Checkpoint for Friday 10 July 2020

6:20 PM.Gisborne farmers are ecstatic that a large sheep and cattle station in Tolaga Bay - which has just changed hands for the first time in nearly half a century - will not be turned into forestry.  Audio

6:14 PM.Australia is halving the number of international arrivals it will allow back into the country to ease pressure on isolation facilities across the Tasman. The Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the… Read more Audio

6:06 PM.Despite giving public assurances the case was closed, it turns out National Leader Todd Muller knew one of his frontbench MPs had also been leaked confidential Covid-19 patient data. MP Michael… Read more Audio

5:54 PM.Southland locals are worried a lack of funding for beach clean-ups might result in garbage building up in Fiordland's waters.  Read more Video, Audio

5:43 PM.A name change more than 20 years ago is putting the 120-year history of horse racing in New Plymouth in doubt. The council says Taranaki Racing Incorporated has been operating illegally at its central… Read more Audio

5:38 PM.The closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter has raised concerns over what it will mean for the thousands of tonnes of potentially toxic waste stored in the small Southland town of Mataura.  Audio

5:33 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:20 PM.The Auckland list MP has long faced claims about his links to the Chinese Communist Party - even accusations of being a spy. Jian Yang has always denied such claims - but some are today questioning… Read more Video, Audio

5:16 PM.A man in his fifties has been arrested after he escaped a managed isolation facility in Hamilton to visit a liquor shop. He has tested negative for Covid-19 - after arriving from Sydney on the first… Read more Audio

5:07 PM.Senior National party MP Michael Woodhouse is the latest to be drawn into the Covid patient information leak that's already ended one MP's career after revealing he too was received leaked material… Read more Video, Audio