Checkpoint

News from the business sector, including a market report.

Australia correspondent Peter Ryan speaks to Lisa Owen about how airlines that unreasonably cancel or delay flights are coming under greater scrutiny to provide a better deal for jilted travelers. The pressure comes after rising anger and frustration from travelers who are tired of being offered travel vouchers, rather than cash refunds.

With such a deep pool of New Zealand talent residing across the ditch, the Kiwis are looking to reconnect Australian based players with their roots. Rugby League World Cup winners Stephen Kearney and Nathan Cayless, both based in Australia, are behind the strategy dubbed 'Taurahere,' sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

Tensions are flaring in a small Clutha District community with allegations of stock shooting, poaching and poor pest management in nearby forestry blocks. Farmers near Lawrence and Tuapeka said they want things to change but there's been a communication breakdown with forestry companies. It prompted local police to call a public meeting this afternoon to air their concerns with forestry representatives and get the conversation started, Reporter Tess Brunton was at the meeting in Lawrence.

It's lights out for Beam e-scooters after Auckland council canceled its licence for allegedly contract breaches and refered the matter to police. A council investigation's found Beam has allegedly been deploying way more of its distinctive purple scooter than the 1400 its licence allows for and providing misleading data to conceal its actions. All Beam scooters will be deactivitated from midnight tonight and all scooters removed from Auckland streets by close of business on Friday, Auckland Council's manager of licensing and environmental health, Mervyn Chetty spoke to Lisa Owen.

Green MP and former Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter championed the previous government's Road to Zero strategy. The safety programme had a target of reducing annual deaths and serious injuries in road crashes by 40 percent by 2030, eventually reaching zero and included installing hundreds of kilometres of median barriers. But in February, the National government anounced it's axing the programme, Julie Anne Genter spoke to Lisa Owen.

An Auckland Councillor is questioning whether the median barrier at the site of a fatal car crash at Ramarama, near Auckland's southern border, is fit for purpose. Yesterday's crash on State Highway 1 claimed the lives of three seasonal workers, just days before they were due to fly home to Samoa. Three others were hospitalised, including a 21 year-old who remains in a critical condition in hospital, reporter Lucy Xia reports.

An expert's warning the wide spread under-grading of how difficult or dangerous mountain bike tracks are remains a potentially deadly problem and a single nationwide standard needs to be introduced urgently. Simon Noble from Envisage New Zealand audited Marlborough's Wither Hills mountain trails and found nearly all had been under-graded in terms of their degree of difficulty. Only two of the parks 37 tracks were actually consistent with the gradings, meaning they were actually harder than indicated. The report was presented to Marlborough District Council last week. Recreation consultant and trail auditor Simon Noble spoke to Lisa Owen.

The T-shaped device is inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy, and normally a patient is told to take paracetamol or ibuprofen beforehand but that's only to manage potential pain afterwards. In the US, videos circulating on social media of women sharing their experiences going through IUD insertion has triggered new guidelines around advice and use of anaesthetic and there are calls here to do the same, Louise Ternouth reports.

Philip Polkinghorne's defence has suggested police are omitting information from their investigation at the High Court in Auckland today. The former eye surgeon is on trial for murdering his wife, Pauline Hanna, in 2021, and staging her death as a suicide. Polkinghorne's defence argues Ms Hanna's depression and job stress, led her to end her life, Jessica Hopkins reports.

The All Blacks are getting ready face the Springboks this weekend in South Africa. RNZ's sports reporter Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen from Johannesburg.

A Kiwi cyclist has battled lightening storms, freezing conditions and avoided being eaten by wolves, to win the world's toughtest mountain bike race. Christchurch's Joe Nation rode to victory in the gruelling two thousand kilometre silk road Mountain race, through Kyrgyzstan in just six days.To make things even tougher it's an unsupported race, meaning no crew to restock you along the way and no soliciting help from locals; any assistance has to be freely given and unplanned, Joe Nation spoke to Lisa Owen.

United States correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen about a disagreement over microphones having the potential to jeopardise the next presidential debate, a former US Armed Forces Chief publicly endorsing a presidential candidate for the first time and an appeal to overturn the dismissal of the Mar a Lago classified documents case against Donald Trump being made by a Special Counsel.

A gardening guerilla who's turned a concrete jungle of a median strip into a colourful flower patch is being shut down by Christchurch council for safety reasons. Heath Ling planted out the barren strip at an intersection in Woolston, with marigolds, lupins and poppies.He owns a nearby bookstore and has been working on the garden for four years. Now, Christchurch council has banned him from the median strip for his own safety and because he's a distraction to drivers, Heath Ling spoke to Lisa Owen.

United Kingdom correspondent Diane To speaks to Lisa Owen about the United Nations body telling Britain it needs to crack down on racist hate speech - notably by public figures and politicians, the lastest move in fixing Britain's problem of severely overcrowded prisons and a new jailable offence in parts of the UK, to deter a bit of an unusual crime - pet abduction.

The High Court in Auckland has today been shown the internet history, photos, and messages from the phones of Pauline Hanna and Philip Polkinghorne's mistress Madison Ashton. Polkinghorne is on trial for Ms Hanna's murder, which his defence argues was suicide. A warning, this report by Felix Walton contains details that listeners may find distressing.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games start this Thursday and will bring together as many as 4400 athletes from around the world. New Zealand is sending 25 para athletes to compete across eight different sports. Sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe has been looking into a fundamental aspect of Para sport - and that is classification.

The family of a patient found dead after he failed to return to the mental health ward at Palmerston North Hospital are calling for a review of the facility. Their calls comes as an internal investigation into the incident uncovered shortcomings in the man's care. Philip Lucas left the hospital on leave on 24 December, 2022. His body was found a month later and a coroner is looking into his death, Jimmy Ellingham reports.

More than two dozen of our future doctors may have to head to overseas after Te Whatu Ora didn't match them with jobs for their first year out of medical school. Te Whatu Ora has offered 538 students post-graduate jobs, with 25 - mostly international students missing out, despite having studied and completed all their qualifications here. It comes as some GP practices have weeks-long waiting lists while hospitals and emergency departments around the country struggle with understaffing, and ballooning wait times, Luka Forman has more.