Checkpoint for Friday 1 June 2012

6:54 PM.The Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon, says the Council has taken on board concerns by Maori landowners, about rates increasing by 50 per cent in the Ruatoria area, to help pay for a flood protection scheme… Read more Audio

6:37 PM.The Green Party is holding its AGM in Silverstream this weekend and will be looking at how it can keep the momentum going after its best election result ever, of just over 11 percent of party votes… Read more Audio

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

6:25 PM.An Auckland business group says the sex industry's Chow Brothers were probably trying to avoid embarrassment and the glare of public scrutiny over their mega brothel proposal. Audio

6:22 PM.In business news, Taranaki-based TSB Bank is hoping to lure more customers to bank with it, after its annual profit rose by a fifth. Audio

6:18 PM.The Maori Party says it is disappointed it was not told before the Budget about the Government's controversial new policy for teacher pupil ratios. Audio

6:12 PM.The first man convicted for wearing war medals he never earned is understood to still be on his local community board, despite Otaki people saying he's divided the town. Audio

6:07 PM.A Rimutaka prison guard is in hospital tonight with serious head injuries after being savagely attacked at the Upper Hutt jail. Audio

5:56 PM.Ceremony, colour and music have marked the first day of celebrations in Samoa to celebrate fifty years of independence from New Zealand. Audio

5:52 PM.Worried business groups say a union's proposal to have guarantees of earthquake building safety written into collective employment contracts is a step too far. Audio

5:48 PM.The south Waikato iwi, Ngati Raukawa has resolved disputes with neighbouring tribes on overlapping land claims - clearing the way to sign a Deed of Settlement; The Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon, says the… Read more Audio

5:47 PM.A coroner is questioning how post-mortems are carried out in Fiji, after a Blenheim woman who died on her honeymoon was returned to New Zealand without her vital organs. Audio

5:41 PM.The purchasing power of the country's exports earnings has had its biggest quarterly fall in nearly three years. Audio

5:37 PM.Fonterra is promising it won't allow itself to be radically reorganised on the basis of a simple 50 percent plus majority in the ballot on farmer trading. Audio

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

5:29 PM.Traffic in central Auckland has been disrupted by students protesting against last week's Budget. Audio

5:26 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:23 PM.Lesley Fenton responds to the coroner's comments. Audio

5:20 PM.A coroner is imploring the Government to criminalise cyber bullying, following the death of a Rotorua teenager who received text messages described as vicious and extraordinarily abusive. Audio

5:15 PM.A New Zealand citizen is under arrest in South Korea on charges of spying for North Korea. Audio

5:08 PM.A Rimutaka Prison guard and an inmate are in hospital with serious injuries tonight after a beating by a group of prisoners. Audio

5:00 PM.Guard and inmate seriously injured in prison assault; NZ citizen arrested on spying charges in South Korea; coroner wants crackdown on cyber bullying; protest disrupts Auckland traffic; and Fonterra… Read more Audio