Checkpoint

More than a hundred people mucked in today to clean up the capital's waterfront. Wellington Museum's Great Big Waterfront Clean-Up happens annually, and it's now in its eighth year. Krystal Gibbens went down to check it out.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

Getting kicked to the kerb by the Aussies could have a silver lining for New Zealand's A-League clubs. The Wellington Phoenix and Auckland FC have been booted out of the Australia Cup - a knock-out competition run during the A-League pre-season - and now they have their sights set on a different kind of warm up. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

Recovery efforts are back underway at the site of the fatal Mount Maunganui slip after they were earlier suspended when more land movement was detected. One of the six people missing has now been formally identified. A child and grandmother were also killed when a landslip hit a house in Papamoa during last weeks severe weather. The tragedies have renewed focus on the risks of land movement, so how aware are New Zealanders of the hazards they pose and what are the warning signs? Lauren Vinnell, a senior lecturer at Massey University's Joint Centre for Disaster Research, spoke to Lisa Owen.

In a Parliament first, National and Labour are teaming up to tackle modern slavery. Backbench MPs from the rival parties have put forward new legislation, and they are using a new rule to fast-track it up Parliament's agenda, skipping the usual "biscuit tin" lottery. But this big show of bonhomie appears to have been by necessity. Despite the prime minister's personal passion for the topic, it seems the ACT Party was blocking it from going through Cabinet. Political reporter Russell Palmer has more.

Staff cuts are to blame for a massive IT outage at hospitals in Auckland and Northland according to a union. The Public Service Association says its members had to resort to paper systems and white boards overnight Wednesday after it says an outage took down Emergency Department, laboratory and in patient systems. Health New Zealand says hospitals and emergency departments remained open and patient care continued safely during the incident. The PSA says the latest failure is a direct result of cuts to Health New Zealand's digital team. PSA national Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons spoke to Lisa Owen.

The prime minister says it could take up to six months to remove masses of soil dumped on damaged roads on the East Cape from last week's storm. Christopher Luxon visited weather-hit Te Araroa and Hicks Bay by helicopter, and spoke to media at the Tai Rawhiti emergency coordination centre. Like locals, he's bracing for a long and tough road ahead. The PM's comparing the devastation in some places to 20-23's Cyclone Gabrielle. Meanwhile, work has just resumed at Mount Maunganui a week on from the deadly land-slip there. Rescue workers were pulled out of the disaster site this morning after technology that had been installed to monitor land movement was triggered and work suspended. It came ahead of a vigil tonight for a community still reeling over the deaths of six people. Kim Baker Wilson spoke to Lisa Owen.

Pencils, pens, textbooks and a full set of uniform might seem like the basics for any school student, but many families are relying on donations to start the school year. Several schools across the motu are able to fund parts of their school uniform, through their own coffers, local commuity trusts and donations. But some school principals says covering back-to-school costs means they are having to make sacrifices elsewhere. Bella Craig reports.

There's a mystery lurking in the waters of northern New Zealand. What happened to a highly invasive seaweed pest that smothered huge areas of seabed, threatening native species and the Kiwi way of life? Northland reporter Peter de Graaf tried to find out.

It is bad news for New Zealand basketballer Steven Adams, with his NBA season over due to injury. Sports reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe spoke to Lisa Owen.