Checkpoint for Tuesday 10 September 2013

6:48 PM.A poll suggests support for the Maori Party through the Party Vote has halved in the past two years - slumping to 17 per cent; A member of the Board of Maori Television has resigned - saying his… Read more Audio

6:44 PM.Auckland's draft plan for the next 30 years has passed its final hurdle. Audio

6:39 PM.More now on the wrangle over who will take the helm at Maori Television. Audio

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

6:27 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:22 PM.A doctor says the deaths of two people from pneumonia have prompted him to quit giving medical services to a Christchurch home for the intellectually disabled. Audio

6:17 PM.The Prime Minister is confident Cantabrians will still get ultra fast broadband by next year, even though one of the major contractors has been forced to take cost cutting measures. Audio

6:14 PM.The first public debate on New Zealand's role in the Syrian crisis was held today in Dunedin. Audio

6:09 PM.A group of six cyclists have been hit by a car in the Waikato this afternoon and two have been air-lifted to hospital. Audio

5:55 PM.To the United States, where the world tennis number two, Rafael Nadal, has won his second US Open title and 13th Grand Slam crown, defeating world number one Novak Djokovic. Audio

5:51 PM.Two journalists who travelled on an asylum seeker boat to Australia have spoken to local police and are free to go. Audio

5:47 PM.A member of the Board of Maori Television has resigned - saying his colleagues panicked over political attacks on its process to hire a new Chief Executive; A poll suggests support for the Maori Party… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.New Zealand's universities are slipping down an international ranking, endangering their appeal to the lucrative market of students from overseas. Audio

5:38 PM.The wrangle over who will take the helm at Maori Television continues with its board at stalemate over two candidates and in the end putting off choosing a new chief executive. Audio

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

5:27 PM.A Marlborough dairy farmer and serial environmental vandal has been sentenced to home detention for driving his tractor through a wetland. Audio

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

5:20 PM.A doctor says the deaths of two people from pneumonia have prompted him to quit giving medical services to a Christchurch home for the intellectually disabled. Audio

5:17 PM.New Zealand's universities are slipping down an international ranking, endangering their appeal to students from overseas and to the best researchers. Audio

5:12 PM.President Obama has today guaranteed that he will not launch a strike on Syria if the Assad regime follows through on a diplomatic deal brokered by the Russians. Audio

5:11 PM.With us is John Law from the MetService. Audio

5:08 PM.Gale-force winds are battering the lower half of the country, bringing down trees, tearing roofs from buildings, and knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses. Audio

5:00 PM.Gale force winds lift roofs, cut power, and bring down trees in the south. Russia brokers a deal with Syria to hand over its chemical weapons and Doctor quits over fears for his safety and others at… Read more Audio