Checkpoint for Friday 13 August 2021

5:06 PM.It's bye bye Bilbo, as Amazon Studios is packing up shop and moving production for series two of its multi-billion dollar Lord of the Rings series to the United Kingdom.  

The government has taken… Read more Audio

5:10 PM.The Christchurch Mayor is nervous about how the city will pay for an upsized multi-use arena, but believes it is what residents want.

Christchurch City council yesterday backtracked on a decision to… Read more Audio

5:14 PM.Flip-flopping advice from several government agencies has given Port of Tauranga plenty of headaches this week.

A red alert went up about a foreign-flagged ship - the Rio De La Plata - heading into… Read more Video, Audio

5:22 PM.Part of the puzzle of reconnecting to the world is how international arrivals are going to be filtered into the country.

Under the government's plan, the drawbridge will be lowered in the first few… Read more Video, Audio

5:29 PM.Tickets to what could be the All Blacks last home test of the year are being given away.

The All Blacks are due to play the Wallabies this Saturday at Auckland's Eden Park, its second game in the… Read more Video, Audio

5:40 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6267745698001 Video, Audio

5:44 PM.Warning: This report contains distressing details.

A couple who sexually abused children have been described as sickening and depraved as they were sentenced to long prison terms.

Andrew Alan… Read more Audio

5:49 PM.Some people trying desperately to return to New Zealand feel like they've been missed out the government's latest border announcements.

The government plans to ease open the borders from early next… Read more Audio

7:54 PM.Students at Dargaville High School are swapping the classroom for a construction site to build desperately-needed public houses for the North.

The school is churning out beautifully made homes for… Read more Video, Audio

6:07 PM.An Albert Street business owner, struggling to turn a profit alongside ongoing City Rail Link works, has let rip in the blame game being played by the government. 

Transport Minister Michael Wood… Read more Video, Audio

6:12 PM.Oranga Tamariki was warned about harmful restraints at a Christchurch Care and residence facility months before it was finally closed.

The agency announced Te Oranga would close in July - following… Read more Audio

6:16 PM.A man who stabbed his girlfriend to death and left her body in a burning car in south Auckland has been jailed for at least 12 years.

Palmer Marsters has been sentenced to life imprisonment after… Read more Audio

6:27 PM.The All Blacks can wrap up the Bledisloe Cup tomorrow night - for the 19th straight year- with another victory over the Wallabies.

The Australians are in a must-win situation to force a Bledisloe Cup… Read more Audio