Checkpoint for Thursday 18 November 2021

5:10 PM."Send body bags" - that's the message from iwi in the north if the government pushes ahead with plans to open the Auckland border. 

The collective wants the gateway to te tai tokerau to stay locked… Read more Video, Audio

5:17 PM.Te Tairawhiti is racing to speed up its lagging vaccination rates as Covid cases spread across the motu.

The rohe has climbed up a spot to the second lowest first dose vaccination rate in the… Read more Audio

5:24 PM.Covid-19 is continuing its march down the country with 25 of the 167 new cases reported today outside of Auckland.

There is one new case in Mt Maunganui and the other in Tauranga. While in the… Read more Audio

5:28 PM.Whether it's Saturday afternoon cricket - or a mid week game of touch rugby - community sport is woven into the social fabric of New Zealand.

But just how those activities might look this summer… Read more Audio

5:36 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6282524465001 Video, Audio

5:39 PM.Double vaccinated visitors only thanks - that's the preference of a Tairāwhiti business leader as Gisborne braces for a summer influx.

Come December 15, Aucklanders are being set free - able to… Read more Video, Audio

5:45 PM.People on the West Coast are coming to terms with the discovery of human remains deep in the Pike River Mine, almost eleven years after the deadly explosion.

Tomorrow's the anniversary of the deadly… Read more Video, Audio

5:50 PM.Concern is rising among health experts as the sector takes a staffing hit to the tune of 1,300 workers.

The vaccine mandate for health workers kicked in at midnight on Monday and DHBs are figuring… Read more Audio

6:05 PM.Three months into Auckland's lockdown, businesses finally got a visit from Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Grant Robertson.

Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck told Checkpoint she… Read more Video, Audio

6:14 PM.Fire and Emergency says the quick thinking of residents and emergency services saved lives during last year's Lake Ōhau wildfire.

Investigators say the blaze - which destroyed 48 homes and buildings… Read more Audio