Checkpoint for Wednesday 18 September 2013

6:49 PM.The human rights lawyer and Mana Party President, Annette Sykes, says the competitive model of health delivery is failing Maori; A group of Maori fighting for rights to the radio spectrum have lost… Read more Audio

6:40 PM.The Whangarei District Council has chosen not to suspend its chief executive over his dealings with two staff who became involved in council elections. Audio

6:32 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:28 PM.Fonterra's latest Global Dairy Trade auction is a double milestone for the platform. Audio

6:24 PM.In Colorado, the massive floodwaters that have swept through parts of the state have also hit an old nuclear weapons plant that was once the most contaminated site in the country. Audio

6:17 PM.The campervan with two missing Canadians in it appears to have been swept off a West Coast highway by a landslide and smashed up in the flooded Haast River. Audio

6:14 PM.More now on the tractor protest in Hawke's Bay, against the regional council's management of water. Audio

6:13 PM.The Labour Party MP, Andrew Little, says the Government is picking a battle if it tries to ban party faithful wearing rosettes or ribbons on election day. Audio

6:09 PM.To Australia, where the prime minister Tony Abbott and his ministry have been sworn in at Government House in Canberra. Audio

5:58 PM.Sailing fans are hoping high winds won't take away the chances of a Team New Zealand victory in the America's Cup tomorrow. Audio

5:55 PM.The cost of fixing the school payroll system, Novopay, has risen to 28-million-dollars with the Government setting aside another six-million-dollars. Audio

5:52 PM.The former president of the Nurses Organisation has been found guilty of professional misconduct for compromising the safety of 87 patients. Audio

5:49 PM.Ngati Kahungunu says a Department of Conservation paper - that found the Hawke's Bay's Ruataniwha Dam could make the Tukituki River toxic - shows public servants are with-holding useful information… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.The Labour Party leader, David Cunliffe, has mounted a strong attack on the Government in his first general debate speech in Parliament this afternoon. Audio

5:42 PM.A Jury has been reminded of the severe beatings meted out to a woman accused of fatally stabbing her partner in January this year. Audio

5:38 PM.The United Nations has been told of "unspeakable atrocities" inflicted on political prisoners in North Korea, with testimony from survivors who saw babies drowned or had to survive by eating grass and… Read more Audio

5:35 PM.The Justice Minister has given an assurance that no one's DNA will be passed to the United States as part of a data exchange agreement between the two countries. Audio

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

5:26 PM.The Government has defended its decision to intervene in the economy on two occasions - saying it's about protecting jobs. Audio

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

5:20 PM.The US Navy has ordered a full review of security at its bases throughout the United States, following Monday's mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard that left 12 people plus the gunman dead. Audio

5:17 PM.Hundreds of tractors chugged into a field between Hastings and Havelock North for a lunchtime protest against the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's management of water. Audio

5:13 PM.The Government has unveiled eight new areas for oil exploration. Audio

5:11 PM.Tamara Sagadore is a friend of Joanna Lam - she says it's a very difficult time. Audio

5:07 PM.The campervan with two missing Canadians in it appears to have been swept off the Haast highway by a landslide and smashed to pieces in the raging flooded river. Audio

5:00 PM.Police searching for a Canadian couple find the wreckage of their rental van down a steep gorge. The Government has unveiled eight new areas for oil exploration and 300 tractors rally in anti Hawke's… Read more Audio