Checkpoint for Monday 12 May 2014

6:55 PM.New Caledonia's anti-independence parties have retained a majority in the Congress in yesterday's crucial election, winning 59 percent of the seats. Audio

6:53 PM.A massive rat weighing nearly half a kilogram has been killed on what had been a predator-free island in the Bay of Islands. Audio

6:49 PM.The failed Labour candidate for Ikaroa-Rawhiti, Shane Taurima, has been cleared of any journalistic bias at Television New Zealand; A Maori Health Service has found the role of today's generation of… Read more Audio

6:39 PM.Amnesty International says it can't explain why the Nigerian military, the police and even the local state governor did not respond to warnings of a Boko Haram attack. Audio

6:36 PM.An unexpected cliff collapse in North Otago has forced the council to put in a temporary sewage pipe and to look at shifting the main road to Kakanui hundreds of metres inland. Audio

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

6:27 PM.The daughter of a couple killed in the Carterton balloon crash has told the Wellington coroner of screaming for help. Audio

6:22 PM.A self-confessed union bagman has told an Australian royal commission that he used 90-thousand-dollars of union money to buy a Melbourne home. Audio

6:20 PM.The Labour leader David Cunliffe says his party is drawing a line in the sand and has promised to cut unemployment to 4-percent if elected in September. Audio

6:16 PM.Jo Byrne lives in Flockton Basin and has organised a pressure group to get action on flood prevention. Audio

6:08 PM.Households in Christchurch repeatedly hit by floods are being told to brace for another wet winter before any prevention measures can be put in place. Audio

5:56 PM.Lawyers for internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom say spy agency documents could show their client was given permanent residency in New Zealand only to make is easier for the FBI to extradite him. Audio

5:52 PM.Thousands of Australian public servants are bracing for big job cuts in the federal Government's Budget tomorrow. Audio

5:49 PM.The failed Labour candidate for Ikaroa-Rawhiti, Shane Taurima, has been cleared of any journalistic bias at Television New Zealand; A Maori Health Service has found the role of today's generation of… Read more Audio

5:46 PM.The investigation at Television New Zealand has found no evidence of political bias in programmes involving Labour Party hopeful Shane Taurima, but that resources were misused. Audio

5:42 PM.An unexpected cliff collapse in North Otago may mean a main road has to be shifted hundreds of metres inland. Audio

5:35 PM.The deadline to recommend short term solutions for Christchurch's repeated flooding has passed with households being told they should brace themselves to go through another wet winter. Audio

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

5:26 PM.The daughter of a couple killed in the Carterton balloon crash has told the coroner of seeing a flash and hearing a crack when it hit powerlines, and then screaming for help. Audio

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

5:20 PM.A coroner has blasted New Zealand's forestry industry saying its accident rate is the worst in the world among developed countries. Audio

5:14 PM.KiwiRail has been accused of covering up several serious near-misses and accidents on its problem-plagued Interislander ferries. Audio

5:08 PM.TVNZ is being told it should ban political reporters, editors and producers from belonging to political parties and make general news staff disclose any party membership. Audio

5:00 PM.Television New Zealand is told to bring in a ban on political party memberships. KiwiRail denies covering up serious near-misses by Interisland ferries and a blasting for forestry companies at an… Read more Audio