Checkpoint Podcast Options

5:16 PM.The government is slashing the amount of money it gives to new charter schools and tightening its ability to keep a close watch on them. Audio

5:14 PM.Junior doctors say extra money is urgently needed so that hospital emergency departments can to deal with a growing workload. Audio

5:10 PM.A judge has told a drug-addicted mother that her background and circumstances are appalling, harming those in her care including her son who killed a West Auckland dairy owner. Audio

5:08 PM.Angry screams came from the public gallery in court as the man who killed Connor Morris with a sickle was found guilty of his murder. Audio

5:00 PM.Connor Morris' killer guilty of murder, Mother of dairy owner killer sentenced on drugs charge, Doctors, nurses demand action to bolster emergency care, Govt tightens charter school rules, UN intern… Read more Audio

6:57 PM.All Blacks loose forward, Victor Vito, has been given another chance to prove he's worthy to be in the Rugby World Cup team after being named to start in Saturday night's Bledisloe Cup decider. Audio

6:52 PM.Debate and questions on Government's decision to place Solid Energy into voluntary administration; Broadcasting Minister faces questions about lack of free-to-air sports coverage. Audio

6:48 PM.Not everyone's celebrating the start of the whitebait season this weekend, with growing anger among some Māori over what they say is the commercialisation of the delicacy; Te Papa Atawhai - The… Read more Audio

6:45 PM.The attitude of drug smuggler Schapelle Corby made it harder for prisoners Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to win clemency from the Indonesina President. Audio

6:36 PM.A New Zealand company has come up with a world's first way of warning drivers about icy-roads up ahead. Audio

6:34 PM.A group opposing a Special Housing Area development in South Auckland says it will keep pushing the council to can the project. Audio

6:25 PM.A High Court jury in Auckland has been asked to remember that self-defence is still legal even if serious harm has not yet been caused. Audio

6:19 PM.Figures released by the Labour Party show that 90 thousand people who need non-urgent surgery have been sent home from hospitals without being treated. Audio

6:15 PM.Tim Buckley is with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Audio

6:11 PM.Coalminers have escaped further redundancies but the axe is finally falling on Solid Energy itself, and on 128 million dollars of taxpayer bailout funds. Audio

6:05 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:58 PM.A Northland marijuana campaigner says the sentences being handed down for cannabis convictions are inconsistent and unfair. Audio

5:55 PM.Not everyone's celebrating the start of the whitebait season this weekend; there's growing anger among some Māori over what they say is the commercialisation of the delicacy. Audio

5:50 PM.At least 17 people are dead and hospitals in Tianjin, China, have been overwhelmed with hundreds of casualties after the port city was rocked by huge explosions. Audio

5:47 PM.A man whose back story reads like an episode of the television drama, "Underbelly", is tonight beginning a 6-year jail sentence. Audio

5:43 PM.Senior doctors say the Government is being dishonest by trumpeting increases in elective surgery while ignoring the growing numbers of people who don't even get in the front door of the hospital. Audio

5:41 PM.A Christchurch pizza waitress who was sacked for not smiling enough has been awarded almost 15-thousand dollars. Audio

5:38 PM.The Finance Minister, Bill English, says the taxpayer will not get back the millions of dollars that it poured into Solid Energy. Audio

5:35 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:18 PM.For the second time in 10 days, the Council of Trade Unions has won a private prosecution over the death of a forestry worker. Audio