Checkpoint

News from the business sector, including a market report.

A blockbuster boxing was announced in Auckland. David Nyika will headline a card on August 8 on the North Shore, in an IBF cruiserweight world title eliminator with New Zealand-born Australian Floyd Masson. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

Minimum income related rent contributions for social housing will rise from 25 to 30 percent. That means 84,000 households will be paying an average of $31 more a week in rent. The flip side; more than 100,000 other families will get higher accommodation supplement rates; an average of $15 a week. The assessment for social housing is being redesigned - so its " more tightly prioritised" for those...

The price of plastic continues to climb because of ongoing disruption to oil supplies out of the Middle East. The use of petrochemicals and plastics is vast, they're used in manufacturing, health care including pharmaceuticals, the construction industry, packaging and recycle bins. New Zealand imports most of the raw ingredients used by the plastics manufacturing sector. CEO of Plastics New Zealan...

The government is shaking up the social housing system - to bring in more stringent criteria about who gets a state house and possibly, new tenancy duration limits. It's boosting support for more than 100,000 families by an average of $15 a week - but leaving another 80,000 worse off by an average of $30 a week. The opposition said the changes are "cruel" and will lead to more evictions of public...

Twenty people have been charged in an organised crime sting across several jails following an almost year-long investigation. Fifteen prison staff and five members of the public connected to inmates were among those arrested. It's alleged the Corrections' officers working at Mount Eden jail were smuggling contraband like cellphones and meth into the prison. Staff employed by the prison operator Se...

Too much admin and not enough pay. Principal Sam Mortimer from Greymouth High says both are barriers stopping foreign born or foreign qualified teachers coming to our schools. He said newly-qualified teachers aren't paid enough to meet minimum pay rates for work visas, and the paper work is excessive. Meanwhile, a New Zealander with Australian teaching qualifications says she nearly gave up becaus...

Australian and New Zealand police will fund a strike force in Colombia to fight the Pacific drug trade. The announcement comes as Pacific leaders and police chiefs gather in Suva this week to discuss transnational organised crime. RNZ Pacific reporter Kaya Selby has more. 

Netball New Zealand is the latest national sporting organisation to fill its Chief Executive vacancy. Experienced sports and major events leader Jennah Wootten has been put in charge of the country's largest women's sport.

A new study has found women working in sectors with an obvious gender pay gap are not just broke, but broken. Researchers at AUT spoke with 47 Lead Maternity Care midwives and their families about their wellbeing and family life. They say what they found was "confronting" Being on 24/7 call with high caseloads led to foregoing sleep, healthy eating, and exercise - contributing to illness and injur...

The Trump administration has filed murder charges against Cuba's former president Raúl Castro. The 94 year old is accused of playing a key role in the shooting down of two American planes which killed three US citizens and one resident 30 years ago. It comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries brought on by US sanctions and a push for regime change in the communist nation. Washingto...

The Citizens Advice Bureau is facing significant funding challenges. Wellington City Council decided yesterday to effectively halve its funding for the local bureau, leaving the free independent service reeling. Citizen Advice Bureau CEO, Kerry Dalton spoke to Lisa Owen. 

Evening business for 20 May 2026.

The Chiefs are encouraging their fans to flout the ban, but the Crusaders have fired back by threatening to melt any they manage to confiscate.

The funding feud between Nicola Willis and Winston Peters is continuing, amid revelations the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will not have to find savings in this year's Budget.

In April, there was a ten percent increase in bus trips in Canterbury compared to the same time last year. That's 120,000 extra journeys. Even before the fuel crisis the regional council, Environment Canterbury said the network was under strain. Environment Canterbury, Public Transport General manager Stewart Gibson spoke to Lisa Owen.

David Seymour has unveiled a report that's made extensive use of AI to reveal a messy maze of regulations that suck up people's time. The regulations minister's report into regulatory duplication and inefficiency comes just a day after the bombshell announcement of deep cuts to the public service. It was followed up with confirmation the New Zealand government logo would feature English first, ahe...

Nine prison staff have been arrested in a police operation at Mount Eden jail and five more at the Auckland South Corrections Facility. Senior corrections officers are among those arrested in the police sting that's part of a wider investigation in Auckland. Corrections employ about 11,000 staff. Corrections minister Mark Mitchell spoke to Lisa Owen.

A landmark moment, that's how Christchurch Airport is describing the launch of three new direct international flights from the city. Air New Zealand announced the new routes from Christchurch to Singapore, Tokyo and Perth at tourism event TRENZ in Auckland this morning. Tourism reporter Tess Brunton has more.

Too little, too late. That's the view of some frustrated Wellington residents on the city's south coast, who are facing a long wait for the failing Moa Point wastewater treatment plant to be completely fixed.

Arsenal have won their first English Premier League football title for 22 years.

The lightweight traps are easier to carry into remote locations, cutting time and costs. About two hundred of the NestGard boxes are being used in Aotearoa. But they're now being deployed to Scotland's remote Orkney Islands as part of a stoat erradicaiton programme .

Americas correspondnet Adam Hancock spoke to Lisa Owen about efforts to trap and test rodents from southern Argentina for the hantavirus strain which killed three cruise ship passengers

The Finance Minister on Tuesday announced more than 9,000 public service jobs will go over three years, with savings of almost $2.5 billion. It has public servants holding their breaths. The government says new tech and AI will help streamline departments, but details are sparse. Either way some people are going to be looking for work. Bruce Pilbrow, the chief executive of New Zealand owned recrui...

Australia correspondent Nick Grimm with the latest from across the ditch.