owners say their complaints have fallen on deaf ears, with at least one business… Read more Audio

5:46 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

5:51 PM.The Solomon Islands government is moving to suspend Facebook in the country - saying it's being abused.

A ban would put the Pacific island nation alongside just four other countries in the world… Read more Audio

5:55 PM.Researchers have already uncovered unmarked graves at the 150-year-old Drybread Cemetery in rural Central Otago.

Archaeologists will spend a month excavating parts of the historic cemetery, but… Read more Audio

6:08 PM.A tourist operator believes plans to flush loo-less campervans will sink his business and rob NZ of valuable visitors.

The new Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has revealed he wants to ban campervans… Read more Video, Audio

6:16 PM.Billions of dollars will be spent on infrastructure projects to help rebuild the nation's economy but the construction sector is in dire need of skilled workers to make it happen.

Infrastructure New… Read more Audio

6:27 PM.A solar-powered, unmanned aircraft is being developed in Christchurch in the hopes it will be a game changer for the aerial imaging industry.

The Kea Atmos will fly 20 times closer to the earth than… Read more Video, Audio