Checkpoint

Rooftop residential solar is having a moment in the sun, with one company reporting a 50 percent increase in sales. Lightforce Solar, a nationwide installer, is opening a new branch in Queenstown. The company says its sales are up 50 percent this month on the same time last year. Figures from the Electricity Authority also show in the 12 months to March, there have been 10,344 new residential solar installations, up four percent on the previous 12 month period. Canterbury is leading the pack with 2101 new residential solar installations, followed by Auckland with 1200 and Wellington with 1099. John Harman, owner of Light Force Solar, spoke to Lisa Owen.

Forestry, horticulture and sheep meat, those are some of the big winners of New Zealand's historic free trade agreement with India. The deal, which has been the Government's flagship trade policy was signed last night, with the public now able to read the full text. But there are key omissions, like New Zealand's biggest export dairy, and the government's own modelling shows economic benefits will be modest at first. Business reporter Anan Zaki has more.

The government has signed a deal with Z energy to supply and manage an emergency diesel reserve, that will be stored in tanks being refurbished at Marsden Point. Earlier this month, the govenrment anounced it would pay Channel Infrastructure more than $21.5 million to get the storage tanks up to scratch. Associate Minister of Energy Shane Jones spoke to Lisa Owen.

A trio of Christchurch flatmates have gone all Sherlock Holmes on tracking down and reclaiming a trolley load of belongings stolen from their house in a burglary. The Waltham flatmates, two from a small Scottish village and the other from Northern Ireland came home last week to find their place ransacked. They called the police, but a bit of intel from a neighbour saw them launch their own investigation; within an hour they were outside a house, full of their stuff. Sarah Campbell spoke to Lisa Owen.

Parents, whose three-year-old twins played in asbestos-contaminated sand, are accusing Kmart of downplaying the risk. In November last year, the retail giant issued a recall notice for some coloured play sand products prompting dozens of day cares and schools to close. Now, Elle Chrisp and David Dingwall are taking Kmart to the Disputes Tribunal after their children played with the contaminated product at home. Mary Argue reports.

Some residents of the tiny King Country settlement of Ōhura say they have no plans to move despite the spectre of climate change and the village's history of flooding. About 50 homes were damaged during a flash flood earlier this month and five left uninhabitable. Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin was in Ōhura.

Chris Greenacre has officially taken on the top job for the Wellington Phoenix men's team following four stints where he temporarily took charge of the team in a caretaker role. Sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe spoke to Lisa Owen.

118,000 job applications for fewer than 14,000 vacancies. That was the reality for Student Job Search in the first three months of the year. The Charity is hoping a new app will stream line the search for students desperate for work. The tech will allow students to share video with their potential employer and see real time mapping of situations vacant. Student Job Search boss Louise Saviker spoke to Lisa Owen.

A 31-year-old man has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at an event in Washington over the weekend. Cole Tomas Allen, a part time teacher and video game developer from California, made his first appearance in court. He's accused of rushing the lobby at the White House correspondents' dinner, armed with guns and knives and opening fire before being tackled to the ground by authorities. United States correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen.

The threat of prosecution for truancy is effective at getting absent students re-enrolled at school, according to the Associate Minister of Education. It's been revealed the parents of an alleged chronic truant are being taken to court by the government as part of crackdown on absent students. The Minister responsible for school attendance David Seymour said 34 cases have formally been notified to Ministry Of Education's Prosecution Unit, with 17 cases resolved before it got to court. But some don't believe heading to court is the way to achieve that goal. Scott Liddell, acting Principal of Kaiapoi High School spoke to Lisa Owen.