The latest news from Melanesia.

Steve Allan has spent nearly fifty years trapping, designing and making traps to protect New Zealand bush and birds. His traps, made in his home factory, are in demand even as far as the Falkland Islands.

Now it's time for Country Life or this week Country Life is at a training centre for wild Kaimanawa horses, and checks out the oyster harvest in Bluff.

A round up of conditions on farms and orchards around the country

The latest RNZ Pacific news.

In part two, Dame Lynda Topp was fired up at the music awards and attacked the government's spend on the arts. The panel discusses the issues at play with Jesse Austin-Stewart, lecturer at Massey University in the School of Music and Screen Arts, also a composer and music producer. Then, does anyone remember the glory days of the workingmen's club? The cheap pints, the cover bands, the darts. In Hamilton, those days are being reignited with an evening of Pub Olympics. It's a round robin of pool, giant Jenga and more all designed to entice younger members back to the working man's club. The panel talks to Nathan Hartley, manager of the Hamilton Workingmen's Club.

The government has delivered its third Budget pointing to an earlier return to surplus, but with no election-year lolly scramble. Political reporter Giles Dexter pores through the books, and looks at the looming debate over superannuation.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Aimie Hines and Ed McKnight First up, a Budget 2026 debriefing this time looking at the politics of it all: is this an election winning budget? The panel is joined by political commentator Grant Duncan. Then, children with parents in prison are serving an invisible sentence. That's the stark callout from a organisation which provides support to some of the 25 thousand or so children in that category. They say that hardship starts from the moment a parent is sentenced - and they've come up with a plan to change that. The panel is joined by Corrina Thompson who leads youth advocacy at Pillars.

The sound of bittersweet strings will be ringing out in the lower South Island this long weekend. Queenstown is playing host to a special competition celebrating a quarter century milestone. But it's missing a special guest this year. Checkpoint producer Johnny Sutherland spoke to Lisa Owen.

United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about how a landmark report has revealed the impact rising youth unemployment and disengagement is having on the British economy. She also spoke about how the former First Minister of Scotland has spoken publicly for the first time since her estranged husband pleaded guilting to embezzlement and how a dog walk in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire has fetched quite the payday.