Checkpoint

The Department of Conservation's disposal of a small backcountry hut in north Canterbury has led to community backlash with accusations DOC has breached trust and the Conservation Act.

One of the largest teams in sport is coming to our shores for the biggest tour in New Zealand cricket history. India will headline a mammoth home summer announced in Papatoetoe today, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh women also set to tour. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

A 17-year-old Auckland student is about to get a taste of Apple after impressing the tech giant with a development of his own. Alex Liang, a student at Westlake Boys' Highschool, wrote the code for a star gazing app that can be used with the the tech company's vision pro mixed reality headset. It won him top honours in an Apple student challenge and a trip to the company's California head office. He will also get the chance to collaborate with the company's engineers. Alex spoke with Lisa Owen.

Middle East correspondent in Doha, Lou Browne.

Any money made from charging international tourists to visit Aotearoa's most iconic spots should be spent in the region, the attraction is in. That's the view of a Coromandel resident's group. DOC is consulting on plans to charge international tourists a fee at up to ten popular spots around the motu. They include Milford Sound, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Cathedral Cove. It estimates up to 250,000 people visit the cove near Hahei on the Coromandel Peninsula and 75 percent of them are international guests. Haihei Residents and rate payers Association and chair John Jonassen spoke to Lisa Owen.

In Australia, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party has been on an absolute tear so far this year, enjoying a surge in support that has seen one poll showing it's become the country's most popular political party. Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen.

River levels are dropping in the Tasman district, where some places received 700 millimetres of rain over the King's Birthday long weekend. It has felt all too familiar for some people, with the downpours coming almost a year from last winter's devastating floods. Samantha Gee reports.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The final standings make for pretty reading for New Zealand fans, the entire top four consisting of kiwi teams. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

On Tuesday, a team of whale disentanglement specialists managed to free a Southern Right Whale from a cray pot line which it had been stuck in for at least four days. It's fight for survival began just off Stewart Island on Saturday, when a cray pot anchored the whale to one spot, it could not swim away. Step up a kind-hearted fisherman, a local ferry and a boat load of whale specialists. Jennifer Ross from the Department of Conservation's Stewart Island team spoke to Lisa Owen.