Checkpoint for Thursday 4 December 2014

6:54 PM.Scientists working in Antartica may soon have to rethink their personal grooming with new research showing how damaging chemicals in soaps, shampoos, suncreens, moisturizers and fragrances are on the… Read more Audio

6:50 PM.The body overseeing the Maori fishing quota, Te Ohu Kaimoana, says the industry needs to be revitalised so it can take advantage of the country's fish stocks and improve on its meagre returns; Maori… Read more Audio

6:46 PM.The Prime Minister's Special Envoy to the United Nations has revealed details of New Zealand's campaign to secure a seat on the Security Council. Audio

6:41 PM.The police watchdog has found officers were justified in killing a man who committed a violent home invasion, then lead officers on a four hour chase, through five police districts, while being shot… Read more Audio

6:38 PM.Relatives of a Christchurch man who died from burns inflicted by two others at a booze-fuelled house party are disgusted at the sentence handed down to his killers today. Audio

6:35 PM.A man on trial for setting fire to a Wellington storage unit repeatedly denied any involvement with the blaze, which caused millions of dollars of damage, despite the police showing him a large amount… Read more Audio

6:29 PM.The Labour Party's accusing the Government of performing a flip-flop on the prospect of setting up a register of foreign property buyers. Audio

6:24 PM.So could Wellington's Supercity repeat the mistakes of the Auckland local body merger ? Audio

6:21 PM.The New Zealand First MP and former Carterton Mayor, Ron Mark, says the Local Government Commission will have a fight on its hands to get its Wellington Super City proposal across the line. Audio

6:16 PM.Thousands of people have taken over the streets of New York, outraged at a grand jury decision not to prosecute four white police officers who used excessive force to subdue 43-year-old Eric Garner. Audio

6:11 PM.The union for train controllers fears members may be resisting attempts to change unsafe rosters that make too tired to concentrate. Audio

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

5:55 PM.Te Ohu Kaimoana, which oversees the Maori fishing quota, says the industry needs revitalising so it can take advantage of the country's fish stocks and improve on its meagre returns. The directors… Read more Audio

5:51 PM.Two body builders caught with almost 100,000 illegal party pills they planned to sell to Auckland nightclub goers have been sentenced to home detention. Audio

5:47 PM.New Zealand's largest credit union NZCU Baywide has admitted breaching the privacy of a former employee by taking a private Facebook image and distributing it to employment agencies. Audio

5:44 PM.The murderer and child molester Phillip Smith says his dignity's been stripped because he's had his hairpiece, glasses and clothing taken away from him in prison. Audio

5:39 PM.Kiwirail's admitted it should not have let a sleep deprived train controller continue to work but didn't realised just how tired he was. Audio

5:36 PM.The ACDC drummer Phil Rudd has breached his bail conditions and been ordered not take any illicit drugs. Audio

5:33 PM.The New Zealand dollar is down about a third of a US cent from this time yesterday as ongoing concerns about weaker commodity prices continue to unsettle the market Audio

5:25 PM.A report into an armed police chase, that ended with the fleeing driver being shot dead, has praised the actions of officers, but has revealed five police cars drove over road-spikes, and there were… Read more Audio

5:21 PM.Listening to that is the Lower Hutt mayor Ray Wallace. Audio

5:18 PM.Wellington and Wairarapa mayors are biting back at a proposal to amalgamate the region's nine councils into one. Audio

5:13 PM.There are angry protests in the United States in reponse to another grand jury - this time in New York - deciding not to charge a white police officer who used a chokehold on an unarmed black man who… Read more Audio

5:07 PM.A top safety investigator has told Kiwirail it must take urgent action to stop sleep deprived train controllers making bad calls that could cost lives. Audio

5:00 PM.Sleep deprived train controllers making bad calls that could cost lives. New protests in the US over the death of another unarmed black man at the hands of police and Supersizing Wellington. Audio