Checkpoint for Thursday 6 October 2011

6:49 PM.More than three hundred support staff at Christchurch schools could be laid off because of cuts to operational grants. Audio

6:45 PM.A driving force in the national resurgence of Kaupapa Waka, an initiative that looks to teach such knowledge as waka history and traditional navigation, has died; The Whanganui iwi says complaints… Read more Audio

6:39 PM.The Wellington City Council is refusing to back the Transport Agency's planned flyover to ease congestion around the Basin Reserve cricket ground, saying it wants a tunnel instead. Audio

6:36 PM.Rugby officials say the high injury toll on World Cup players can be put down to the long season, the immense physicality of the game in the professional era, and excessive training. Audio

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

6:24 PM.Sarah Palin has ruled out running for the US presidency in 2012 -ending months of speculation. Audio

6:19 PM.The head of the stock exchange, Mark Weldon will step down early next year, after nearly a decade in the role. Audio

6:17 PM.The first prison term has been handed down for illegal whitebaiting, to an Opotiki man who also threatened DOC rangers. Audio

6:08 PM.The risk of the cargo ship grounded off Tauranga breaking up and spilling even more oil is being flagged. Audio

5:56 PM.With more than five-thousand goals under her belt already, one of netball's greats will make history tonight when she takes the court for her 200th test. Audio

5:53 PM.A joint US New Zealand mercy mission taking water to drought-hit Tokelau is about to cast off. Audio

5:46 PM.The Whanganui river iwi says complaints about new welcoming signs to the city, show some people still think Maori are second-class citizens; A driving force in the national resurgence of Kaupapa Waka… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.MPs face an embarrassing pay rise just a week or two before the election and are already saying they do not need it. Audio

5:41 PM.There are fresh calls for a boost to the minimum wage because there has been the smallest rise in hourly earnings in more than a decade. Audio

5:37 PM.Salvage companies are expecting a long and difficult job trying to refloat the container ship stuck on a reef off Tauranga. Audio

5:35 PM.A former chief executive at Auckland University of Technology has been sentenced to three years two months jail for stealing more than 650 thousand dollars from the institution. Audio

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

5:27 PM.Parliament has just passed the covert police surveillance bill under urgency. Audio

5:25 PM.A SAS trooper who died in Afghanistan last week has been remembered by family, friends and colleagues at a service in Auckland. Audio

5:23 PM.The Cook Strait ferry Aratere, which is fresh back from a costly re-fit, has run into engine problems on Wellington Harbour today. Audio

5:20 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:18 PM.Unions are hopeful the Spanish contractor will give some work to Dunedin's Hillside rail workshop, which has recently shed staff because of a drop-off in work. Audio

5:12 PM.Auckland's fancy new fleet of electric commuter trains is to be built in Spain, following the signing of a half billion dollar contract this afternoon Audio

5:08 PM.The oil slick spreading out from the grounded container ship has claimed its first wildlife victims, with four birds found dead. Audio

5:00 PM.A spreading oil slick off Tauranga claims its first wildlife victims. New Zealand's biggest ever commuter train contract is signed and Parliament has just passed the covert police surveillance bill… Read more Audio