Checkpoint for Tuesday 3 December 2013

6:55 PM.It's the world's largest living organism but over the past 30 years Australia's Great Barrier Reef has lost nearly half its coral. Audio

6:53 PM.A trial is underway of home visits to check that solo parents are not defrauding the welfare system. Audio

6:49 PM.New information collected from the Census shows a drop in the number of Te Reo speakers; In the education sector, the number of Maori achieving formal qualifications at university has soared; In other… Read more Audio

6:45 PM.A new report says drinking too much is increasing women's risk of injury, disease and abuse, but many of its recommendations have already been scuttled by the government. Audio

6:42 PM.A bylaw forcing Auckland boaties to wear lifejackets edged closer today, but the boaties fighting it say it won't necessarily save lives. Audio

6:36 PM.The family of a nine-year-old boy who drowned after his father's four-wheel drive rolled into a settling pond want to know why it took the police around two hours to attempt a rescue. Audio

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

6:25 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:22 PM.Our reporter Edward Gay has been looking at Justice Heath's decision and joins us. Audio

6:19 PM.A lawyer for Radio New Zealand has told the Employment Court that a relatively simple employment case taken by its former head of news, Lynne Snowdon, has run for 10 years fuelled by her obsession and… Read more Audio

6:16 PM.In Thailand, the police have removed barriers around their headquarters, after protesters said they were targeting the police building. Audio

6:13 PM.Officials have confirmed they're prosecuting a forestry company over one of the nine deaths in the industry this year. Audio

6:09 PM.Act Party leader John Banks will be tried on electoral fraud charges in an election year. Audio

5:54 PM.A quarter of New Zealand's population was born overseas and one in eight people living in New Zealand is Asian. Audio

5:51 PM.A coroner has found a South Otago teen killed when his quad bike went off a cliff, had never ridden one before. Audio

5:48 PM.The head of the government's electronic spy agency has appeared for the first time at a public hearing of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, where he was grilled about collecting masses… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.New information collected from the Census shows a drop in the number of Te Reo speakers; In the education sector, the number of Maori achieving formal qualifications at university has soared; In other… Read more Audio

5:42 PM.The Court of Appeal has confirmed Government offers to buy out some owners of uninsured property and vacant quake-hit land in Christchurch are illegal. Audio

5:35 PM.Parliament's Privileges Committee has released a report strongly criticising how email, phone and swipe card records were handed over to an inquiry into a leaked spy report, calling it unacceptable… Read more Audio

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

5:28 PM.Act Party leader John Banks will be tried in the Auckland District Court on electoral fraud charges in an election year. Audio

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

5:19 PM.Parliament's Privileges Committee has released a highly critical report on why email, phone and swipe card records were handed over to the David Henry inquiry, calling it unacceptable and a problem… Read more Audio

5:13 PM.An independent inquiry says the Rena oil spill stretched Maritime New Zealand to the point it buckled, exposing its lack of training, of experienced people and the right gear. Audio

5:08 PM.The Auditor General has stopped sending any new jobs to Audit New Zealand because of failings in how it kept a check on a Northland sewerage scheme that blew out by millions of dollars. Audio

5:00 PM.Serious failings at Audit NZ are linked to a woeful disaster for Kaipara ratepayers. A lack of expertise, put Maritime New Zealand under extreme pressure over the Rena oil spill and Peter Dunnes… Read more Audio