Checkpoint for Wednesday 28 February 2024

5:29 PM.A rare Test cricket series between New Zealand and Australia begins tomorrow at a sold out Basin Reserve in Wellington. It is the first time in eight years that Australia's Test side has travelled to… Read more Audio

5:24 PM.The rat plagued Dunedin South Countdown finally thrown open its doors again to humans. It's been battling rodents since last year, but things escalated after a rat was photographed happily perched in… Read more Audio

5:15 PM.The Reserve Bank has again pumped the brakes on the official cash rate, holding it at 5.5% despite concerns about lingering inflation pressures. The central bank says OCR will need to stay at a… Read more Audio

5:07 PM.Newshub staff say they're in total shock and disbelief on learning the media company plans to close its newsroom in New Zealand at the end of June. The bombshell announcement came at an emergency… Read more Audio

4:53 PM.The country's world first generational smoking ban is going up in smoke, as the Government pushes through its repeal legislation under urgency. It's prompted emotionally charged scenes in Parliament… Read more Audio

4:41 PM.Air NZ should be ashamed of itself for inhumane behaviour and predatory pricing at a time of personal crisis. That was said by an American customer who was charged more than $13,000 to change flights… Read more Audio

4:34 PM.Netball New Zealand kicked off its centenary celebrations over the weekend with the launch of a Hall of Fame, honouring some of the biggest names in the game over the past 100 years. However, the… Read more Audio

4:29 PM.Associate Health Minister Casey Costello was warned that scrapping the smokefree law would be viewed as a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi. RNZ has obtained Ministry of Health documents sent to… Read more Audio

4:10 PM.Customers are returning to Dunedin South's Countdown store for the first time in more than two weeks after a rodent issue forced its closure. There have been 24 rats captured since the10th of… Read more Audio

4:06 PM.Bosses at Three news told their PR company in January they were planning to make hundreds of news staff redundant but those staff were blind sided with the proposal at meeting called hurriedly this… Read more Audio