Checkpoint Podcast Options

6:18 PM.Secondary school principals expect improvements to their schools' finances will be short-lived because of changes to government funding. Audio

6:14 PM.The Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission is calling for changes to building standards as a matter of urgency. Audio

6:11 PM.The Rena is on track to become New Zealand's biggest shipwreck. Audio

6:09 PM.A major cleanup is underway on Bay of Plenty beaches as more and more oil comes ashore from the stranded container ship, Rena. Audio

6:07 PM.Big cracks are showing in both sides of the stranded cargo ship Rena increasing the chances it will break up and spew more than 1300 tonnes of oil into the already polluted sea off Tauranga. Audio

5:55 PM.A maritime lawyer says the penalities for oil spills in this country are too low and should be increased. Audio

5:50 PM.A wild brawl between Maori school students and white Australian teenagers has left teachers injured and parents demanding action. Audio

5:47 PM.The chair of Ngai Te Rangi Runanga says tangata whenua in Tauranga are feeling helpless - because there's little they can do to stop oil washing ashore; The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry says a… Read more Audio

5:44 PM.The Labour Party's election-year law and order policy promises to boost police numbers so that one-person police stations are staffed by two officers. Audio

5:41 PM.For the next two days, expectant mothers on the West Coast are being warned there are no hospital specialists to care for them during labour and birth. Audio

5:38 PM.Oil is thickly coating rocks at Motiti Island while containers swept loose from the stricken Rena seven kilometres away have been crashing into the shore and sinking. Audio

5:35 PM.Salvage experts are waiting helplessly on shore as heavy seas batter the cracking container ship perched on a reef off Tauranga. Audio

5:31 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:26 PM.Plans for a convicted murderer to live in a motel, once he's out of jail, have been rejected by the Parole Board. Audio

5:23 PM.The United States says it's foiled a major terrorist plot which the FBI head describes as reading like the pages of a Hollywood script. Audio

5:20 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:18 PM.The Captain of the stricken container ship, Rena, has been remanded on bail after appearing in court this morning. Audio

5:13 PM.Bruce Anderson, Maritime New Zealand's salvage unit manager joins us. Audio

5:07 PM.Big cracks are showing in both sides of the stranded cargo ship Rena increasing the chances it will break up and spew more than 1000 extra tonnes of oil into the sea off Tauranga. Audio

5:00 PM.Big cracks in both sides of the stranded ship Rena increase the chances it will break up. A major expansion of the exclusion zone around the ship and the United States says it's foiled a major… Read more Audio

6:56 PM.The former Silver Ferns captain Wai Taumanu is now the new coach of the New Zealand netball side. Audio

6:53 PM.Health managers are being urged to expand the role of consumers in decisions to help lift standards and save money. Audio

6:49 PM.The Minister of Courts Georgina Te Heuheu, says Rangatahi courts held on marae, are having a positive effect on young Maori offenders; The chair of the executive of Waikato-Tainui says talks over its… Read more Audio

6:41 PM.The Canterbury earthquakes are behind a big blowout in the Government's deficit which has grown to a record 18-point-4 billion dollars. Audio

6:37 PM.A freelance foreign correspondent says a report out today makes it clear that New Zealand SAS troops are part of operations which have led to prisoners being tortured in Afghanistan. Audio