Checkpoint

As students head back to school this week, the Post-Primary Teachers Association is worried about hundreds of staff vacancies at schools around the country. According to the Ministry of Education, there are over 400 vacancies for school staff, including early childhood centres, primary, intermediate, and secondary schools. The PPTA says it means some high school teachers are being made to teach subjects they're not qualified in. PPTA president Chris Abercrombie spoke to Lisa Owen.

Middle East correspondent Perry Wilton spoke to Lisa Owen about Israel beginning what it calls a "large-scale operation" to retrieve the body of the last remaining hostage in Gaza.

It has been revealed the fire service got a 111 call about a slip near the Mt Maunganui holiday park nearly four hours before a fatal landslide. FENZ said call takers notified the Tauranga City Council three minutes later. However, the landslip that was referenced in the 111 call did not affect life or property and therefore Fire and Emergency did not send crews to attend. WorkSafe has started gathering information on the tragedy and is considering whether to launch a formal investigation. Meanwhile the minister for Emergency Management and Recovery is working on a support package for the affected areas. Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell spoke to Lisa Owen.

An RNZ special on the unfolding weather event in the North Island, presented by Lisa Owen.

An RNZ special on the unfolding weather event in the North Island, presented by Ingrid Hipkiss. Red heavy rain warnings are in place for Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, and Gisborne from Tologa Bay north. Several regions have declared a state of local emergency, including Coromandel, Hauraki, Bay of Plenty, Whangarei and Gisborne Tai Rāwhiti.

Whether your goal was to thrive or survive 2025 it's certainly been a big year. We've done 228 shows in the past twelve months, covering plenty of remarkable and difficult stories. Despite the hard moments there's also been plenty to smile about. And since it's our last programme of the year we thought we'd listen back to some of the lighter moments we've had on Checkpoint in 2025.

United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about some of the survivors of the Manchester Arena Bombing receiving some good news, as well as the UK Sports Personality of the Year being announced.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The Black Caps are still well in control of the third and final test at Mount Maunganui. It's been another profitable period with the bat for the Kiwis who have declared with a mammoth total of 575. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

Frustrated health workers are questioning why hospitals and health services are being asked to find another five hundred million dollars in "efficiency savings" out of this year's budget, while half a billion dollars earmarked for salaries went unspent last year. The "underspend" was due to unfilled vacancies, unpaid Holidays Act remediation - and the fact Health NZ has yet to settle its collective contract disputes with senior doctors and nurses. Ruth Hill reports.