Checkpoint

With the White Ferns and South Africa deadlocked at 1-all in the one-day series, the 39th game of the season could be another nail-biter. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

In a memo sent last month, the ambulance service said it was becoming "increasingly difficult and costly" to supply speciality milks for staff. Hato Hone highlighted the collective employment agreement that simply says it will provide employees with tea, coffee, milo, milk and sugar during work related activities. There's no mention of specific milk types. First Union Organiser Faye McCann spoke to Lisa Owen.

A pathologist has diagnosed former Maori All Black and Highlander Shane Christie with a brain disease likely to be connected with repeated head knocks. They say he had "high stage" chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, before his death by suspected suicide last year. New Zealand Rugby says it recognises an association between repeated head impacts and CTE, and takes the issue seriously. Samantha Gee reports.

Sudent nurses on unpaid placements, while also studying full time are feeling the petrol pain and it's feared some may drop out because of it. A nursing degree includes hundreds of hours of on the job training. Students have to physically get to supervised clinical placements at hospitals and clinics; rotating around locations, which can be kilometres from where they live. They're not paid, in fact the students effectively pay to complete the placements through their course fees. New Zealand Nurses Organisation National Student Union co-chair Poihaere Whare spoke to Lisa Owen.

The workers who use their own cars to travel between jobs will get a 30 percent increase in their mileage rates to help offset rising fuel costs. But other healthcare workers use their own cars to travel between jobs miss out. Health Minister Simeon Brown said mileage rates for care and community support workers will go from 63.5 cents per kilometre to 82.5 cents; that works out at just over $19 per 100 kilometres.

New Zealand and the Cook Islands have normalised relations after more than a year of tense disagreement. Winston Peters' very brief trip to Rarotonga concluded with the signing of a defence and security declaration. It also comes with the resumption of funding, though there remains a question over the amount. Political reporter Russell Palmer was there.

Police told a documentary crew they had shot fugative Tom Phillips before they told his parents he was dead. Hundreds of documents released under the Official Information Act gives a behind the scenes look at the relationship between the private documentary crew and police media staff. The newly released documents show text messages between police director of media Juli Clausen and documentary maker Dame Julie Christie. NZ Police executive director of media communications Cas Carter spoke to Lisa Owen.

Palmerston North Hospital is a step closer to welcoming a new surgical team member - a robotic one. In less than a month, more than $500,000 has been raised to get the hospital a surgical robot, to help surgeons carry perform operations with maximum precision. They've got some way to go to reach the $2.5 million they need to buy the digital doctor. Anya Fielding reports.

A shortened but emotional weekend of Super Rugby awaits. One of just two kiwi sides in action, the Crusaders will play their final game at Addington, the stadium built in the wake of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

In hard times is there room for haggling over price? It's a question Checkpoint was keen to answer when it feels like absolutely everything is going up. Food, power and fuel. According to Gaspy the national average price for 91 is $3.42. It's gone up 34 percent in the past 28 days. Jon Duffy from Consumer NZ spoke to Lisa Owen.