Checkpoint for Friday 31 July 2015

6:52 PM.Mana Movement leader Hone Harawira says he's worried tasers will become the weapon of first choice for police rather than of last resort now frontline officers will be carrying them on duty; The Chief… Read more Audio

6:35 PM.Time now for Focus on Politics, where our parliamentary chief reporter, Jane Patterson, looks at how the political debate in New Zealand unfolded, during the week as the Trans Pacific Partnership… Read more Audio

6:27 PM.A Dunedin nurse is vying to become the gumboot-throwing World Champion. Audio

6:24 PM.The much-criticised last, last chance the Government's given to a failed Whangaruru charter school has delighted its nextdoor neighbour. Audio

6:20 PM.Papua New Guinea is banning all foreign advisors who work for the Government, accusing them of spying and saying they make local staff lazy. Audio

6:15 PM.The Black Caps will take the field as Aotearoa, not New Zealand, in their one-day international against Zimbabwe in Harare this weekend. Audio

6:10 PM.The lawyer for the boy who stabbed and killed Arun Kumar says Child, Youth and Family should've taken him off his drug using mother. Audio

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

5:55 PM.A shark attack at Evans Head in New South Wales this morning is more evidence that shark attacks and sightings along the coast are on the increase. Audio

5:48 PM.The Green Party says the 'Tomorrow's Schools' model is weakening Te Reo because it restricts the ability to monitor and research how it is being taught; The Chief Executive of Ngai Tahu Property, Tony… Read more Audio

5:47 PM.The police and coroner are investigating a fatal crash in the Waikato thought to be caused by a boulder on the road. Audio

5:45 PM.A childcare centre is taking action after two preschoolers managed to open an emergency exit and wander off across a four lane road. Audio

5:42 PM.The latest now on the elusive TPP, the powerhouse trade deal that so far just refuses to get signed off. Audio

5:37 PM.Kirkcaldie and Stains' fate has been sealed - the name will soon be no more. Audio

5:35 PM.Business firms are feeling even more gloomy about the economy, with confidence falling to a six-year low. Audio

5:28 PM.Papua New Guinea is banning all foreign advisors who work for the Government, accusing them of spying and saying they make local staff lazy. Audio

5:27 PM.Labour is rejecting claims of plagiarism after cutting and pasting extracts from an article in the Economist into a report without attributing the source. Audio

5:24 PM.Auckland councillors' salaries will go up next week but the increase is just a fraction of what it could have been. Audio

5:19 PM.Four drug dealers who reprocessed meth in a central Wellington apartment's kitchen are tonight beginning jail terms ranging from 17 years down to 3 and a half years. Audio

5:17 PM.A human rights lawyer fears the move to arm all police with tasers is the next step towards introducing guns to the front line. Audio

5:12 PM.Child Youth and Family was notified 20 times about the boy's family - half of those reports were about domestic violence. Audio

5:07 PM.The lawyer for the boy who stabbed and killed dairy owner Arun Kumar says Child, Youth and Family should have taken him away from his drug-using mother. Audio

5:00 PM.Killer of dairy owner given six year prison term;CYF knew about problems at boy's home;olice-wide tasers a step towards guns - human rights lawyer;Long jail term for Chews Lane drug ringleader;Pay… Read more Audio