Checkpoint for Wednesday 31 January 2024

5:49 PM.It's a puzzling situation, but Jigsaw racing is an actual thing. Puzzle wizards will be on the start line for the masters games in Dunedin next week, competing for the joy of it and bragging rights of… Read more Video, Audio

5:45 PM.It's feared there may have been a mass poisoning of birds at a reserve on Auckland's North Shore. Up to 100 pigeons, ducks, sparrows and pukeko were found in varying stages of paralysis at Sherwood… Read more Video, Audio

5:42 PM.Wellington City Council could hike up rates by more than 15 percent to pay for its leaky water pipe network. Council staff estimate the city needs a 1.1 billion dollar upgrade to water infrastructure… Read more Video, Audio

5:35 PM.Residents in parts of Tairāwhiti fear a future on their land is in jeopardy, with silt dust making the place unliveable. Erosion has long been an issue in the Waiapu Valley, north of Gisborne… Read more Video, Audio

5:22 PM.The days of some elite athletes representing Aotearoa on the international stage for the glory and a grant if they're lucky could soon be over. The Employment Relations Authority has found in favour… Read more Video, Audio

5:14 PM.The Commerce Minister's worried Buy Now Pay Later schemes are too easy to access when people are already in debt, but for now he's monitoring the situation. A recent trend has seen people using the… Read more Video, Audio

5:12 PM.The Police Minister has had to correct the record in Parliament - after wrongly pushing out the deadline for one of the Coalition's commitments. In a rapid backtrack, Mark Mitchell has now… Read more Video, Audio

5:07 PM.A big win for a team of top NZ athletes could see them score the same rights, privileges and pay as employees. The Employment Relations Authority has found in favour of the elite rowers and cyclists… Read more Video, Audio