Checkpoint Podcast Options

6:22 PM.The owner of the Rena, stuck on the Astrolabe Reef off the coast from Tauranga, is arguing it doesn't pose any real threat to the environment. Audio

6:19 PM.I.T. experts are warning next year's local government elections could be derailed or subject to fraud if a proposed online voting trial goes ahead. Audio

6:16 PM.The Crown says it took Darryl Nicholson a day and-a-half to die from a single punch to the head. Audio

6:12 PM.New Zealand will take 750 more refugees from Syria - 100 this year and 500 over the following two years, and the other 150 under the existing intake quota. Audio

6:07 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:58 PM.A woman who failed to take her 2-year-old son to the doctor after he suffered burns to his hands so severe that his fingers eventually fused together, has gone on trial in the Wellington District… Read more Audio

5:55 PM.The much anticipated Whanau Ora report has found the programme is providing good outcomes but it doesn't say how much they cost. The Minister of Maori Development, Te Ururoa Flavell, has just released… Read more Audio

5:51 PM.A meeting's underway that will hear a call for a total ban on fishing off New Brighton pier after a rash of nasty run-ins at the Christchurch landmark. Audio

5:47 PM.An ambulance paramedic ignored an alarm about his patient's deteriorating condition as he raced to deliver her to hospital in time to save her. Audio

5:43 PM.More now on the extra 600 refugees coming to New Zealand from Syria. Audio

5:40 PM.Librarians and publishers are throwing their support behind the author of an award-winning young adults novel that's been banned. Audio

5:36 PM.CBL Corporation is seeking up to 132 million dollars through a share float on the New Zealand and Australian sharemarkets. Audio

5:24 PM.The much anticipated Whanau Ora report has found the programme is providing good outcomes but it doesn't say how much they cost. Audio

5:20 PM.A court has heard that the police officer who arrested forestry contractor Paul Burr told him he was forced to do so by someone 'higher up the food chain', and said the manslaughter charge was wrong. Audio

5:15 PM.A farm training centre is having to pay back 7.5 million dollars after investigations uncovered incorrect funding over a span of six years. Audio

5:08 PM.New Zealand will take 750 more refugees from Syria, 600 of them over and above the existing annual quota. Audio

6:54 PM.Church campaigns furiously to keep Turakina Maori Girls' College open;Tertiary education enrolments remain high; Eye kept on paua and crayfish catch for iwi. Audio

6:38 PM.Numerous petitions, canvassing such diverse topics as banning shark cage diving to cannabis reform, are presented to Parliament every year for MPs to consider, but very few lead to law changes. So… Read more Audio

6:26 PM.Another criminal has absconded after taking off his electronically monitored ankle bracelet. Audio

6:21 PM.Hello Sailor's frontman, Graham Brazier, has died aged 63. Audio

6:18 PM.A lawyer specialising in refugee claims says New Zealand has a good record with refugees, and should show leadership in the current international crisis with displaced people. Audio

6:12 PM.A suspension bridge failure has plunged four tourists eight metres down into a river on one of the Great Walks tracks. Audio

5:55 PM.A free vaccine available in New Zealand for a year has slashed the number of young children being hospitalised with serious gut infections. Audio

5:52 PM.Mourners have farewelled Emily, Lady Latimer at a funeral service in the Far North; Tertiary education enrolments remain high; Embattled iwi leader withdraws from competition to be elected as Hapu… Read more Audio

5:49 PM.The jurors deciding the case of a 17-year-old accused of stabbing another man with a broken bottle during a street fight have been discharged, after failing to reach a verdict. Audio