Checkpoint

Seven months on from the devastating January floods, Te Araroa locals are still facing a massive clean up, and lingering damage. National's Dana Kirkpatrick, who is the MP for the East Coast and was in the area last week, spoke to Lisa Owen.

In Te Araroa, one of East Cape's famous beach towns, the previously booming tourist industry has virtually ground to a halt. The local holiday park is still closed, and there's a heap of mud to remove if it's to reopen but the summer holidays. Teuila Fuatai reports.

Forty percent of young people don't see buy now pay later services as debt, and that's a problem according to a finance expert. A survey of more than 700 people aged 18 to 34 found just 60 percent recognised the service as a debt. AUT professor of Finance Aaron Gilbert's been researching the issue and spoke to Lisa Owen.

Middle East correspondent Madeline Croad spoke to Lisa Owen about Turkey's LGBTQ+ crackdown which has seen dozens more arrested following a protest, as well as continued fallout from Ed Sheeran's America tour after supporting artist, Macklemore was dropped for his pro-Palestine comments on stage.

The National Party has vowed to break-up supermarket giant Foodstuffs if it's re-elected. It would mean separating New World and Four Square into one nationwide chain and Pak'nSave into another. Political reporter Lauren Crimp spoke to Lisa Owen.

Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about the nation's cyber intelligence chief calling for an "early warning system" as a frontline defence against artificial intelligence going rogue.

The ACT party wants to freeze the minimum wage for three years - and slash the training wage for under-20 year olds to about $14 - touting it as a win for struggling small businesses, and youngsters struggling to find work. Its policy was announced as political leaders spent the day selling their parties to the business worlds as they get set to step on the election campaign trail. Political repor...

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The hottest tickets in town have been snapped up in a matter of minutes. It may be a bigger venue, but it was the same scramble to secure seats to the Warriors vs Knights at Eden Park on Sunday. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

Raglan is back on The World Surf League championship tour for next year. There were doubts the seaside town could cope with the swell of crowds when it hosted the world's best surfers for the first time in May, but it impressed the League with its deep surfing heritage, world class waves and passionate locals. Chair of Surfing NZ Jimi Higgins spoke to Lisa Owen.

A public inquiry has found authorities could have prevented Tom Phillips from disappearing with his children - or brought them home sooner. The report, by former High Court judge Simon Moore, says agencies missed crucial chances to protect the children and repeatedly downplayed or overlooked the harm they faced. Deputy political editor Craig McCulloch reports, and Police Deputy Commissioner Jill R...

A business owner on the South Island's West Coast says State Highway 6 closures are costing him thousands of dollars a day as tourists cancel, turn around or avoid the area. The highway was closed late last month, when heavy rain caused slips, washouts and rockfalls. A few days later it partially opened, for three daily escorted convoys. Haast locals are questioning why it's taking so long to rest...

As many of us enjoyed the final days of summer, communities on Tairawhiti's East Cape were inundated with torrential rain, causing widespread flooding. The destructive storm triggered more than 11,000 landslips, blocking the coastal road at several places and blocking off residents. Seven months on, the road is still getting fixed as the clean up continues, and locals are dealing with multiple oth...

The first All Whites squad since their Football World Cup exit in June has been named for an expanded FIFA international window. This year September and October international windows have been combined, meaning more matches than ever before. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

Amateur bird-watchers are being called on to help with the great Bittern bird count. The Bittern Matuku-hurepo lives in wetlands around the motu and is one of New Zealand's most endangered birds. Every year there is a head count to see how the Bittern is tracking. The Love Bittern project co-ordinates the great Matuku-Hurepo muster to avoid the birds being double counted. Project founder, Wendy Am...

United States correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen about the president's son, Donald Trump Jr, confirming part of his wedding celebrations were paid for by a Russian oligarch with ties to Vladimir Putin.

A public inquiry into the handling of the Tom Phillips case says the harm he caused in isolating the children as well as concerns from the maternal whānau were "minimised or overlooked by agencies for significant periods". Concerns raised by the children's adult sisters were effectively ignored despite their repeated attempts to alert Oranga Tamariki. Chief Executive Amanda Malu spoke to Lisa Owen...

United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland meeting in Cardiff as calls for the break up of the UK gather momentum, as well new fast-track legislation could see Nigle Farage's Reform UK party facing action over its recent donations.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The side were stunned at the weekend by a loss to the Dolphins, leaving them needing to win three in a row to clinch a maiden title. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

It's been almost three weeks since a devastating flash flood ripped through villages on the Nepal-Tibet border. Approximately 1,300 people are known to have died in the disaster, with thousands more still feeling the affects. Veteran-led group Taskforce Kiwi has sent three volunteers to central Nepal's Nuwakot region which suffered catastrophic damage in the flooding. Taskforce Kiwi's team lead St...

The family of a Christchurch woman murdered by a patient who absconded from a psychiatric hospital have asked why it took their mother's death for changes to be made at Hillmorton. Laisa Waka Tunidau was stabbed to death by Zakariye Mohamed Hussein outside her Sockburn home in June 2022, after he left Hillmorton Hospital on unescorted community leave. An inquest into her death began in Christchurc...

A coroner's described the death of an Otago University student as "senseless" and a "woeful illustration" of the country's youth drinking culture. The 20 year old student died after choking on his own vomit at a flat party in 2023.

The capital city's annual literary festival is back, bigger than ever, after last year's hiatus. Verb Wellington is active again, much to the delight of authors and booklovers. Anya Fielding reports.

Deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Lisa Owen about the latest news from the Beehive.