Checkpoint Podcast Options

5:39 PM.Laws governing donations to local body candidates are to be significantly overhauled, in the wake of the controversy surrounding the ACT Party leader, John Banks. Audio

5:35 PM.The Government has put the total cost of welfare beneficiaries over their potential working lives at 78 billion dollars. Audio

5:32 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:26 PM.Shares in Fisher and Paykel Appliances have jumped 12 percent after its largest shareholder launched a 700-million dollar takeover offer. Audio

5:22 PM.The stars of the London paralympics have returned home to a jubilant crowd of supporters. Audio

5:17 PM.The shotputter Valerie Adams will receive her gold medal in a public ceremony in Auckland next week. Audio

5:12 PM.Our reporter Marcus Irvine is with us. Audio

5:07 PM.Crew members on board a burning fishing boat who were forced onto life rafts have described their desperate attempts to fight the fire which broke out below decks in the early hours of this morning. Audio

5:00 PM.Sailors rescued from a burning fishing boat arrive safely in Lyttleton. Fans turn out in force to welcome home the Paralympian team and Auckland will host Valerie Adams Gold Medal ceremony. Audio

6:53 PM.A Te Puke based supplier of kiwifruit pollen has been warned by the Commerce Commission for giving customers the impression that pollen imported from Chile was actually sourced in New Zealand. Audio

6:49 PM.Te Urewera National Park will exist as a separate legal entity under the terms of a treaty settlement agreed on today by Ngai Tuhoe and the Crown; Members of the Taranaki Whanui iwi have shown strong… Read more Audio

6:37 PM.Yemen's government says it has killed one of the most important al Qaeda-linked militants to be released from Guantanamo Bay - and the man who went on to become the organisation's second in command in… Read more Audio

6:33 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:27 PM.The Green Party has launched a new campaign to end child poverty, but is likely to fail at the first hurdle. Audio

6:24 PM.Household spending has picked up, but economists say it remains modest with people concentrating on repaying debt. Audio

6:18 PM.A man who had his murder conviction quashed is seeking a judicial review of his failed compensation claim, after reports his former cell-mate, David Bain, could be paid out for the time he spent in… Read more Audio

6:14 PM.Tension is rising among the Far North's Muriwheuna tribes as a second iwi asks the Waitangi Tribunal to order the return of state-owned enterprise property. Audio

6:08 PM.A structural engineer has told the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission that illegal building techniques are being used in the Christchurch rebuild because the engineering profession is in crisis. Audio

5:54 PM.The National MP, Tau Henare, has put his hand up for the Speaker's role in Parliament, should it become vacant. Audio

5:51 PM.The Defence Minister is commissioning an independent review to see if the Air Force has learned any lessons from the fatal Iroquois helicopter crash in 2010. Audio

5:48 PM.Te Urewera National Park will exist as a separate legal entity under the terms of a treaty settlement agreed on today by Ngai Tuhoe and the Crown; Members of the Taranaki Whanui iwi have shown strong… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.The eastern Bay of Plenty iwi, Ngai Tuhoe, is to settle its past grievances with the Crown in return for a deal worth 170 million dollars and more control of Te Urewera National Park. Audio

5:40 PM.Timaru is the latest town to fall victim to a struggling world economy. Audio

5:32 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:27 PM.The Local Government Minister has tried to justify the continuing lack of democracy at the Canterbury Regional Council in the face of Opposition criticism. Audio