Asia correspondent Adam Hancock spoke to Lisa Owen about the dozens of people still missing after a ferry sinking near Balie, as well as residents on a set of remote Japanese islands being shaken by hundreds of earthquakes in just two weeks.

United Kingdom correspondent Edward O'Driscoll spoke to Lisa Owen about the BCC which has said it will no longer live broadcast "high-risk" performances after the controversy over Bob Vylan's Glastonbury gig, as well as a pair of same-sex penguins at Chester Zoo, who have successfully hatched and raised a chick.…

Some have rugby or football as their sport of choice, but there is a group in Auckland who spend their free time donning full suits of medieval armour and battling it out with swords and shields. While extreme sports like the Run-It-Straight events have caught headlines recently, Buhurt is a combat sport with a keen eye on safety, though it's not w…

News from the business sector, including a market report.

Scott Robertson has named an intriguing side to take on France under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium. One day out from the first All Black test of the season and one debutant cutting his teeth this weekend has revealed a surprising skill. Sports reporter Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen.

Do you know why your health insurance premiums are paying for someone elses operation? The cost of insurances have shot up recently; Stats NZ figures show as at March last year house insurance was up almost 25%, contents insurance up about 28% and car insurance up almost 23% compared to the previous year. Some companies offering health insurance as…

Tasman mayor Tim King gave telecommunications companies a serve at a community meeting in Wakefield earlier in the week, calling the time it was taking to get residents back on line an "epic cock up," and describing himself as "beyond frustrated."

Checkpoint can reveal dozens of supermarket workers are facing redundancy after a fire destroyed the New World Victoria Park in central Auckland.

People in the flooded Tasman and Taranaki districts are starting a mammoth clean up, after heavy rain caused widespread flooding and slips to farms and properties.The recovery is expected to cost millions. Samantha Gee reports.

A home insurance hike of 300% over the past five years has left one Napier man shocked. Bluff Hill homeowner Harry Machiela says he's used to muttering expletives when the letter comes each year, but this year he crunched the numbers and the cost of his house and contents insurance has gone up a whopping 300%. He lives in Napier, but says his prope…

Dunedin is gearing up to host the first All Blacks test of the year and local fans are confident the home side can take care of a depleted French team in Otepoti. A couple of Otago players are set to make their debuts at a sold out Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow night, making the occasion all the more special for them and their families. Joe Porter …

Friendships will be put to one side this weekend when the Black Ferns take on the Black Ferns XV in a trial match in Whangarei on Saturday afternoon. Players admitted the hits at training have had a little extra heat behind them lately as hopefuls look to book their ticket to England. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.…

New Zealand's top female professional frisbee golf player is off to compete at the world champs in Finland later this month. Also known as disc golf players throw a frisbee into a series of metal baskets around an outdoor course. There are no age divisions and Michele Simpson will be up against people who make a living doing this full time. Aotearo…

20% of New Zealanders are struggling to pay their power bills with 11% cutting back on heating their homes, according to Consumer New Zealand's latest energy survey. Stats NZ figures show the price of electricty has gone up almost 9% in 12 months. Some people have told Checkpoint they are in bed by five to save on heating costs, others are taking e…

Australia Correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about the Australian Government vowing to move quickly to improve safety in childcare, in the wake of distressing revelations about the potential abuse of an unknown number of young children in childcare centres in Melbourne.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

New Zealand Para skier Adam Hall has been selected for a record-equalling sixth Paralympic Winter Games. He enters the record books alongside Graham Condon and Michael Johnson who competed at six Paralympic Summer Games. Hall, who was born with spina bifida, will compete in Slalom Standing and Giant Slalom Standing at the Games in Milano Cortina ne…

Some former students now living overseas have told Checkpoint they are too scared to come home because they could be arrested for being behind in payments, with heavy penalties adding up. Students loans are interest free unless people head off shore for more than 6 months. In April the interest rate went up to 4.9% and the late payment interest rat…

The Prime Minister has promised to take action in the coming months to tackle the cost of living crisis. Christopher Luxon has acknowledged it is still tough out there for too many kiwis and the government's focus is on unlocking economic growth. According to Stats NZ the price of food has gone up 4.4% in the last year. Electricity is up almost 9% …

States of emergency remain in place for Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough this afternoon, but the sodden regions appear to have received less rainfall than feared. Torrential rain in Taranaki has caused widespread surface flooding, leaving parked cars submerged in water. The region has been under a red severe thunderstorm warning for much of the after…

Chorus have said phone and internet has been restored to most homes and businesses in Golden Bay, after a day-long outage affecting 111 emergency calls. Technicians found a severed fibre line running over Takaka Hill, knocking out more than a thousand connections. Reporter Keiller MacDuff was following developments and spoke to Lisa Owen.…

More than a dozen Ministry of Social Development staff have walked off the job, refusing to return to what they say is an unsafe office with ''strong mould and sewerage smell'. Staff in the ministry's Thames office walked out of the office on Monday, leaving more than 10,000 clients without a face-to-face service. The office was supposed to be a te…

The amount of money Health NZ is spending on locum doctors to plug staff shortages is increasing and could reach $200 million this year. Checkpoint has obtained figures that show the spend on fill-ins is rising fast. A frontline doctor and the senior doctors union have said it is frustrating to see the increasing pot for temporary workers, when off…

A forensic scientist has told the jury in the Khandallah murder trial that, in her opinion, the blood in the hallway looked staged. Julia DeLuney is accused of murdering her 79-year-old mother, Helen Gregory, who was killed at her Wellington home in January 2024. Kate Green reports.

The first Dutch All Black, four debutants, a backline shuffle and a lock at loose forward are the talking points of the All Blacks team named to play France in this weekend's first test in Dunedin. Fabian Holland will become the first All Black from the Netherlands and joins captain Scott Barrett in the second row. RNZ rugby reporter Joe Porter spo…

A former IRD prosecutor is calling for changes to the student loan system so that Kiwis living overseas aren't put off coming home because they're worried about being arrested at the border. In April, interest rates for overseas borrowers was lifted from 3.9% to 4.9% and the late payment interest rate for all borrowers to 8.9%. Tax barrister Dave A…

United States correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen about the latest updates in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial - Combs has been acquitted of the most serious charges in his criminal federal trial. However, the music mogul is set to remain behind bars after the judge overseeing the case denied him bail.…

More than 1000 households have been left without internet or mobile coverage in Golden Bay during today's wild weather, with residents even unable to dial 111. So far, the weather doesn't appear to have been as bad as was feared for the already-sodden Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough regions still recovering from the weekend's floods. But wild weathe…

United Kingdom correspondent Edward O'Driscoll spoke to Lisa Owen about three former senior staff members of the hosptial where convicted murderer Lucy Letby worked, who have now been arrested. As well as how Europe is coping as it remains gripped by a record-breaking heatwave.

Pacific advocates say a proposed law change for out-of-hours immigration visits, like dawn raids, doesn't go far enough. The contentious enforcement practice involves immigration officers searching homes for people they have reasonable grounds to believe are liable for deportation between 6pm and 8am. It has been criticised for targeting Pacific pe…

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The countdown is on until the official return of the Warriors women. After five years in the wilderness, the Wah-hines are finally back in the NRLW and will mark their return against the Roosters this weekend. Sports reporter Jonty Dine joined Lisa Owen

Jaffa fans are coming to grips with the news the orange-coated chocolate treat will soon be no more. Confectionery company RJs has this week confirmed it stopped making the long-time Kiwi favourite earlier this year, and they'll soon vanish from shop shelves. Reporter Jimmy Ellingham visited the home of the Jaffa, the RJs outlet store and factory i…

Residents voiced their frustration at the official response to last week's flooding at public meetings held in the Tasman district today, as the region preps for more heavy rain due to start falling overnight. Many felt the council could have done more to keep rivers and culverts clear, and decried the ongoing telecommunications blackouts in some a…

Some pensioners are resorting to extreme power rationing to keep up with rising costs. Turning off hot water cylinders for days at a time and heading to bed as soon as it's dark to save on electricity. Stats NZ figures show electricity costs have gone up almost 9% in the twelve months from June last year. Gas has gone up almost 15.5% over the same …

An apparent typo could have cost a North Island council $20 million in lost revenue. At a meeting last month, the New Plymouth District Council passed a resolution saying rates figures in its annual plan were inclusive of GST, when they were in fact exclusive of it. Now it has had to quickly correct the error and apologise to ratepayers. Taranaki W…

Pesky blood sucking mosquitoes could turn into power houses of disease control. Auckland University researchers have a million dollars in government funding to investigate whether the insects can be used as a bio security tool by collecting and checking their blood to track disease outbreaks. Professor Jacqueline Beggs from the University of Auckla…

A new type of climate change resilient apple is proving popular overseas, with exports tipped to nearly double this year. The 'Sassy' apple, bred by Plant and Food Research and grown by Taylor Corp in Hawke's Bay, can tolerate warmer climates while still developing good red colouring even during hotter summers. Hawke's Bay Tairawhiti reporter Alexa…

Top speed exits, protests, curfews and courtside spews, it was an eventful opening round of the Wimbledon tennis championship. Sports reporter Dana Johannsen spoke to Lisa Owen.

Shiva the eight-year-old dog has been miraculously saved after 24 hours stuck in a drain pipe during severe flooding in Nelson. On Monday, 16 year old Chloe Sellers was at her dad's work in Brightwater playing catch with her dog, when the tennis ball rolled into a drain. Shiva went diving in after it and in a split second things turned bad. Chloe s…

Asia correspondent Adam Hancock spoke to Lisa Owen about Thailand's prime minister being suspended after weeks of political turmoil, as well as Police in Singapore who can now seize control of people's bank accounts to stop scammers.

A price tag of more than $80 for just over 3kg of prime New Zealand lamb is a little too rich, even for a former chef who devoted decades to fine dining. According to Stats NZ in the past year food prices have gone up 4.4% percent. That's the biggest jump since December 2023. Tony Astle ran the legendary Auckland fine dining restaurant Antoines in …

Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about an intense low pressure system, which is being described as a 'bomb cyclone,' which today began to hit coastal communities along Australia's eastern coastline.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

Wimbledon is now underway and the hot topic has been the historic heatwave which hit the competition with sweltering temperatures.The weather may be heating up but one tennis great is calling for cool heads. Sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe spoke to Lisa Owen.

The government is introducing instant fines for shoplifters, with penalities up to $1000. It said low level theft is a real scourge on the community and public confidence in the justice system is undermined if people can steal with apparently impunity. Retail New Zealand says just over $1.3 billion of goods were stolen in 2023. Under the new regime…

Youth MPs are accusing the government of censoring them over changes to their speeches in Parliament. The 11th Youth Parliament is underway, drawing young people from all over the country to Wellington to debate and speak about what matters most to them. Some rangatahi say they were told to avoid criticising the current government, and feel let dow…

Wanaka's health woes have taken centre stage today at a fiery public meeting with government ministers. At the third stop on a rural roadshow, Matt Doocey, Mark Patterson and health chiefs were pressed for urgent answers, while locals laid out stories of delays and decline. Katie Todd reports.

A rising number of people are considering ditching insurance, taking a gamble to cope with rising prices. New figures from Centrix show almost half a million people are behind on debt repayments, with nearly 22,000 in mortgage arrears. Company liquidations have risen 27% year-on-year. Stats NZ figures show as at March last year house insurance was …

A fledgling Hawkes Bay business is ten of thousands of dollars out of pocket after six burglaries in just two months. Pedalista is a mobile coffee and bike repair service that operates from a commercial space in the Marewa shopping centre in Napier. Burglars hit three times in May and three times in June. Two thefts happened within 24 hours while s…