Checkpoint Podcast Options

5:49 PM.Air New Zealand cannot afford to offer refunds to everyone impacted by flight cancellations during the Covid-19 outbreak without dipping into its $900m government loan, Air New Zealand's chief revenue… Read more Video, Audio

5:43 PM.New Zealand First is flexing its muscles within the coalition, now publicly criticising some of the commercial rent measures its partner Labour had been pushing for - which it ended up blocking.

… Read more Audio

5:28 PM.Plans for a trans-Tasman bubble by July have failed to get lift-off - with New Zealand government ministers saying it's too early for such a proposal.

Top business voices want to see a new flight… Read more Audio

5:25 PM.The former All Blacks first-five Dan Carter is officially part of the Blues.

After initial reports last night sent the rugby world into a spin, the two-time World Cup winner trained with his new team… Read more Video, Audio

5:20 PM.The first information sessions at Queenstown's new welfare hub were fully booked within hours as migrant workers and residents try to figure out their futures.

Local agencies have been grappling with… Read more Audio

5:12 PM.After more than a week of protests, authorities in the United States have now laid charges against all four police officers involved in the death of African-American man George Floyd.

The murder… Read more Audio

6:23 PM.The killing by police of unarmed black man George Floyd in the US has activism around the world, including an outpouring of support from the Pasifika community in New Zealand.

Advocates say Pacific… Read more Audio

6:17 PM.Talk about moving to Covid-19 alert level 1 has got the phones ringing again at events companies for the first time in months.

The events industry ground to a halt when Covid-19 struck due to strict… Read more Video, Audio

6:13 PM.The Ministry of Health is ramping up testing at the border as the number of Covid-19 cases remains at zero.

For the twelfth consecutive day there were no new cases of Covid and there's still only one… Read more Video, Audio

6:06 PM.A former police crisis negotiator says there are strict rules for checking on and caring for prisoners in police custody and records have to be signed off by a senior officer.

Three police officers… Read more Video, Audio

5:54 PM.The government is putting just over $400 million towards funding innovation and research in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

The package is primarily made up of investments announced in the budget… Read more Audio

5:51 PM.The government is tackling period poverty by rolling out access to free period products in schools.

During term three, the Ministry of Education programme will start in 15 schools in Waikato, before… Read more Audio

5:42 PM.Just a day after George Floyd died, after having his neck knelt on by a white police officer in Minneapolis, a white man confronted a group of African-American entrepreneurs while using their private… Read more Video, Audio

5:39 PM.The protests have continued in the US today, despite President Trump threatening to unleash the military if demonstrations persist over the death of African American man George Floyd in police… Read more Audio

5:36 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

5:28 PM.New Zealanders have been given a glimpse of Alert Level One - their efforts under lockdown finally bearing fruit - near normality on the horizon.

But for many, it hasn't come quick enough - the… Read more Audio

5:25 PM.The president of the police association says the death of a man in custody in Hawera is not the result of physical force by officers.

Three police officers - who have name suppression - have been… Read more Video, Audio

5:20 PM.The South Taranaki town of Hawera is in a state of shock today after three of its police officers were charged with manslaughter over the death of a man in custody in June last year.

The officers -… Read more Audio

5:07 PM.Air New Zealand is saying sorry, but the severity of its financial situation means it simply cannot afford to refund everyone without dipping into its $900 million government loan facility.

The… Read more Video, Audio

6:30 PM.A short phasing traffic light at road works is being blamed for causing hundreds of holidaymakers to get caught in gridlocked traffic in the Awakino Gorge in Taranaki yesterday.

But the Transport… Read more Audio

6:17 PM.Talk of returning the country to a "new normal" has been welcomed with cautious optimism, but those who are eagerly awaiting a change warn the devil is in the detail.

The Prime Minister this morning… Read more Audio

6:14 PM.An organiser of the Black Lives Matter protest in Christchurch is standing by his decision to help create the event, despite social distancing rules not being followed.

It was one of several events… Read more Audio

6:10 PM.CNN corespondent Darryl Forges is in Minneapolis - ground zero for the protests.

A few days ago his colleague Omar Jimenez and his camera crew were arrested by riot police, while reporting live on… Read more Video, Audio

6:07 PM.In the United States now where US President Donald Trump has today declared himself a "President of Law and Order", and threatened to deploy the military to cities across the country to end a week of… Read more Video, Audio