Checkpoint for Thursday 19 December 2024

5:43 PM.The Australian Government is seeking assurances from Malaysia that two men who took part in the 2002 Bali Bombings, now released from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, will be kept… Read more Audio

5:36 PM.Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey didn't make a Budget bid this year for more mental health service beds, despite them being at or over capacity. The Opposition says this is a massive oversight… Read more Audio

5:32 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:28 PM.It's been a tough year for foodbanks with more people in financial hardship and funding hard to come by. But one foodbank in Porirua run by Wellington iwi Ngāti Toa says collaboration and connection… Read more Audio

5:24 PM.Taupō International Motorsport Park hosted racing this year after New Zealand dropped off the schedule for a season. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.  Audio

5:15 PM.Corrections is slashing the amount of time prisoners can spend on jail phones talking to their whanau, and said some inmates have been abusing the system, resorting to violence and stand over tactics… Read more Audio

5:08 PM.An New Zealand Airforce plane carrying search and rescue equipment and disaster relief supplies has arrived in Vanuatu following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake earlier this week. MFAT consular staff and… Read more Audio

4:45 PM.An inmate's wife said severely cutting the amount of time time prisoners can spend on the phone to family could lead to more tension and violence in jail and will harm rehabilitation efforts. At the… Read more Audio

4:42 PM.The former Minister of Defence said delays to critical humanitarian flights to Vanuatu are embarassing for New Zealand. It comes after a New Zealand Defence Force Hercules plane carrying rescue staff… Read more Audio

4:36 PM.Barring a blip at the height of the pandemic and lockdowns, the latest quarterly results are the worst New Zealand's seen in more than 30 years. Political reporter Russell Palmer has more. Audio

4:31 PM.All Black Ardie Savea has been one of the big movers during the Super Rugby off-season after joining his brother at Moana Pasifika. The rugby pre-season is coming up to the Christmas break and Savea… Read more Audio

4:25 PM.An airforce hercules carrying emergency supplies has arrived in quake struck Vanuatu and will help with the evacuation of New Zealanders stuck there. At the moment there are no commerical flights to… Read more Audio

4:16 PM.United States correspondent Zach Montellaro spoke to Lisa Owen about the clock ticking for the US Government to keep its lights on amid a fight over funding in Washington and Donald Trump's repeated… Read more Audio

4:07 PM.In the Far North, the district council is having to bring in tighter controls across its 11 cemetries to prevent so-called "plot hoarding." It means reserving a plot, but not using it for many years… Read more Audio