Checkpoint for Wednesday 17 September 2014

6:49 PM.The National Party says it will trial a scheme in which iwi would control benefits paid to their rangatahi if it is re-elected into Government; The Labour leader, David Cunliffe, says his party will… Read more Audio

6:46 PM.The leaders of the Labour and Green parties were grilled at Auckland University today over which of the two parties a left-leaning voter should choose. Audio

6:43 PM.As good as it gets - that's the verdict of many analysts about the smaller gap between what the country earned and spent internationally. Audio

6:39 PM.Yachts arriving in Northland over the next few months will be scrutinised more thoroughly after two Queensland fruit flys were found in Whangarei earlier this year. Audio

6:36 PM.The American investigative journalist, Glenn Greenwald, is sticking to his guns and says the evidence of mass surveillance of New Zealanders is conclusive. Audio

6:35 PM.The New Zealand dollar gained half-a-US-cent overnight, but then resumed its downward slide. Audio

6:26 PM.Latest research shows signficant falls in new cases of Alzheimers in America, Britain and Germany. Audio

6:22 PM.A farming family say a keen worker turned into a nightmare within just a few days and they were saved by having signed a contract. Audio

6:17 PM.The polls have just closed in Fiji's first election in eight years. Audio

6:14 PM.A man who unleashed a brutal assault on a police officer has been found not guilty of attempted murder by a jury in Auckland a short time ago. Audio

6:11 PM.Support for the National Party remains strong in Radio New Zealand's poll of polls with the party recording average support 48-point-five percent across the previous four polls. Audio

6:06 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:55 PM.The National Party says it would trial a scheme in which iwi would control benefits paid to their rangatahi, if it gets back into government. But a northern tribe says it should not take on the… Read more Audio

5:50 PM.The veracity of Shakespeare's immortal lines has been confirmed in a new study of the skeleton of that most reviled of English kings Richard the Third. Audio

5:45 PM.The owners of Flock Hill station deny they've evicted a tourist company off their land and instead have simply been in negotiations over an access fee. Audio

5:43 PM.Sewage has poured into Bluff Harbour today from a pipe that burst at the main pumping station. Audio

5:37 PM.The National Party says it will give beneficiaries who can't hold down a job about a thousand dollars, if they stay in work for a certain amount of time. Audio

5:34 PM.The New Zealand dollar gained half-a-US-cent overnight, but then resumed its downward slide. Audio

5:24 PM.Steven Churchis was just 17 years old, living on the streets of Auckland, and was full of beer when he attacked a homeless man and left him to die in an alleyway. Audio

5:20 PM.President Obama's top military adviser has opened the door to sending ground troops to Iraq something the President has been at pains to rule out. Audio

5:17 PM.The speed limit on some roads is likely to rise to 110 kilometres an hour but on others drivers will have to put the brakes on. Audio

5:13 PM.Many Fijian voters have stood for hours in the hot sun to vote for the first time in 8 years, in an historic poll. Audio

5:10 PM.Our political editor Brent Edwards is with us. Audio

5:07 PM.The Prime Minister John Key has conceded New Zealanders may well be subject to mass surveillance but says what's important is that it's not done by the GCSB. Audio

5:00 PM.New Zealanders may be under mass surveillance but not by the GCSB. Fijians turn out in force to vote in today's historic election and - accelerating some speed limits while putting the brakes on… Read more Audio