Checkpoint for Monday 18 May 2015

6:49 PM.A Maori prison reform advocate says the Government is avoiding racial issues in New Zealand and needs to take responsibility for the problem; An Auckland University academic says looking… Read more Audio

6:46 PM.A woman who lost her three farms in Taranaki when the interest rate swaps turned sour is calling on farmers to join in joint legal action against the big banks. Audio

6:39 PM.To Australia and the overheated housing market in its big cities, a sobering warning's just been delivered by the head of the country's corporate regulator. Audio

6:36 PM.Businesses Franz Josef say new earthquake building restrictions are just a council move to shield it from liability, not to save lives. Audio

6:28 PM.Indonesian authorities are warning they will soon run out of money and food for the hundreds of migrants who were rescued by fishermen last week. Audio

6:22 PM.A dentist has been ordered to apologise in writing to an eleven year old girl for removing three baby teeth without consent. Audio

6:18 PM.Auckland Council is trying to contact those families with children's graves at the site. Audio

6:12 PM.Real-estate professionals say Chinese investors may now delay buying houses even though tighter tax rules probably won't impinge directly on most of them. Audio

6:09 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:56 PM.Shop owners say dairies could go bust if new public health proposals are adopted, to restrict sales of junk food to schoolchildren. Audio

5:53 PM.A Māori prison reform advocate says the Government is avoiding racial issues in New Zealand and needs to take responsibility for the problem. Audio

5:52 PM.In news just to hand, the police say they have CCTV footage of a man tampering with graves at the Papakura Cemetery on Saturday night. Audio

5:50 PM.An inquiry's found a woman died in Wellington Hospital after waiting too long for treatment. Audio

5:46 PM.Nine people have been killed in a three way biker gang shootout in the Texas city of Waco. Audio

5:39 PM.A former top official at Inland Revenue is warning the new so-called bright line tax test for property investors might seem clear cut but will become enormously complicated. Audio

5:36 PM.A lawyer for the court says the man accused of raping and murdering Blessie Gotingco had a string of family tragedies and was hooked on methamphetamine at the time she went missing. Audio

5:34 PM.The New Zealand dollar lost some ground earlier today, after the government announced plans to tighten up its property investment tax rules, in an effort to cool housing demand in Auckland. Audio

5:26 PM.Franz Josef businesses and homes set up along the main alpine fault are about to get squeezed, under a planning change that bans their expansion. Audio

5:24 PM.A Polish gardener is facing prosecution after trying to smuggle plants in his underpants into the country. Audio

5:20 PM.The police say all evidence points to eleven year old Mike Zhao-Beckenridge and his stepfather being in the car when it went over a cliff in the Catlins, despite no human remains being found. Audio

5:17 PM.Distressed families have been returning to their dead children's graves, after the desecration of a cemetery in South Auckland. Audio

5:12 PM.Shane Allen who you've just heard in that report, has 700-thousand dollars invested in two Auckland apartments. Audio

5:08 PM.Professional property investors say a tightening up of property taxes should cool down Auckland's rampant housing market. Audio

5:00 PM.Cooling down Auckland's runaway housing market. A Polish gardener caught smuggling plants in his underpants and distressed families visit descecrated graves in Auckland. Audio