Checkpoint for Thursday 30 September 2010

6:56 PM.The grim loo status for Kaiapoi residents may be about to change thanks to a 14-year-old girl with an eye for interior design. Audio

6:49 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

6:46 PM.The life expectancy of New Zealanders is continuing to increase, - but its rising at a far slower rate than most developed countries. Audio

6:36 PM.There's bad news for commuters in the Capital tonight, following a collision involving two trains north of Wellington. Audio

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

6:25 PM.New York has been battling bedbugs - and now the Middle Atlantic states have a larger, smellier pest to contend with. Audio

6:20 PM.Building consents have fallen to their lowest level in a year. They're down by a seasonally-adjusted 18 percent in August, compared to the previous month. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia's New… Read more Audio

6:18 PM.Climate scientists are predicting above average temperatures for the whole country, going into summer, with the current La Nina conditions firmly in place. Audio

6:15 PM.The Manukau City Council says it won't pay redundancy to its departing chief executive - responding to allegations of golden handshakes in the super city reforms. Audio

6:10 PM.The Attorney General says union demands for a collective agreement for actors in the film, 'The Hobbit', are potentially anti-competitive and could breach the Commerce Act. Audio

6:06 PM.A Nigerian man who smuggled drugs into the United Kingdom worked for more than a year as a trainee psychiatrist by the Canterbury District Health Board. Audio

5:51 PM.News from the Waatea team. Audio

5:47 PM.The life expectancy of New Zealanders is continuing to increase, but its rising at a far slower rate than most developed countries. Audio

5:43 PM.Australia's new parliament has had it's first full sitting day and it took only a couple of hours for Julia Gillard's new government to lose a floor vote, something that hasn't happened since the… Read more Audio

5:39 PM.Samoa is today remembering the tsunami that one year ago killed 186 people and swept away their homes and livelihoods. Audio

5:37 PM.Our reporter Nick Butcher is out by the train wrecks. Audio

5:33 PM.An update from the RNZ sports team. Audio

5:28 PM.The tiny West Coast town of Reefton is buzzing with the news that a multi millionaire could be living within its midst. Audio

5:24 PM.New figures released today show the core state sector has shrunk by more than two-thousand staff since National took office in 2008. Audio

5:21 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:17 PM.Our Health Correspondent, Karen Brown, has new information on the case - she's with us. Audio

5:13 PM.A District Health Board which employed a convicted drug smuggler from Nigeria to work as a doctor says he lied on his application to work here and that type of deception is can be very difficult to… Read more Audio

5:10 PM.Our reporter Nick Butcher is out at one of the road blocks. Audio

5:06 PM.There are delays tonight for commuters in the Wellington region as slips and flooding cause road and rail closures. Audio

5:00 PM.Checkpoint Top Stories for Thursday 30 September 2010. Audio