Checkpoint for Tuesday 16 December 2014

6:56 PM.The Chief Ombudsman wants to find out if public servants are fobbing off and stonewalling requests from the public and media for official information. Audio

6:53 PM.The families of nine people killed in the attack on the Sandy Hook primary school in the United States are suing the makers of the military style rifle the gunman used. Audio

6:49 PM.The Climate Change Minister has reprimanded the Climate Change Iwi Leaders Group, over its representative at the United Nations Climate Change meeting in Peru; Local Government New Zealand is backing… Read more Audio

6:43 PM.Steve Hansen has signed on as All Blacks coach till 2017, after talking to senior players about it. Audio

6:41 PM.The Government denies it's underfunding the health sector, as doctors and nurses sound alarms over the possibility of further budget pressure. Audio

6:36 PM.A former New Zealand police negotator says the deaths of two of the hostages in the Sydney siege will have a terrible impact on everyone, including the New South Wales hostage negotiation team. Audio

6:28 PM.One Christchurch local has told regional councillors that the smell for a nearby gelatin factory makes her want to vomit and stops her from going outside. Audio

6:25 PM.A manhunt is underway in Pennsylvania following shootings in three separate locations that have left six people dead. Audio

6:22 PM.The Prime Minister is being accused of political opportunism by linking the Sydney siege and New Zealand's recently toughened anti-terrorism laws. Audio

6:12 PM.Australia is on high alert after heavily armed police stormed a Sydney cafe early today, freeing most of the 17 hostages held there, though two were killed. Audio

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

5:56 PM.Local Government New Zealand is backing demands made by Northland Regional Councillor and former MP Dover Samuels that Māori landowners pay their rates. Audio

5:54 PM.The convicted murderer and paedophile Phillip John Smith will stand trial in Auckland for charges relating to his trip to Brazil. Audio

5:50 PM.The Labour Party says the Foreign Affairs Minister, is ducking for cover by refusing to release the report into the Malaysian diplomat botch up, until next year. Audio

5:43 PM.The Government is being accused of cynically manipulating the books, so it can acheive its promised goal of reaching surplus this year. Audio

5:40 PM.Police have arrested dozens of Headhunter gang members and seized more than 17 million dollars in cash, drugs and assets after a sting in the Upper North Island. Audio

5:37 PM.A High Court judge has stopped a woman from taking her children to Jehovah's Witness meetings or church services. Audio

5:35 PM.The New Zealand dollar has been feeling the pressure of a big movements in the Russian rouble, coupled with continued weakness in oil prices. Audio

5:27 PM.The Finance Minister is stubbornly confident the Government can return the books to surplus this financial year, despite predictions to the contrary by the Treasury. Audio

5:23 PM.Thousands of people have come to Martin Place throughout the day, stopping to place flowers and sign condolence books. Audio

5:17 PM.The New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn says security's being beefed up around Sydney. Audio

5:13 PM.Monis was sentenced to 300 hours community service in September last year for offensive letters he sent to the families of seven Australian soldiers killed in Iraq and Afganistan. Audio

5:10 PM.Monis forced some of the hostages to appear in online videos where they make demands for him, speaking of bombs and Islamic State, and referring to Monis as "the brother". Audio

5:08 PM.Details are emerging from the Sydney siege about how a cafe manager wrestled with the mentally unstable gunman, giving time for other hostages to escape, before he was shot dead. Audio

5:00 PM.Sydney's cafe manager, killed in the hostage seige is hailed a hero. Floral tributes fill Martin Place and getting the government books back in black. Audio