Checkpoint

News from the business sector, including a market report.

Calls for a South Island-based NRL team continue to grow louder. The Warriors made their debut at the new Te Kaha Stadium last weekend, with fans packing the house having been starved of rugby league. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

A charity match is on the cards between the parliamentary rugby team and a squad presenting Rugby for Life. It's part of a fundraiser for the organisation the helps people build skills and careers through and beyond rugby. Deputy chair of Rugby for Life, Riki Kinnaird spoke to Lisa Owen.

The fast-track panel assessing plans for a vast gold mine in Central Otago wants to know if the applicant would foot the bill after a catastrophic failure. The panel is seeking a social impact assessment and a worst-case economic scenario from Australian company Santana Minerals, which this week voluntarily paused the processing of its application. Otago Southland reporter Katie Todd has the story.

Grounded flights, ferocious winds, trees down, slips and flooding. Wellington and Taranaki are being hit with terrible weather this evening. Severe weather warnings have been issued across the North Island, and thousands of homes are without power. Anya Fielding reports.

A collective of ethnic, faith and community leaders have written to MPs with a call for politicians to get behind laws aimed at curbing hate speech and incitement to violence. It follows social media comments by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki. The Royal Commission on the Christchurch mosque attacks recommended improved hate speech and incitement laws, but last year the government abandoned work on the proposed law reforms. Spokesperson Abdur Razzaq spoke to Lisa Owen.

Parents forced to fork out for transport to get their children to school in Palmerston North because of Ministry of Education changes to rural bus routes face a new dilemma. A user-pays service from one rural town is about to stop due to a lack of numbers, leaving families pondering homeschooling as an option if they can't find transport. Field correspondent Jimmy Ellingham reports.

The Minister responsible for the drug buying agency Pharmac is doubling down on his call for efficencies driven by AI. In a letter to Pharmac detailing his expectations for the next year, David Seymour has emphasised investment in data and digital infrastructure to enhance core functions, including the use of artificial intelligence. Associate Minister of Health David Seymour spoke to Lisa Owen.

It is do or die for The All Whites in Vancouver tomorrow. They need to beat Belgium, a top-10 side, to avoid an early exit from the Football World Cup. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

Poachers are allegedly pilfering trout at a popular fishing spot in Ngongotaha near Rotorua, and it's making some locals pretty mad. A fishing club there says the culprits are fishing outside of legal hours, using illegal methods and exceeding limits. NGO Trout Fishing Club founder Simon Aston spoke to Lisa Owen.