Checkpoint for Tuesday 18 February 2025

5:42 PM.The Australian central bank has handed down the country's first rate cut in over four years. Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen.  Audio

5:35 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:31 PM.The glitziest event on the New Zealand sporting calendar has arrived with the 62nd annual Halberg Awards taking place at the Spark Arena in Auckland this evening. In one of the most competitive fields… Read more Audio

5:27 PM.Cooperation on seabed mining, the establishment of diplomatic missions and preferential treatment in regional and multi-lateral fora are some of the standouts in the Comprehensive Strategic… Read more Audio

5:23 PM.About 400 people - including Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer - have taken to the streets to protest the Cook Islands Prime Minister's recent decisions. The protest took place outside of… Read more Audio

5:16 PM.A Waikato bariatric surgeon said patients going overseas for weight-loss surgery are returning with potentially life-threatening complications and clogging up an already overburdened public health… Read more Audio

5:08 PM.A passenger on the Jetstar's Sunday morning flight to Dunedin said dozens of people were left without their bags after Jetstar off-loaded their luggage and didn't tell them until they reached their… Read more Audio

4:49 PM.Air New Zealand said a flight to Dunedin last Saturday was forced to off load passengers after excess fuel pushed it over the safe weight limit. Passengers have told RNZ just before take off an… Read more Audio

4:44 PM.The government has all but confirmed it will lift New Zealand's defence spending in the near term - though details like 'when' and 'by how much' are still unclear. The Prime Minister said he's open to… Read more Audio

4:37 PM.Stats NZ's boss will step down after the release of a long-awaited report into Census and COVID-19 vaccination data collected at Manurewa Marae. It found that government agencies failed to put… Read more Audio

4:30 PM.Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen about the opening weekend for Super Rugby Pacific and some univited guests on Saturday night at Eden Park. Audio

4:24 PM.A free range egg farm infected with avian bird flu in December is only half way through the de-contamination process and it will be months before chickens return to the Otago property. 200,000 birds… Read more Audio

4:15 PM.The resignations come after a request by the US Justice Department to drop a series of corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams. United States correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen. Audio

4:07 PM.Campbell Bay Tennis club members who turned up for their Wednesday matches, just found a hole in the ground where the box used to be. The honesty box was a way for non-members to pay their court fees… Read more Audio