Checkpoint for Thursday 25 August 2011

6:58 PM.Improving exports are helping pull the wine industry out of its slump, but that's tempered by the high Kiwi dollar eating away at profits. Audio

6:50 PM.A collective of 12 iwi and hapu says its settlement negotiations with the Crown are intensive - with no firm date set for a final agreement; The Mana Party leader, Hone Harawira, says Maori Party… Read more Audio

6:46 PM.The Government's issued a deadline and a warning that it may step in to free up land to build houses for displaced Kaiapoi people. Audio

6:42 PM.Air New Zealand says it's losing a more than a million dollars a week on its long haul routes and will leave no stone unturned to try to stem the losses. Audio

6:39 PM.Mental health care in Hawke's Bay is set to benefit from the sale of the old Napier hospital site. Audio

6:36 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:27 PM.The stakes are being raised between the Government and the schools opposed to the national standards. Audio

6:24 PM.Air New Zealand is confident of turning around profits this year. Audio

6:20 PM.A teenager, whose mother was one of three killed in a road cycling accident near Morrinsville last year, has told an inquest he has given up riding because it's too dangerous on the road. Audio

6:15 PM.New Zealand's most polluted lake is to get an 11 million dollar clean up. Audio

6:07 PM.A thirty-year development plan for Auckland proposes more high density housing and raising the living standards in deprived communities. Audio

5:55 PM.In a land swap deal that's brought relief to two regions - the government has purchased Northland's Ngunguru landspit and sold the abandoned site of Napier hospital. Audio

5:50 PM.The Mana Party leader, Hone Harawira, says Maori Party leaders abandoned representing Te Tai Tokerau when he left them; A collective of 12 iwi and hapu says its settlement negotiations with the Crown… Read more Audio

5:47 PM.Hundreds of Taranaki rugby fans gave a rousing reception for their team as it brought the Ranfurly Shield home from Southland this afternoon. Audio

5:43 PM.In new details emerging about the firefight in Afghanistan in which a New Zealand SAS soldier was shot dead, it's being reported that vital time was lost while Afghan officials argued over who was in… Read more Audio

5:40 PM.There are signs that household spending is starting to pick up again. Audio

5:37 PM.The family of a New Zealand sports chief killed in Thailand say Interpol is now looking into it and expect a report later today. Audio

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

5:27 PM.New guidelines have been released spelling out how teachers can legally search students and their bags for drugs and weapons. Audio

5:24 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:21 PM.The Ministry of Education is moving to crush the rebellion against the national standards in reading, writing and maths. Audio

5:15 PM.Corner dairies will be barred from selling alcohol under changes to the Alcohol Reform Bill. Audio

5:12 PM.Johan Morreau has been working as a paediatrician in Rotorua for 27 years, he gave expert evidence at the inquest into Nia Glassie's death. Audio

5:08 PM.The killing of the Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie in 2007 has led a coroner to recommend a radical overhaul of the way young children are monitored by the state. Audio

5:00 PM.Nia coroner wants compulsory checks on children; Corner dairies to be barred from selling alcohol; Ministry orders rebel schools to comply with national standards; New powers for teachers; Retailers… Read more Audio