Checkpoint for Wednesday 16 February 2022

5:07 PM.Police say they've made progress speaking to the leaders of the protest on Parliament's front lawn.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster this morning said towing would begin today.

But not a single… Read more Video, Audio

5:11 PM.A new Covid-19 record today - as daily case numbers cross the 1000 mark for the first time.

At least 1,160 new cases have been recorded in the community - bringing the total cases to more than… Read more Audio

5:14 PM."Irresponsible" - in a word that is how the Prime Minister has summed up the ACT leader's decision to meet some of those involved in the protest.

David Seymour on the other hand says it is time for… Read more Video, Audio

5:21 PM.Queenstown hospitality is calling out for government support during the Omicron surge as isolation requirements push more to the brink.

Restaurants are cutting back hours and closing their doors to… Read more Audio

5:25 PM.A group of Auckland business associations is writing to Finance Minister Grant Robertson, adding their voices to a growing chorus asking for more financial support for those hit hard by Covid-19, with… Read more Video, Audio

5:33 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report.

  Read more Video, Audio

5:36 PM.Protesters in Picton are digging in and refusing to leave - passing the deadline they had agreed on to leave.

Some protesters who couldn't make it to Wellington set up camp just across the Cook… Read more Video, Audio

5:39 PM.Auckland council is looking at scrapping a rubbish bin tag scheme that was supposed to reduce weekly waste.  Read more Video, Audio

5:48 PM.Ministry of Health has revealed there's been a surge in the number of positive Covid-19 cases in Pacific communities.

Pasifika people now make up about half of the cases in the Omicron outbreak. And… Read more Audio

7:53 PM.Mannequins have decorated store windows for hundreds of years but in terms of size and shape they have stayed relatively the same.

Now there are renewed calls for them to better reflect the broad… Read more Video, Audio

6:06 PM.As yet another day passes with police seemingly unable to deliver on threats to tow the protestors' vehicles and free up the streets around Parliament, frustration is growing.

And images of the party… Read more Video, Audio

6:12 PM.A Palmerston North woman has been left dismayed, after waiting with her elderly relative for almost a full day in the city's hospital Emergency department, before they were moved to a ward.

The… Read more Audio

6:16 PM.The government wants to introduce new regulations that will shift the power imbalance between property managers, tenants and landlords.

New Zealand is one of the few countries in the OECD that… Read more Audio