Checkpoint for Friday 9 March 2012

6:50 PM.The Green Party Co-leader has accused the Crown and its representatives of breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, during the settling of grievances by Maori; Meanwhile New Zealand First's Maori Affairs… Read more Audio

6:40 PM.The controversial Search and Surveillance Bill will go through its final stages when Parliament resumes sitting the week after next. Audio

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

6:27 PM.Balloonists and several hundred Wairarapa locals have held a dawn service to honour the 11 people killed in the Carterton hot air balloon crash two months ago. Audio

6:22 PM.The listed retailer, Briscoe Group, has reported a record profit despite a difficult retail environment. Audio

6:18 PM.The stoush between the Speaker and the Green Party over who will pay for assistance for the Greens' deaf MP, Mojo Mathers, has been resolved. Audio

6:12 PM.Fiji's military regime has announced its plan for consultations on a new constitution as part of the run-up to elections, promised for 2014. Audio

6:05 PM.Tears of relief have been shed on the West Coast today at the news the Pike River coal mine is being sold to the state-owned company, Solid Energy. Audio

5:55 PM.A court has been told confusing safety manual's led a pilot to fly his Boeing 737 out of Queenstown in the winter of 2010, after the daylight curfew had passed. Audio

5:53 PM.The head of the debt riddled Otago Rugby Union is upping its chances of survival after winning a stay of execution for a second week running. Audio

5:52 PM.The Green Party Co-leader has accused the Crown and its representatives of breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, during the settling of grievances by Maori; Meanwhile, New Zealand First's Maori Affairs… Read more Audio

5:47 PM.The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says new details on how the accused internet pirate Kim Dotcom was let into the country show how dysfunctional the Immigration Department is. Audio

5:42 PM.The former American marine who killed New Zealand-born nurse Michelle Beets will spend the rest of his life behind bars in New South Wales. Audio

5:37 PM.New Zealand health authorities are dealing with a contaminated blood scare after Australia quarantined the blood additive albumin. Audio

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

5:27 PM.A dying Central Otago man who murdered his estranged wife has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Audio

5:25 PM.A hundred beneficiaries in Canterbury are to be taken off the dole, and employed to help patrol the streets in a bid to reassure people living in red zoned suburbs that are all but deserted. Audio

5:23 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:20 PM.The Foreign Minister Murray McCully has indicated a possible softening towards Fiji's military regime. Audio

5:15 PM.Less than a month before the Rena ran aground on Astrolabe reef off Tauranga, a similar sized container ship passed just one and a half nautical miles from the reef. Audio

5:10 PM.Bernie Monk is the spokesperson for some of the families of those killed in the explosion - he's relieved about today's news. Audio

5:05 PM.There have been tears of relief on the West Coast today at the news the Pike River coal mine is being sold to the state-owned company, Solid Energy. Audio

5:00 PM.Pike River mine being sold to Solid Energy;Families shed tears of relief about the sale;Similar sized ship cuts close to reef less than a month before Rena grounding;Are NZ and Australia planning to… Read more Audio