Checkpoint for Wednesday 2 February 2022

5:07 PM.The jury is out on the government's newly unveiled income insurance scheme that's been developed in conjunction with unlikely bedfellows Business New Zealand and the Council of Trade Unions.

The… Read more Audio

5:11 PM.The business advocacy group that helped design the income insurance scheme is kicking National Party criticism of it to the kerb.

Business New Zealand boss Kirk Hope told Lisa Owen the scheme is… Read more Video, Audio

5:18 PM.The Covid-19 booster roll-out is being ramped up - with people soon having to wait just three months after their second shot - instead of four.

The new rule kicks in from Friday as the government… Read more Audio

5:21 PM.Immunisation Advisory Centre director Dr Nikki Turner joins Checkpoint to discuss why booster shots were brought forward from four to three months after a second dose of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine.

… Read more Video, Audio

5:26 PM.Government plans to plug critical worker holes created by Covid-19 are falling well short of the mark.

Plans were announced last year to let 300 international teachers into the country, but fewer… Read more Audio

5:34 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:38 PM.The New Zealand based Super Rugby squads are moving to Queenstown this weekend in a bid to avoid Covid-19 cancelling any matches.

RNZ Sports Editor Stephen Hewson joins Lisa Owen to discuss the move.

5:40 PM.A state of emergency has been declared in the Buller District, as heavy rain continues to pummel the region.

Thousands of sandbags have been dispatched to help people protect their homes.

The… Read more Audio

5:44 PM.Conservation Minister Kiri Allan is promising a forensic examination of the funding available to Tūhoe to maintain Te Urewera and Lake Waikaremoana as one of the Great Walks, after an iwi appeal for… Read more Video, Audio

5:50 PM.The 5-11 year age group has been able to get the Covid-19 vaccine for two and a half weeks - but so far only 37 percent have.

Despite that, schools are back and measures have been put in place to… Read more Video, Audio

5:56 PM.Nelson is home to the clearest lake in the world, but it could have a gloomy future.

An invasive algae called lake snow has been found nearby.

Naomi Arnold went for a hike to find out more. Read more Video, Audio

6:07 PM.Workers would be paid up to 80 percent of their wage for up to seven months under new income insurance plans, which were designed alongside Business New Zealand, and the Council of Trade Unions.

The… Read more Audio

6:15 PM.An Otago scheme aimed to keep floodwaters at bay is under review as it prepares to face more pressure from climate change.

The Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme is a buffer for roughly 13,000… Read more Audio