Checkpoint

New Zealand will take 750 more refugees from Syria, 600 of them over and above the existing annual quota. Audio

Church campaigns furiously to keep Turakina Maori Girls' College open;Tertiary education enrolments remain high; Eye kept on paua and crayfish catch for iwi. Audio

Numerous petitions, canvassing such diverse topics as banning shark cage diving to cannabis reform, are presented to Parliament every year for MPs to consider, but very few lead to law changes. So… Read more Audio

Another criminal has absconded after taking off his electronically monitored ankle bracelet. Audio

Hello Sailor's frontman, Graham Brazier, has died aged 63. Audio

A lawyer specialising in refugee claims says New Zealand has a good record with refugees, and should show leadership in the current international crisis with displaced people. Audio

A suspension bridge failure has plunged four tourists eight metres down into a river on one of the Great Walks tracks. Audio

A free vaccine available in New Zealand for a year has slashed the number of young children being hospitalised with serious gut infections. Audio

Mourners have farewelled Emily, Lady Latimer at a funeral service in the Far North; Tertiary education enrolments remain high; Embattled iwi leader withdraws from competition to be elected as Hapu… Read more Audio

The jurors deciding the case of a 17-year-old accused of stabbing another man with a broken bottle during a street fight have been discharged, after failing to reach a verdict. Audio

The oil industry is facing off against the Customs Service over duties on petrol dating back to 1986. Audio

An Auckland police custody officer has today been acquitted of raping a woman he met on the dating website Zoosk. Audio