Checkpoint

Rooftop residential solar is having a moment in the sun, with one company reporting a 50 percent increase in sales. Lightforce Solar, a nationwide installer, is opening a new branch in Queenstown. The company says its sales are up 50 percent this month on the same time last year. Figures from the Electricity Authority also show in the 12 months to March, there have been 10,344 new residential sola...

Forestry, horticulture and sheep meat, those are some of the big winners of New Zealand's historic free trade agreement with India. The deal, which has been the Government's flagship trade policy was signed last night, with the public now able to read the full text. But there are key omissions, like New Zealand's biggest export dairy, and the government's own modelling shows economic benefits will...

The government has signed a deal with Z energy to supply and manage an emergency diesel reserve, that will be stored in tanks being refurbished at Marsden Point. Earlier this month, the govenrment anounced it would pay Channel Infrastructure more than $21.5 million to get the storage tanks up to scratch. Associate Minister of Energy Shane Jones spoke to Lisa Owen.

A trio of Christchurch flatmates have gone all Sherlock Holmes on tracking down and reclaiming a trolley load of belongings stolen from their house in a burglary. The Waltham flatmates, two from a small Scottish village and the other from Northern Ireland came home last week to find their place ransacked. They called the police, but a bit of intel from a neighbour saw them launch their own investi...

Parents, whose three-year-old twins played in asbestos-contaminated sand, are accusing Kmart of downplaying the risk. In November last year, the retail giant issued a recall notice for some coloured play sand products prompting dozens of day cares and schools to close. Now, Elle Chrisp and David Dingwall are taking Kmart to the Disputes Tribunal after their children played with the contaminated pr...

Some residents of the tiny King Country settlement of Ōhura say they have no plans to move despite the spectre of climate change and the village's history of flooding. About 50 homes were damaged during a flash flood earlier this month and five left uninhabitable. Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin was in Ōhura.

Chris Greenacre has officially taken on the top job for the Wellington Phoenix men's team following four stints where he temporarily took charge of the team in a caretaker role. Sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe spoke to Lisa Owen.

118,000 job applications for fewer than 14,000 vacancies. That was the reality for Student Job Search in the first three months of the year. The Charity is hoping a new app will stream line the search for students desperate for work. The tech will allow students to share video with their potential employer and see real time mapping of situations vacant. Student Job Search boss Louise Saviker spoke...

A 31-year-old man has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at an event in Washington over the weekend. Cole Tomas Allen, a part time teacher and video game developer from California, made his first appearance in court. He's accused of rushing the lobby at the White House correspondents' dinner, armed with guns and knives and opening fire before being tackled to the gr...

The threat of prosecution for truancy is effective at getting absent students re-enrolled at school, according to the Associate Minister of Education. It's been revealed the parents of an alleged chronic truant are being taken to court by the government as part of crackdown on absent students. The Minister responsible for school attendance David Seymour said 34 cases have formally been notified to...

On the eve of ANZAC Day, bugle players will be dusting off the brass to play The Last Post at services here and across the world. But what does it take to prepare for such an important moment? Checkpoint's Johnny Sutherland tracked down a bugler who takes his practice to another level. He spoke to Lisa Owen.

United Kingdom correspondent spoke to Lisa Owen about how the private health records of half a million Britons have been caught up in a massive data breach involving China.

The Prime Minister has pulled out of his regular Monday morning interview on TVNZ's Breakfast programme after National lodged a complaint about the network's Press Gallery team. RNZ's deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Lisa Owen.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

A new chapter for Christchurch kicks off on Friday night. Super round is almost underway at what some are already calling our new national stadium. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

The New Zealand Defence force is leading this year's ANZAC dawn service at Gallipoli in Turkey. It's also leading Aotearoa's service at Chunuk Bair; the hill captured by Kiwi soldiers but later lost to an Ottoman counter attack, after the New Zealand soldiers had been relieved. More than 16,000 New Zealanders served in the campaign and almost 2,700 of them died; about a sixth of all those who had...

Job site Seek has seen a big jump in the number casual roles listed on its website, as an economist says uncertain economic times are making businesses reluctant to hire full time staff. In theory, casual contracts offer flexibility for employer and employee, and work is available as and when it suits both parties - but no hours are guaranteed. Some workers also say the benefits can be stacked in...

Several regional airlines are getting millions of dollars in government loans to keep them flying marginal routes, but some operators believe more help is needed. The 30 million dollar pot of money from the Regional Infrastructure Fund was ring fenced for aviation before the fuel crisis cause by war in the Middle East. Air Chathams is getting just over 17 million dollars to refinance debt. The Min...

Thousands of people are gathered in Blenheim for Kia Hukere te Hoe, the biggest kapa haka event ever held in Marlborough. It's returned to the district for the first time in 13 years, bringing together hundreds of kaihaka, their whanau and supporters from across the Te Tauihu rohe. The event's so popular, there isn't enough room for all the schools that wanted to perform. Samantha Gee reports from...

ACT leader David Seymour has floated the idea of giving every year eleven student five hundred dollars to invest. It would be supervised as part of a programme to raise financial literacy and encourage kiwis to diversify their investments. Matt Benassi teaches Commerce at Cashmere High School and spoke to Lisa Owen.

After 134 years, the classrooms and playing fields of a Manawatū school fell quiet. Linton Country School closed for good in early 2023 after the roll dwindled to zero. Now, the old schoolgrounds are up for sale. Tenders are open for the property and its classrooms, hall, out-of-tune piano and well-stocked library. Reporter Jimmy Ellingham called in for a look.

A New Zealand Olympic medalist is riding the wave of success all the way to Hollywood. Slalom canoeist, Luuka Jones Yaxley, has been working as a stunt double for Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron for the film Apex. Billed as an action thriller, the movie was shot primarily in Australia's Blue Mountains. It is the story of a grieving adrenaline junkie - played by Theron - who finds herself bei...

In sport, Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua announced her assistant coach for the Commonwealth Games. Australian Briony Akle has been brought back into team's set-up, less than a year after being stood down during last season's coaching turmoil. Sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe spoke to Lisa Owen. 

It's the end of an era for DIY dressmakers, with the supplier of big brand paper patterns shutting down. An Australian distributer that supplies New Look, Simplicity, Vogue, Butterick and McCalls is closing. The patterns are made from tissue paper that are cut out and put together like jigsaw using instructions that come with it. New Zealand used to have its own paper making pattern companies but...

Americas correspondent Adam Hancock spoke to Lisa Owen about how a soldier who was part of the mission to capture Venezuela's former President Nicolas Maduro has been charged after allegedly winning hundreds of thousands of dollars betting on the operation. He also spoke about how Mexico's president is trying to simmer tensions with the US after two CIA officials died in the country and how Cuban'...