Checkpoint for Monday 19 April 2021

5:07 PM.It was like scenes from Love Actually - emotions have been running high at airports in New Zealand and Australia today as the trans-Tasman travel bubble burst into action.

For the first time in a… Read more Video, Audio

5:12 PM.Excitement, relief and joy - that's how passengers described the feeling of boarding the first trans Tasman flight out of Auckland to Sydney under the new quarantine free bubble.

While the flight… Read more Video, Audio

5:18 PM.RNZ tourism reporter Tess Brunton and videographer Simon Rogers were on board one of the first flights from New Zealand to Australia under the new trans-Tasman travel bubble today.

Tess joins Lisa… Read more Video, Audio

5:22 PM.A migrant family split by the Covid-19 border closure for more than 400 days say they feel no joy about the prospect of reuniting because the separation has been so traumatic.

The government's… Read more Audio

5:26 PM.A China expert says a speech by the Foreign Minister on China is unusual, with criticism previously unheard of from New Zealand.

Nanaia Mahuta spoke at the New Zealand China Council's meeting in… Read more Audio

5:32 PM.Two Auckland isolation hotels are being emptied of returnees pending an investigation into how Covid-19 was transmitted inside the facilities.

Genome sequencing show the virus spread between two… Read more Video, Audio

5:42 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6249358592001 Video, Audio

5:46 PM.For the first time in almost 400 days international tourists landed at Queenstown Airport, to tears, cheers, offers of free bungy jumps and relief that not only were friends and family reunited but… Read more Audio

5:50 PM.The Prime Minister has hailed the opening of the new trans-Tasman travel bubble as a world-first milestone.

Speaking at her post-Cabinet press conference, Jacinda Ardern said Tourism New Zealand… Read more Audio

5:53 PM.A big structural overhaul is going down at Wellington City Council. It comes after a review found poor governance, missing leadership, and behaviour which undermines public trust and confidence.

The… Read more Audio

6:08 PM.Emotions ran high at airports across the country today with Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown airports welcoming their first international passenger flights in almost 400 days.

The trans-Tasman… Read more Video, Audio

6:12 PM.Flights continue to arrive at Auckland Airport this evening. Checkpoint's Nick Truebridge and Nick Monro spent the day watching tearful reunions.

  Read more Video, Audio

6:15 PM.The trial of three men charged with orchestrating an international cocaine importation ring began in the High Court at Auckland today.

The European trio are facing seven charges relating to four… Read more Audio

6:18 PM.Fishing guides who've been left with little to no business post-Covid-19 say the trans-Tasman bubble has come too late to make a difference this season.

There are about 130 guides registered with the… Read more Audio

6:29 PM.One last thing on the bubble before we go today. Airports on both sides of the Tasman have marked quarantine free travel between Australia and New Zealand with songs, dances, drag queens and more.

… Read more Video, Audio