Checkpoint for Monday 1 November 2021

5:07 PM.Auckland retail should be able to fling open the doors next week, if Cabinet gives the final sign off.

The Prime Minister says the high vaccination rates in the city means the risk of spread in shops… Read more Video, Audio

5:15 PM.In just over a week, pending final Cabinet sign-off, Covid restrictions ease a bit in Auckland.

Checkpoint reporter Louise Ternouth is in Auckland's Onehunga with the details.

  Read more Video, Audio

5:19 PM.A mainstay of Takapuna's cafe scene has closed its doors for the final time, due in large part to Auckland's Covid-19 restrictions.

It's a tale of woe shared by many on Hurstmere Road, where… Read more Video, Audio

5:24 PM.There have been emotional reunions at Sydney Airport with people able to travel home quarantine free for the first time in 20 months.

Hotel quarantine and the cap on arrivals have been scrapped for… Read more Audio

5:26 PM.There's a massive fire at a Christchurch waste water treatment plant that has sent a huge plume of smoke into the air.

It's in Bromley, about 7km east of the city, but the smoke can be seen from the… Read more Video, Audio

5:35 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:37 PM.The small Bay of Plenty town Murupara has seen vaccination rates climb in the last few weeks - despite battling misinformation in the community.

When vaccine data was first released the town had the… Read more Video, Audio

5:42 PM.The skyrocketing number of children living in motels is being called a 'moral failure' by the National party.

There was an increase of 280 tamariki in motels in the three months to September - now… Read more Audio

5:46 PM.Auckland retail stores should be able to reopen next week, if Cabinet gives a final sign off next Monday.

That will be a move to alert level 3 step 2 in Auckland. In an open letter to the Prime… Read more Video, Audio

5:50 PM.Dozens of people have turned out for the first day of a farmgate vaccination tour of Southland.

Two mayors from the region have teamed up to tow teams of vaccinators in caravans to remote settlements… Read more Audio

5:53 PM.The Black Caps' have secured a bounce back win that keeps their T-20 hopes alive in Dubai.

New Zealand join Pakistan as frontrunners to advance from their group into the World Cup semifinals after a… Read more Audio

5:57 PM.The Wellington cable car has opened its doors for dogs to take in the view of the capital on a good day.

A month long trial started today to let people bring their canine friends on board - and how… Read more Video, Audio

6:10 PM.A New Zealand-based biotech company wants to start mass producing a device which can tell you whether or not you need a Covid booster shot.

Orbis ultimately wants to see its "lab in a box" available… Read more Audio

6:12 PM.The government has made an in-principle decision to move the city down to step two of the alert level three roadmap next week. The parts of Waikato in alert level 3 will move to step 2 on Tuesday… Read more Audio

6:17 PM.A Maori activist has called out the host and other developed countries at a massive UN climate conference for reaping massive profits while the world burns.

RNZ's climate reporter Hamish Cardwell has… Read more Audio

6:22 PM.A toxicology professor says consumers are easily hoodwinked by marketing for natural health supplements, which he believes should be subjected to toxicology testing before sale.

Experts are warning… Read more Audio

6:25 PM.Wellington Airport has welcomed an electrifying new visitor.

An entirely electric two-seat light aircraft, owned and flown by the Christchurch-based ElectricAir, undertook the longest ever pure… Read more Video, Audio