Checkpoint

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The Wellington Phoenix women fell just short of the ultimate prize in the A-League but the club is predicting bigger things to come. The Phoenix lost the grand final to Melbourne City 3-1 on Saturday night and a couple of hours later were already planning for the next season. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

A warning that the following story discusses suicide. An inquest has heard that a Christchurch man who died after a police stand-off was planning to carry out a mass shooting in the weeks following the mosque terror attack. Artemiy Dubovskiy, who was known as Troy, is suspected of taking his own life early on March the 27th, 2019 after police negotiated with him for hours. Timothy Brown was in the Coroners' Court and filed this report.

More than one hundred and thirty million dollars. That's how much the government's investing in literacy and maths support for budget 2026 .. as part of its "Teaching the Basics Brilliantly" policy.

A cat rescuer who tames, desexes and rehomes stray felines is worried a bureaucratic battle could put his operation on pause. Tony Hitchcock has run Feral No More from the small Rangitikei town of Marton for the past three years with no issue. But a move to Eketahuna in Tararua is proving problematic for continuing his rescue work. Jimmy Ellingham reports.

The Queenstown experience could be elevated even further, if a futuristic transport project gets off the ground. Whoosh is a system of autonmous electric passenger pods that move along a static overhead network of cables and rails. Queenstown business consortium spokesperson Matthew Day spoke to Lisa Owen.

The Hurricanes are embracing the expectations surrounding them. The men from the capital have kicked clear at the top of the table and are determined to end a decade long title drought. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

The Game Animal Council and Wild Game Recovery Trust have set up a new online platform to simplify the process for hunters wanting to donate wild meat to families in need. The site Hunt and Share include QR codes for labelling and allows meat to be traced from the hills to the plate. The Game Changer NZ project also connects-up hunters, butchers and foodbanks. Wayne Langford, chair of the Wild Game Recovery Trust spoke to Lisa Owen.

Donald Trump says "the clock is ticking" for Iran as the road to resolving the Middle East conflict drags on.

There are calls for a national bed register, to stop so called ghost communities caused by short term holiday rentals. A bed register could force operators, like AirBnB, to share data with local councils; including accommodation addresses. The concern is that some areas, particularly in visitor hotspots, are being taken over with temporary accommodation... hollowing out neighbourhoods and making it hard for residents to find accommodation. Christchurch councillor Nathanial Herz Jardine spoke to Lisa Owen.