Checkpoint for Wednesday 22 September 2021

5:07 PM.The floodgates have opened and Aucklanders have hit the streets today - with 300,000 people back at work under alert level 3.

Baristas, burger flippers, builders and bikers stepped out today after… Read more Video, Audio

5:14 PM.It's game on in Tai Tokerau, where rugby clubs and Māori health providers are teaming up to make Northland the first province with 90 percent of people vaccinated against Covid-19.

A new initiative… Read more Audio

5:17 PM.As the Covid-19 vaccine rollout ramps up businesses are confused about their legal obligations to staff and customers.

Can they refuse entry to unvaccinated cliental or sack staff who do not want the… Read more Video, Audio

5:23 PM.The Department of Conservation was told by overseas experts it should euthanise the orca calf, Toa, just days after it became stranded on the rocks in Plimmerton.

But the department instead looked… Read more Audio

5:29 PM.The first day of level three has brought back takeaways and click and collect across Auckland. But some businesses in the CBD are keeping their doors shut until level two as the city's workers remain… Read more Video, Audio

5:35 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6273666116001 Video, Audio

5:38 PM.Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says a first-stage proof of vaccination will be ready in weeks.

"The first stage is a manual process where you'll be able to download a certificate, and that… Read more Video, Audio

5:46 PM.New Zealand needs to vaccinate five-year-olds and up against Covid-19 if there's any chance of returning to situation normal, that's according to a leading epidemiologist.

Professor Tony Blakely from… Read more Video, Audio

5:55 PM.The lure of a bacon buttie has proved to be a successful way to get people in New Plymouth out for a vaccine.

The city's vaccination centre threw out the appointment book and put on breakfast for… Read more Audio

6:08 PM.On Wednesday morning, Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield acknowledged New Zealand could never return to absolutely zero Covid-19 cases.

On Wednesday authorities reported another 23 cases in… Read more Audio

6:11 PM.Victoria has been struck by a magnitude 5.8 earthquake with tremors being felt across the state, in New South Wales and even as far as Adeleide. Worldwatch's Perlina Lau reports. Read more Audio

6:14 PM.Two hundred police will be trained to the level of Armed Offenders Squad members as part of a major overhaul of the way police respond to violent offending.

The government and police bosses insist… Read more Video, Audio

6:19 PM.Two reviews of the Family Court are underway to ensure its judges are up to scratch and victims are happy with how they're being treated.

It comes as a family violence advocate says it is currently… Read more Audio