Checkpoint for Tuesday 17 December 2024

5:48 PM.It's the time of year when many people are looking forward to getting away on their summer break -- to enjoy some sun and sea and let their hair down a little while they're away from home. But the… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.Orana Wildlife Park will stop taking in new animals for six months, after two reviews highlighted four key areas that need improving. The investigations were prompted by whistleblowers' animal welfare… Read more Audio

5:36 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:32 PM.A two-time sevens Olympic gold medalist, six time World Series winner and a world champion, Michaela Blyde is hopping codes at the end of the Sevens season on a one year deal to the Warriors. Sports… Read more Audio

5:28 PM.For two and a half years Far North folk have faced long detours, isolation from friends and family, higher costs and fewer customers. This week, however, that's coming to an end, thanks to the… Read more Audio

5:25 PM.The government opened its books today - revealing the economic outlook for the near term is looking pretty bleak. A lower tax take and higher Crown expenses deliver continued budget deficits - with a… Read more Audio

5:16 PM.MPI is asking people to keep a close eye on their backyard chooks after a bird flu scare in the forced killing of 200 thousand birds. A mainland egg farm near Moeraki tested positive for an aggressive… Read more Audio

5:08 PM.A massive 7.3 earthquake has hit Vanuatu, at a depth of 10 kilometres. The quake struck 37 kilometres west of the capital Port Vila just before 1:00pm local time. A local journalist has told the ABC… Read more Audio

4:50 PM.A woman whose holiday home was at the centre of an online scam said it has taken weeks for the host site to take the property offline. Meanwhile she's worried people will have been fleeced for a… Read more Audio

4:46 PM.The below-inflation lift of 1.5 percent, which comes into effect in April, brings the minimum wage up to $23.50. But the Employers and Manufacturers Union said the small increase reflects the… Read more Audio

4:34 PM.Black Cap Tim Southee's Test career is over following a big win over England in Hamilton today. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen. Audio

4:30 PM.The National Emergency Management Agency says there is no Tsunami threat to New Zealand. Locals on social media are reporting landslips and say its the biggest quake to hit the island  in up to two… Read more Audio

4:24 PM.Auckland Zoo's had a pre-Christmas delivery, they've welcomed a bruiser of a baby southern white rhino calf. He arrived on Friday, following a speedy labour; a remarkable three minutes give or take… Read more Audio

4:15 PM.United States correspondent Zach Montellaro spoke to Lisa Owen about a school shooting Madison, Wisconsin where a teacher and student have been killed, President-elect Donald Trump holding his first… Read more Audio

4:06 PM.One north island council's revealed its roll of recycle shame, the items people stuff into bin pretending they can have a second life, when they know full well they can't. A deer carcass was found… Read more Audio