Checkpoint for Friday 4 June 2021

5:10 PM.The government has pulled a u-turn on transport projects it promised more than a year ago, saying it wants to cut carbon emissions and potential price hikes too.

Six of the 32 multi-billion-dollar… Read more Audio

5:14 PM.Transport Minister Michael Wood explains how the government's commitment to cutting emissions prompted a rethink.

He says an announcement on an EV feebate scheme will be made in "the next couple of… Read more Video, Audio

5:20 PM.Four people are dead after a truck and a van collided near the Ashburton River flood zone this morning.

Two others are also injured - one critically and one seriously - the pair are recovering in… Read more Video, Audio

5:22 PM.A mammoth waitlist is blocking patients struggling with substance abuse from accessing a bed at Auckland metro's main public inpatient detox unit.

Instead, those who fall ill waiting for a bed at Pt… Read more Audio

5:25 PM.A group representing some Pike River families is suing the government over its decision to seal off the mine.

The families say they were not told of the move, instead hearing about it in the media.

… Read more Audio

5:29 PM.Victoria has uncovered a new Covid-19 variant not connected to any other cases from the current outbreak.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says it's the Delta variant which originated in India.

The… Read more Video, Audio

5:35 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6257326148001 Video, Audio

5:40 PM.Last night Checkpoint asked if the public knew the identity of a mystery couple in some unnamed wedding photos.

The photos were taken by photographer Ian Hulse, who has since died. His son Richard… Read more Video, Audio

5:44 PM.The case of a Korean-born New Zealander who's been fighting extradition to China on a murder charge for a decade is set to head to the United Nations Human Rights Tribunal.

After 15 months of… Read more Audio

5:52 PM.Canoe racing star Lisa Carrington will have a crack at more history at the Tokyo Olympics.

The two-time gold medallist has been confirmed to contest not one, not two, but four different events at the… Read more Audio

5:55 PM.Four-year-old Frankie could teach a lot of grown-ups something about recycling.

This Petone preschooler is totally sorted when it comes to knowing which bit of waste goes in which bin.

Reporter Ruth… Read more Video, Audio

6:10 PM.Plans to build a $700 million bike bridge have been deemed totally unnecessary, when a lane of the existing Auckland Harbour Bridge could be used instead.

That's the response of one cycling advocate… Read more Audio

6:15 PM.The brakes have once again been slammed on plans for a four-lane highway near Whangārei - and local leaders are furious.

The road between Whangārei and Marsden Point has been a regional transport… Read more Audio

6:17 PM.National's leader Judith Collins is pulling no punches in her public condemnation of former party candidate Jake Bezzant - describing the allegations against him as one of the most disgraceful things… Read more Audio

6:21 PM.Government ministers say they're stunned and saddened by the state of Māori boarding schools in Aotearoa.

They're putting their money where their mouth is - investing $20 million into the four… Read more Audio

6:25 PM.Farmers flocked to a farm in Masterton to hear from scientists studying a sheep breed that sheds its own wool.

This comes as depressed strong wool prices have left farmers feeling fleeced.

Here's… Read more Audio

6:26 PM.The Hurricanes Super Rugby team have swapped the stadium for the lecture theatre, embarking on a quest to learn Gagana Samoa.

They've been undertaking a language and culture programme at Victoria… Read more Audio