Checkpoint for Friday 17 November 2023

6:08 PM.Day 14 of coalition negotiations today with talks expected to run into the weekend.. National's negotiating team met with NZ First but there was no meeting with the ACT party. RNZ understands that's… Read more Video, Audio

5:55 PM.An East Coast baker famous for paua pies has created a new delicacy, and it's brought her business back from the edge. Rachael Thomas, who owns Te Puia Springs Store an hour and a half north of… Read more Audio

5:50 PM.Staying with retail now, Black Friday is almost upon us when the silly season sales begins. The day itself isn't until this time next week, but stores are already starting to advertise their Black… Read more Audio

5:46 PM.Some shopping arcades in Auckland are looking like deserted waste lands with vacant shop after vacant shop. CBD business association Heart of the City says the numbers are improving but there are only… Read more Audio

5:39 PM.A ground breaking mulch to prevent ground baking this El Nino Summer. Previously unusable fibrous green waste is being minced into an environomentally friendly ground cover...with Auckland council… Read more Audio

5:29 PM.Have Victoria University students effectively been given a hall pass that gets them out of face to face lectures? After Covid restrictions were dropped the University anounced some students and… Read more Video, Audio

5:25 PM.The New Zealand women's domestic cricket season starts tomorrow but not everyone is convinced that it's preparing the White Ferns for international cricket. And the Black Caps have been criticised for… Read more Audio

5:12 PM.Just a day after two violent deaths in Hutt Valley, the community is still anxiously waiting for answers. Police have yet to name either the woman who was killed in a hit-and-run early in the morning… Read more Audio

5:12 PM.The clock is ticking on an Invercargill institution, that is the H&J Smith Department store. After 123 years in business it will close its doors for the final time at three tomorrow, a victim of… Read more Video, Audio

5:07 PM.Christopher Luxon's leadership skills have come under fire from political commentators today as negotiations to form the next government look set to continue through the weekend. Read more Audio