Checkpoint for Friday 4 February 2022

5:07 PM.Go now and stay away - Westport residents have been told to move out as torrential rain hammers the region.

Police and volunteers have been going door to door ordering people to leave flood-prone… Read more Video, Audio

5:15 PM.A key part of the country's planned re-opening probably won't make it through the year.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says while self isolation requirements will be key initially, they could be… Read more Video, Audio

5:18 PM.The isolation rules for travellers could put the skids on this year's ski season. The border announcement means Australians and other travellers who don't need a visa will be allowed in by July at the… Read more Audio

5:22 PM.Auckland Airport general manager Scott Tasker has told Checkpoint the international flight movements at Auckland in 2021 were about the same as what they were 35 years ago.

"So we've got a long way… Read more Video, Audio

5:25 PM.The New Zealand border is gradually reopening, but the barrier to tourists is not changing any time soon.

Tourism operators say keeping a self isolation requirement leaves them starved of business.

… Read more Video, Audio

5:37 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:43 PM.The threat of legal action's not enough to make Waka Kotahi pump the brakes on its decision to lower the speed limit on a large chunk of the Napier-Taupō Highway.

The maximum speed will drop from… Read more Video, Audio

5:49 PM.Tonga's Prime Minister believes the "resilience and strength" of people will get the kingdom through the impacts of the volcanic eruption, tsunami and now a Covid-19 outbreak.

Tonga has extended its… Read more Audio

5:53 PM.Are you on your phone right now - scrolling Twitter or texting? How about just talking?

Old fashioned face to face communication is exactly what Dunedin's Otago Boys' High is trying to encourage by… Read more Video, Audio

6:07 PM.Experts fear New Zealand's strength in keeping Omicron at bay could soon be our weakness - with the virus' peak pushed out to when our immunity is waning.

Today there were 209 new community cases of… Read more Audio

6:10 PM.With managed isolation set to be scaled back over the coming months, staff who've been running the facilities for the past two years fear their wages could be about to drop too.

There are currently… Read more Audio

6:15 PM.Vaccinators say there's a rush on boosters as more Kiwis became eligible for another dose of the Covid-19 vaccine today.

Almost 1.5 million New Zealanders have had a third jab, but with the gap… Read more Audio