Checkpoint for Tuesday 18 October 2011

6:47 PM.The Council of Christian Social Services is encouraging Maori to make income inequality a general election issue; A Bay of Plenty hapu whose marae is threatened by flooding from the Waikato river, has… Read more Audio

6:45 PM.A study has revealed that asthma is on the decline amongst children and young people in Australia. Audio

6:42 PM.The Police Association has released its wish list for future Government policies on law and order. Audio

6:37 PM.Kenyan tanks have pushed 80 kilometres into Somalia while planes are also bombing suspected terrorist positions in the first stage of a campaign to destroy the Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab. Audio

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

6:25 PM.Cautious consumers are more likely to dip into their savings to pay for Christmas expenses this year, than reach for their credit cards. Audio

6:22 PM.Labour is pledging to introduce industry-wide minimum pay and conditions if it comes to power at November's general election. Audio

6:19 PM.Patients with a rare degenerative disease went to Parliament today to ask the Prime Minister to fund an expensive life-saving drug. Audio

6:16 PM.Renewed efforts to restore confidence in the Euro are underway. Audio

6:13 PM.The government is cutting back its scrutiny of school teachers' marking of NCEA internal assessments. Audio

6:10 PM.The director of the building industry's research centre (BRANZ) is calling for buildings that are not earthquake safe to be stickered, saying people deserve to know what they are walking into. Audio

6:07 PM.Salvagers working on the grounded Rena are extremely frustrated they could not remove any oil off the vessel today. Audio

5:56 PM.The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority is now double checking all of its paperwork following fears earthquake rubble dumped in a Christchurch land fill could have been contaminated by asbestos. Audio

5:54 PM.People in Bangkok are fighting a losing battle against monsoon floodwaters which are bearing down on the city. Audio

5:50 PM.The oil giant BP has accepted an out-of-court settlement of four billion dollars with Anadarko Petroleum over the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year. Audio

5:47 PM.A Bay of Plenty hapu has decided not to move its marae, which has been sinking for the past 19 years due to underground steam extraction by a nearby power station; The Council of Christian Social… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.A woman of a relative who died in the CTV building in the February earthquake says more needs to be done to identify unknown faultlines before rebuilding work can start in Christchurch. Audio

5:39 PM.The Prime Minister, John Key, has been meeting with members of the city's Chamber of Commerce today and he says business owners aren't asking for financial help yet. Audio

5:35 PM.Oil from the grounded container ship has been seen on White Island and it's believed debris has washed ashore as far as East Cape. Audio

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

5:22 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:18 PM.The National Party intends introducing a soft form of compulsory savings if it is re-elected next month. Audio

5:13 PM.A military Court of Inquiry into the death of an Air Force aerobatic pilot has found he had a history of flying dangerously but no one picked it up. Audio

5:10 PM.The one million dollars being put towards the clean up by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, which chartered the Rena, is being welcomed by the Prime Minister, John Key. Audio

5:07 PM.The Mediterranean Shipping Company is pledging a million dollars to help clean up the oil that's poured into the Bay of Plenty off the container ship it chartered from the Greek owners. Audio

5:00 PM.No oil has been pumped off Rena today but more has spilled into the sea. An Air Force pilot who crashed his plane and died had a history of flying dangerously and National's plan to get more workers… Read more Audio