Checkpoint for Tuesday 26 January 2021

5:06 PM.Approval for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine could come as early as Wednesday next week, but it is unclear when the doses will actually land on our shores.

The government has issued a timeline for when… Read more Video, Audio

5:16 PM.Northlanders are breathing a cautious sigh of relief after no new community Covid-19 cases were found among the more than 1,000 tests carried out yesterday.

The Ministry of Health today revealed that… Read more Audio

5:20 PM.Australia has shut the door to New Zealanders for quarantine-free travel for at least 72 hours, despite no change in our alert level.

Airlines responded by cancelling flights. It has thrown question… Read more Video, Audio

5:24 PM.Searing hot, record-breaking temperatures have been registered in parts of Canterbury today.

MetService says Ashburton airport reached 37.5C, which is the highest temperature there since records… Read more Video, Audio

5:28 PM.Wellington's wastewater network is expected to be running back to normal this evening, after a temporary fix was rolled out for a burst sewage pipe.

The city was just a couple of hours away from the… Read more Video, Audio

5:36 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

5:41 PM.It might be peanuts for now, but coffee, pineapples and tropical jackfruit could all be part of Northland's future food basket.  

The Ministry of Primary Industries has teamed up with the makers of… Read more Video, Audio

5:50 PM.A top International Olympic Committee official has told Checkpoint competitors should get special consideration in the vaccine roll-out.

Senior IOC member Dick Pound says the Olympics will start on… Read more Audio

5:54 PM.A Six60 mega-fan is appalled the band - which has a huge, young fanbase - has lent its image to a scratchie ticket, saying it promotes gambling to vulnerable groups.

A photo of the band adorns… Read more Audio

6:07 PM.It is "dumb good luck" rather than good management that no one else has so far tested positive for Covid-19 following the latest community case, a health expert says.

Auckland University Professor of… Read more Video, Audio

6:15 PM.A former Christchurch businessman turned philanthropist estimates $5 billion has been paid out in wage subsidies to companies that do not necessarily need it.

Grant Nelson and his wife Marilyn run… Read more Audio