Checkpoint for Thursday 4 August 2011

6:52 PM.The ACT MP, Heather Roy, says she'll seek to have her voluntary student membership bill adopted as Government legislation, if that's what's needed to ensure it passes before the election. Audio

6:48 PM.A Maori Reserve Trust in Northland is claiming it owns the water which flows from springs near Whangarei; The Families' Commission has released a report on Maori success over the past 30-years, which… Read more Audio

6:45 PM.The eighth New Zealand poet laureate's been named for a post that pays 40 thousand dollars a year. Audio

6:43 PM.Details of Auckland's multi million dollar Rugby World Cup opening party have been unveiled, with a promise it'll be unlike anything New Zealand's seen before. Audio

6:35 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:28 PM.Ten hectares of prime land on Auckland's waterfront next to Tank Farm have been rejevuenated at a cost of 90 million dollars, and will officially open at the weekend. Audio

6:25 PM.A visiting futurist says New Zealand needs to shrug off its economic complacency and focus on renewable energy and better digital connection with the rest of the world. Audio

6:22 PM.The brother of a man killed by a teenage driver in a horror smash that claimed three lives wants the survivors to confront other young drivers about sticking to the rules. Audio

6:19 PM.MPs have been told that New Zealand's fishing industry is a disgrace and must be fully investigated. Audio

6:15 PM.Lights on late at night and smoking chimneys have led the Christchurch City Council to suspect some people are living dangerously in their homes in the Port Hills and in Lyttelton, despite being… Read more Audio

5:53 PM.A new kind of health worker is being created in a bid to ease the growing pressures on family doctors and nurses. Audio

5:49 PM.A group of hapu in Northland is claiming they own the water that comes from springs which partly supply Whangarei; The Government says tangata whenua will be able to start having their say on… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.China is reassuring the world its economy is in no danger of collapsing in the wake of financial crises in the United States and Europe. Audio

5:40 PM.The family of a sailor killed on a navy warship says the buck needs to stop with the Minister of Defence at the time. Audio

5:36 PM.The mayor of Auckland has unveiled his ideas for a 10-year plan for the city and they include the possibility of congestion charges to help pay for the Auckland City Rail Link. Audio

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

5:28 PM.A priest who resigned as a senior manager at AUT has appeared in court charged with defrauding the university of more than six hundred thousand dollars. Audio

5:25 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:20 PM.To Sydney, where the family at the centre of last night's hostage drama has been speaking about the ordeal. Audio

5:17 PM.The father of a sailor killed on the Canterbury warship, whose death has been found to have been preventable, says the buck needs to stop with the Minister of Defence at the time. Audio

5:13 PM.Official figures show the number of people out of work remains stubbornly high despite signs the economy is picking up. Audio

5:10 PM.We are joined now by Inland Revenue's Carolyn Tremain Audio

5:07 PM.Almost two hundred jobs are going from Inland Revenue provincial offices in what the PSA is calling a savage blow for small communities. Audio

5:00 PM.200 jobs go from IRD provincial offices, IRD speaks about the losses, Numbers out of work remain stubbornly high, Father of drowned sailor says buck stops with Phil Goff, The latest from the bomb… Read more Audio