Checkpoint Podcast Options

5:48 PM.Maori claimants to water rights have lost a legal challenge to stop the Government going ahead with the partial privatisation of some state-owned assets - including hydro power generators; The Tuhoe… Read more Audio

5:44 PM.The Labour MP behind a bill to allow for same sex marriage is quietly confident it will be passed into law. Audio

5:41 PM.The Green Party co-leader, Russel Norman, has accused the former Economic Development Minister, Gerry Brownlee, of misleading Parliament during a feisty series of questions about the Hobbit dispute. Audio

5:38 PM.Western Australia is hunkering down as Cyclone Rusty hits the coast. Audio

5:35 PM.The Finance Minister expects to sign an agreement with the Reserve Bank by the middle of the year allowing the bank to take more direct steps to control house prices. Audio

5:32 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:26 PM.Tuhoe activist Tame Iti has had his first day of freedom after spending nine months of a two-and-a-half year sentence in prison. Audio

5:24 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:19 PM.The Government has declared a drought in Northland with other regions probably to follow. Audio

5:15 PM.The Supreme Court has dismissed the Maori Council's bid to stop the state asset sales. Audio

5:08 PM.A man has been killed in a shark attack at Muriwai Beach in West Auckland - the beach is now closed and the police are at the scene. Audio

5:00 PM.West Auckland beaches are closed after a man was killed by a shark. The Maori Council loses its bid to stop asset sales and it's official - there's a drought in Northland. Audio

6:56 PM.Nelson City Council has approved plans to develop a tougher new alcohol policy with its neighbours in the top of the South Island. Audio

6:50 PM.The Wellington Phoenix says coach Ricki Herbert was not pushed out of the job despite the club's horror season. Audio

6:47 PM.The Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, is downplaying her treatment at Te Matatini when the crowds heckled and booed her on stage in Rotorua; A former editor of the New Zealand Herald, Gavin Ellis… Read more Audio

6:39 PM.A Christchurch primary school says they will be sending a strong warning to their pupils about the danger of swallowing unidentifiable pills, after 12 students were taken to hospital this morning. Audio

6:36 PM.The Prime Minister has corrected a claim he made to Parliament last week that SkyCity Entertainment had reached a deal to buy land from Television New Zealand in Auckland. Audio

6:33 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:24 PM.The half year profit of the listed wine company Delegat has rebounded with global sales increasing, despite higher exchange rates. Audio

6:19 PM.Water restrictions are in place across Northland and the Government's expected to announce a drought relief package for farmers in the region in the coming days. Audio

6:13 PM.A man who murdered his wife with a hatchet is questioning a Parole Board decision to keep him in prison. Audio

6:10 PM.The man leading the campaign to recover the bodies of the 29 Pike River miners now accepts that the job is more difficult than he thought and it will take more time. Audio

6:07 PM.The Principal's Federation says twenty three administration staff have now resigned, fed-up of dealing with the error-ridden Novopay system. Audio

5:56 PM.The group trying work out what New Zealanders think about the constitution say the biggest challenge is that many don't know what a constitution is. Audio

5:53 PM.Trade Unions say a 25 cent an hour increase in the minimum wage is both cynical and insulting and will do nothing to improve the living standards of the country's lowest paid workers. Audio