Checkpoint

Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about political conservatives in Australia continuing to endure upheaval, with the opposition there undergoing leadership instability and polls showing the coalition parties haemorraging support to hard-right party One Nation.

A moggy with a taste for mince is on the prowl in Kerikeri. Keen hunter, Bella the cat burglar, has been bringing home a surprising midnight feast for her owners, sausage rolls in brown paper bags. In a bizarre series of gift giving that might sound unbelievable, Bella's sausage roll deliveries have happened not once, not twice, but three times, prompting a post on Facebook in search of answers. Bella's owner Siran Young spoke to Lisa Owen.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

An alleged culture of sexism, favouritism and bullying is what drove one of the top kiwi boxers to hang up her gloves. The Sport Integrity Commission has been investigating Boxing NZ and its head coach Billy Meehan who Commonwealth Games medalist Tasmyn Benny says killed her passion for the sport. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

This story deals with suicide and mental health. The parents of a Tauranga teenager who took her own life are calling for improvements to the country's mental health system. 16-year-old Maddie Hall died in March 2023, almost three years after she was first taken to hospital. Timothy Brown reports.

Thousands of reports have flooded in about a vile, sickening smell coming from Christchurch's burnt out waste water treatment plant. The pong has plagued the suburb of Bromley and surrounding areas - since a fire there in 2021, but this latest bout of stench has confused the city council, who say the January rain should've improved the odour. Environment Canterbury said it has received more than 2000 reports through its Smelt-it Ap - some from as far away as Wigram, around 10 kilometres away. Christchurch reporter Anna Sargent spoke to Lisa Owen.

As the school year gets underway, recently released data shows while the number of students regularly turning up to school is improving it is still a long way from the government's goal of 80 percent of students present more than 90 percent of the time. Provisional data for term 4 of last year shows 57.3 percent of students were regularly in class, for Māori it was 43 percent, and just over 39 percent for Pasifika. President of the New Zealand Pasifika Principals Association Bert Iosia spoke to Lisa Owen.

A pediatric specialist is urging Aotearoa's drug agency to fund weight loss drugs for teenagers. A Pharmac advisory panel has provisionally recommended funding Wegovy for chronic weight management in people with high BMI's and associated conditions. Professor of paediatric endocrinology at the Liggins Institute, Wayne Cutfield spoke to Lisa Owen.

Social media giant Meta says banning young people from its platforms will never work but supporters of a law change are crying foul, saying the owner of Facebook and Instagram is using the same tactics as big tobacco. Finn Blackwell has more.

Over $170,000 of desperately needed money has been raised for whanau in the flood ravaged East Cape of the North Island. But the chair of Manaaki Matakaoa says locals are in for a long slog when the initial response dies down and the community is left to ready themselves for the next bout of heavy weather. Bill Hickman has more.