Checkpoint for Wednesday 26 February 2014

6:47 PM.Maori unionist Matt McCarten has been made the new Labour Party Chief of Staff; A long-time environmentalist for Lake Horowhenua says a million dollars isn't enough to clean up one of the country's… Read more Audio

6:42 PM.American health regulators are holding hearings into a new fertility technique that could eventually create babies from the DNA of three people. Audio

6:39 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:28 PM.Mighty River Power is taking a much more conciliatory attitude towards the Labour and Greens' electricity policies than most of the rest of its industry. Audio

6:22 PM.The online currency, Bitcoin, has been dealt a blow after one of its biggest exchange companies, has shut down and virtually disappeared. Audio

6:18 PM.A select committee has heard that ratepayers will face millions of dollars of new costs if the law is changed to restrict how the fees property developers pay are used. Audio

6:13 PM.A powerboat race among calving dolphins is going ahead in the Bay of Islands despite DOC saying a protection plan isn't good enough. Audio

6:10 PM.The sale will probably be in the second half of March, with a sharemarket listing in mid-April. Audio

5:56 PM.An illegal shack, which caused much controversy when it first materialised on Nelson's historic Boulder Bank, has now morphed into a houseboat. Audio

5:49 PM.A long-time environmentalist for Lake Horowhenua says a million dollar restoration fund it isn't enough to clean up one of the country's most polluted lakes; Maori unionist Matt McCarten has been made… Read more Audio

5:46 PM.In Australia, the Electoral Commission has confirmed thousands of people voted more than once in the 2013 election, with one person voting 15 times. Audio

5:42 PM.John Key says Labour will blast off to the hard left now it has appointed a former Alliance Party president as its new chief of staff. Audio

5:36 PM.Manufacturers say people have an outdated idea of what they do - and this may be stopping them attracting highly skilled workers and capital. Audio

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

5:29 PM.The police investigating cocaine found in a shipping container in Christchurch this month say it wasn't destined for New Zealand. Audio

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

5:22 PM.More details are coming to light about an Afghan interpreter who says he escaped being executed by the Taleban - that he was waterboarded and hung from the ceiling during his abduction. Audio

5:18 PM.New Zealand Post is closing its Petone call centre with the loss of 44 jobs and has told 70 finance workers today their jobs are in limbo. Audio

5:15 PM.Leaked documents show the Government's spy agency has been schooled in how to deny, disrupt, degrade and defeat online activism. Audio

5:12 PM.Listening to that is our economics correspondent, Patrick Omeara. Audio

5:08 PM.In an attempt to rekindle investor interest in asset sales, the Government will consider selling a smaller stake in Genesis Energy, in order to get a better price. Audio

5:00 PM.The government attempts to rekindel investor interest in asset sales. Hacktivism - how spies disrupt, degrade and decredit activism online and police investigating cocaine found in a shipping… Read more Audio