Checkpoint

Parliament began hearing submissions today on a bill that aims to make membership of student associations voluntary. Audio

Hostility by some midwives towards immunisation could be turning some parents off vaccinating their children. Audio

Parliament has moved into extraordinary urgency to pass legislation tonight which will immediately increase the excise on cigarettes by ten percent. Audio

The New Zealand film director Peter Jackson became a Sir this morning, receiving his knighthood from the Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand. Audio

Irrigators have been told they won't be given an open slather on water, even though the government wants to accelerate irrigation schemes. Audio

Goldman Sach senior executives were grilled for over 11 hours on Capital Hill in Washington DC today. Audio

News from the Waatea team. Audio

Patients are to be moved out of Hawke's Bay's only hospice, which has been found to have dysfunctional relationships between managers and staff and a culture of blame and mistrust. Audio

The Government has indicated that the agriculture sector's entry into the Emissions Trading Scheme could be delayed after next year's review. Audio

Stock markets around the world have fallen again in response to the intensifying debt crisis in Greece. Audio

The woman fronting a bid by a Hong Kong company to buy the Crafar dairy farms has appeared in court on charges that she left the country and failed to co-operate with liquidators after the break down… Read more Audio

An update from the RNZ sports team. Audio