Checkpoint

A "Muslim terrorist," that is how Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown referred to an RNZ staffer of Indian descent, when the man escorted him into the building for an interview on Monday. The staffer apologised to the Mayor for having to wait due to security; the Mayor responded with a comment along the lines of 'security can't be very tight if we're being escorted by a Muslim terrorist.' Reporter Rowan Qu...

A community conservation group has won a legal victory against a multinational gold mining company, but the company says it won't thwart its plans to tunnel under conservation land. Ours Not Mines has been fighting OceanaGold's license to install vents for a proposed underground mine that extends its operations in the Waihi area. This week, Ours Not Mines won in the Court of Appeal, voiding the li...

The Australian government is lauding the country's National Disability Insurance Scheme as an enormous human rights achievement, even as it reveals sweeping cuts to the program in a bid to rein in costs. Correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

Super Round is just one more sleep away. All sides will converge on Christchurch this weekend to mark the opening of the new Te Kaha Stadium. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

There's been no waddling about at Oamaru's Blue Penguin colony .. they have been busy ...very busy with a boomer of a breeding season. Nearly a thousand penguin chicks fledged ..way up from last year's 600. The colony lives in what was originally a rock quarry in the south-east corner of the Oamaru harbour Henry Elsom is the environmental team lead at Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony. He spoke to Lisa O...

After a years-long inquiry into the death of an Auckland construction worker, a coroner was clear. The braking system used by a piece of heavy machinery that failed, causing Graeme Rabbits' death, is inherently unsafe. The coroner made a series of recommendations to reduce the chances of further deaths, but what becomes of them? Jimmy Ellingham filed this report.

David Seymour's thinking about giving tens of millions of dollars away to teenagers. You heard right, but its not quite that simple. The ACT leader's floated the idea of giving every 15 year old school student $500 to invest. It would be supervised as part of a programme to raise financial literacy to encourage kiwis to diversify their investments. The money would come out the of the government's...

New Zealand police are facing serious integrity and conduct issues and a reset is mission critical according to a scathing review by the Public Service Commission. The report details a perceived culture that holds seniors to a lesser standard than juniors and calls for urgent action. Tribalism at senior levels is also indentified as an issue along with a complaints system that can fail at all leve...

Damaged walls and floors are being ripped out of homes across Wellington, as residents and business owners survey the destruction left by Wellington's flash flood on Monday. One Berhampore couple is stripping their home and relocating their business after floodwaters inundated their house in the early hours of the morning. The cost of the damage could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Wel...

Petrol station owners admit they are profiling people at the pump before letting them fill up amid a surge in fuel drive-offs. The war in Iran has sent prices soaring, with data from Stats NZ showing fuel prices rising nearly 19 percent for petrol and 43 percent for diesel in the last couple of months. Police say they've laid more than 370 charges over the thefts since last month, and are urging p...

Two of New Zealand's A-League football teams have their sights set on silverware and the other is still to confirm who will be in charge beyond this weekend. With such a big few days of action ahead, sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

Christchurch based company Spicy Boys make a sauce called, "you did this." The key ingredient; the Carolina Reaper. It comes with a warning, don't eat it, yet everytime they make a limited run of the stuff it sells out. Spicy Boys owner, Jay Madgwick-Pamment spoke to Lisa Owen.

As the war in the Middle East enters its 55th day, a path to end the conflict remains unclear. That's despite President Donald Trump extending a temporary ceasefire with Iran. But no further peace talks between the US and Iran are confirmed. So what's the hold up? Washington DC correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen.

"Enabled and entitled". That's how one political commentator described Shane Jones remarks about a "butter chicken tsunami". The New Zealand First minister made the comments while condemming New Zealand's free trade agreement with India. Despite strong criticism, he refused to apologise. A new poll from Horizon Research asked adults whether they agreed with the use of racial remarks in politics in...

United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about how former senior Foreign Office official Olly Robbins has been giving evidence about his role in Lord Mandelson's appointment and about how a major shift in public health policy is on the way in the UK.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

New Zealand Formula One driver Liam Lawson is likely to avoid the ire of Italian tax authorities but some of the sport's biggest names could get caught up in a tax evasion investigation. Italy's financial police are reportedly looking into every current and recent Formula One driver and the income earned by foreign drivers from races held on Italian soil. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lis...

Annual deaths from blood cancer have increased almost 40 percent in the past two decades, according to a new report that paints a grim picture of how the disease is being managed in Aotearoa. The State of Blood Cancer said it's one of the fastest growing contributors to cancer mortality and treatment here is not keeping pace with comparable countries. About 27,000 people in New Zealand are living...

Christopher Luxon's handling of disunity within his own party's ranks has begun exposing rifts in the coalition. Now he and deputy Nicola Willis have both publicly retaliated against coalition partner Winston Peters, saying he's scaremongering, anti-immigrant and making mischief. Mr Peters' complaint: no heads up from the PM about a potential leadership spill he initiated on himself. Political rep...

Corrections did not call police for hours after losing track of a high risk would be sex offender when his GPS monitor went dead and they failed to confirm his whereabouts. John Tekuru, who was jailed for trying to snatch a toddler for sex, was released from prison on March 10. Just days later, he was back in jail after admitting he breached his release by hanging around a playground and school. S...

People power, or should that be Putiki power, is being credited for the creation of a new bus route in Whanganui. Championed by the kaumatua and kuia of Putiki Marae, it's the first time the riverside area of the city's had a public bus service in living memory. Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin went along for a ride.

A would be sex offender who's supposed to be GPS tracked was unmonitored for several hours after his tracker went flat and Corrections failed to verify where he was. John Tekuru, who was jailed for trying to snatch a toddler for sex, was released from prison on March 10. Just days after his release Tekuru went to a playground, and was also found near a childhood centre. He's banned from being near...

Christchurch police are scouring the city's Red Zone in search of a woman who's been missing for eight months. Police have grave concerns for 39-year-old Rowena Walker and say her kids are desperate for their mum to come home. Anna Sargent reports.

As the country battles a budding blackmarket of illicit tobacco, concerns are being raised the issue is being overblown by interest groups. RNZ has been investigating black market cigarettes and tobacco being sold over the counter, without any of the mandated health warnings and for a fraction of the cost of retail brands. Authorities are calling for a crack down on those selling the smokes illega...