Checkpoint for Wednesday 15 October 2014

6:49 PM.The new funding agency for Whanau Ora services in the North Island has joined Tariana Turia in criticising Te Puni Kokiri for its rollout of the policy; A forum on the state of water in Aotearoa… Read more Audio

6:44 PM.Victims of a scam involvng New Zealand's biggest telecommunications company are unlikely to get any money back. Audio

6:41 PM.A woman who was sexually abused when she was 11 is extremely relieved the man who assaulted her was denied parole at Rolleston Prison today. Audio

6:38 PM.In New South Wales crews are still working to restore electricity after a severe storm hit parts of the state, including Sydney. Audio

6:35 PM.A Chinese tourist had her name scrubbed from a rental car contract and her passenger took over, after driving erratically - even with police in her rearview mirror - near Queenstown today. Audio

6:34 PM.New Zealand shares rose today, with the benchmark Top 50 Index gaining 17 points, or a third of percent, to 5163 points. Audio

6:27 PM.A French food company has gone to the Court of Appeal to overturn a block on it seeking multi-million-dollar damages from Fonterra over the botulism scare. Audio

6:24 PM.A new report say not only is New Zealand first in the world for becoming wealthier, but it's among a very select group of just two countries where there's been a rapid fall in inequality since 2007. Audio

6:21 PM.The family of a Taranaki man who systematically raped and beat two of his partners over almost 20 years is overjoyed he may never leave jail. Audio

6:15 PM.The Labour Party isn't buying assurances from the Prime Minister, that New Zealand's presence at the meeting of senior international military commanders is business as usual. Audio

6:07 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:58 PM.Australia's Richard Flanagan has won the prestigious Man Booker Prize. Audio

5:55 PM.Three critically ill turtles are getting the special treatment in Auckland after they were found starving to death off Northland's west coast. Audio

5:52 PM.The Crown says the four men accused of murdering a North Otago farm worker had intended to burgle or rob him. Audio

5:48 PM.Two groups which run Whanau Ora have joined in on the criticism of Te Puni Kokiri, over its management of the policy. The former Minister for Whanau Ora, Tariana Turia, who implemented the programme… Read more Audio

5:45 PM.The diaries of an Auckland restaurateur have proved his undoing - providing irrefutable evidence he'd dodged paying a million dollars in tax. Audio

5:42 PM.Half the members of a trust that owns a large Northland forest have had their bank accounts frozen after its funds dwindled from 1 million dollars to 13 dollars. Audio

5:40 PM.A man's body has been recovered in a search for a missing boat and the two fishermen on board in the Kawau area north of Auckland. Audio

5:37 PM.To Britain now, where the police are extraditing from Malta a 76-year-old paedophile they want to question about the disappearance of the then 3-year-old toddler Madeleine McCann. Audio

5:34 PM.New Zealand shares rose today, with the benchmark Top 50 Index gaining 17 points, or a third of percent, to 5163 points. Audio

5:27 PM.Community groups in the Bay of Islands community groups are furious at moves to let a boat yard owner use a coastal reserve for his business. Audio

5:24 PM.Tensions are rising again in Hong Kong as a video circulates of police beating up a pro-democracy demonstrator. Audio

5:21 PM.The Prime Minister is backing official advice not to spend any more money on tackling poverty, but to change family assistance funding instead. Audio

5:17 PM.A police officer who dealt in P, took a bribe and illegally used the force's computer database has admitted his crimes. Audio

5:09 PM.And while Defence and John Key say the meeting is nothing out of the ordinary our Washington correspondent Simon Marks says that is certainly not the way the White House is describing it. Audio

5:07 PM.The Prime Minister is downplaying New Zealand's presence at a high level defence meeting in Washington on defeating Islamic State saying this country is still not part of a US-led military coalition. Audio

5:00 PM.A top military meeting in Washington - why was NZ invited ?? A police officer admits dealing in P, and taking a bribe and tensions rise in Hong Kong as police pepper spray and attack protesters. Audio