Checkpoint Podcast Options

5:31 PM.For people with long-term health conditions - like asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure - renewing a prescription will get easier and cheaper. From next year doctors can prescribe medication for… Read more Audio

5:24 PM.Returning to our top story on the budget labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds joins us now. Audio

5:10 PM.The government is halving its contribution to Kiwisaver shifting the financial load onto business. The change will be phased. At the moment people over 18 can get up to $521 in government… Read more Audio

5:08 PM.Nearly 13 billion dollars has been clawed back from pay equity changes over four years, the Government contribution to KiwiSaver has been halved, tweaks to BestStart payments have been made and a tax… Read more Audio

4:54 PM.It's all over for Auckland's iconic department store Smith and Caughey's. Last year, the store permanently closed its Newmarket location and reduced its flagship Queen Street store to a single floor… Read more Audio

4:47 PM.Out of work 18 to 19 year olds may be forced to rely on mum and dad for financial support with the government planning to effectively means test parents of unemployed teenagers before allowing young… Read more Audio

4:40 PM.United States President Donald Trump has ambushed South Africa's President Cyril Rama-phosa during a meeting in the oval office, by playing a video that  he claimed proved genocide was being carried… Read more Audio

4:33 PM.The amount the government adds to Kiwisaver accounts is being halved to a maximum of 260 dollars a year. People earning more than $180,000 a year will receive no government contribution at all from… Read more Audio

4:17 PM.Out of work 18 to 19 year olds may be forced to rely on mum and dad for financial support with the government planning to effectively means test parents of unemployed teenagers before allowing young… Read more Audio

4:17 PM.The government's halving its contribution to kiwisaver. Businesses will have to up theirs from 3 to 4 percent over time. They get a tax break in return. Theres an average $14 a fortnight increase to… Read more Audio

4:06 PM.In its budget the coalition's clawed back money from three main areas - Pay equity, Kiwisaver and Best Start payments. The bulk of the 5.3 billion dollars saved - in fact about half of it - has come… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.United Kingdom correspondent Alice Wilkins spoke to Lisa Owen about how the first pieces of a superyacht that capsized off the coast of Italy with Kiwis on board, have been brought to the surface and… Read more Audio

5:33 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:29 PM.Olympian Erika Fairweather has moved to a new city, with a new coach and new training partners as she sets her sights on getting on the podium in Los Angeles in 2028. Fairweather will be competing her… Read more Audio

5:26 PM.The Pasifika community is bracing for what is expected to be tightened government spending. From community support at home to aid for the wider region, Pasifika are hoping for the best, but many of… Read more Audio

5:22 PM.Te Whatu Ora has upped security for staff at the birthing unit and Christchurch Hospital after the latest assault. Waitaha Canterbury director of operations Hamish Brown says the staffer involved is… Read more Audio

5:17 PM.The Budget's been picked up from the printers and the Finance Minister's promising no rainbows, no unicorns, and no BS. There's just one sleep to go until New Zealand finds out who's getting what -… Read more Audio

5:07 PM.A boxing promoter is calling for law changes to cover emerging combat sports that are going virtually unregulated. It comes as one well known MMA fighter is recruiting 32 fighter to take part in what… Read more Audio

4:49 PM.The government's announced 140 million dollars to help boost school attendance as it battles to reach its target of 80 percent of students at school for 90 percent of the term by 2030. As part of that… Read more Audio

4:41 PM.Staff at the Financial Markets Authority have been told to complete a weekly survey detailing how they spend each workday, tasks down to the half hour, names and durations of meetings, and whether… Read more Audio

4:30 PM.The US women's rugby team will be without one of its key players for this weekend's Pacific Four clash against the Black Ferns following a judicial ruling. US centre Alev Kelter has been handed a… Read more Audio

4:25 PM.The amount of money schools get to upgrade or replace their buildings hasn't changed in 15 years. Principals say 30 dollars per square metre doesn't go far and it's high time they got a boost… Read more Audio

4:25 PM.As of May last year Auckland Council had removed more than 2300 public rubbish bins as a cost cutting measure. Auckland Council's website describes Musick Point as an 8 hectare reserve near Buckland's… Read more Audio

4:17 PM.Asia correspondent Erin Hale spoke to Lisa Owen about Japan's rice crisis, Kanye West getting cancelled in South Korea and how a British climber has broken his own record by scaling Mt Everest for the… Read more Audio

4:07 PM.A Wellington worker's heated exchange with Winston Peters at a very public press conference has landed him hot water with his employer, who happens to do a fair bit of work for the government. The… Read more Audio