Checkpoint for Monday 15 December 2014

6:50 PM.An appeal by a former board member of Te Kohanaga Reo National Trust has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal; A lawyer for a Maori law centre is calling for the Government to fund efforts to track… Read more Audio

6:43 PM.Auckland Transport is investigating the weekend's brawl at the main train station that led to chaos at a string of stations, and tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Audio

6:38 PM.About fifty Auckland hospital food workers walked off the job today in an angry protest at hotly debated changes to hospital food services. Audio

6:36 PM.The Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has met his National Security Committee about the hostage crisis in Sydney. Audio

6:27 PM.In the lead-up to Christmas, people are spending 6-percent more on books and video games than the same time last year. Audio

6:24 PM.Some principals say their schools have been wrongly included in the Government's new flagship education plan. Audio

6:20 PM.Security expert Tony Loughran from Zero Risk International is also at Martin Place. Audio

6:14 PM.We now cross to Sydney's Martin place for the latest on this hostage crisis with the ABC's Jamelle Wells. Audio

6:11 PM.Three men have fled from the cafe where a gunman is holding hostages in a standoff in central Sydney with heavily armed police and snipers. Audio

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

5:55 PM.Fifty-nine thousand people who have no idea they're entitled to shares in Maori land, are owed five million dollars, which is being managed by the Maori Trustee, Te Tumu Paeroa. Audio

5:53 PM.Returning to Sydney and reports of three people fleeing from the building housing the Lindt cafe. Audio

5:50 PM.The Tauranga City Council says ITS building is most likely a leaky one after finding toxic mould in several parts of the workplace, prompting the evacuation of two hundred staff. Audio

5:47 PM.The Kapiti mayor has called in the police and tightened security after death threats to council staff over a dangerous dog that's about to be put down. Audio

5:46 PM.Three people have escaped from the Cafe. Audio

5:42 PM.Greg Barton is an expert in counter-terrorism from Australia's Monash University. Audio

5:38 PM.Returning to Sydney where heavily armed police have cordoned off parts of the CBD where one or more gunmen have taken what could be dozens of hostages in The Lindt Cafe in Martin Place. Audio

5:35 PM.The New Zealand dollar is down almost half a US cent since late Friday, led down by a drop in long-term interest rates. Audio

5:22 PM.Auckland Transport is investigating a brawl at the main train station that led to chaos at a string of other stations and tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Audio

5:18 PM.Muslim leaders in Sydney have been meeting to see if they can help even though it's not clear who's behind the siege. Audio

5:14 PM.Channel Seven's Mike Duffy was one of the reporters to be evacuated from the media company's Martin Place headquarters. Audio

5:11 PM.Natasha Nicholls is one of hundreds of workers who were told not to leave their buildings Audio

5:07 PM.The siege at a central Sydney cafe is entering its sixth hour with a gunman still holding hostages surrounded by dozens of police and snipers who've locked-down city streets. Audio

5:00 PM.The Sydney hostage crisis and Auckland's mayor calls for an urgent report into the weekend's train violence. Audio