Checkpoint

Meka Whatiri's surprise defection has come while Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is in London for the King's Coronation.

He received the news not long after touching down in the UK.

Our reporter Katie… Video, Audio

Security cameras and QR codes to access toilets are some of the tools used to tackle students vaping at an Auckland high school.

Australia's announced a raft of new vape rules including making it… Video, Audio

New Zealand boxer David Light's future in the ring is uncertain after the 31-year-old suffered a minor stroke.

The cruiserweight fighter became unwell upon returning home to New Zealand after his… Video, Audio

Wild weather is bearing down on the Bay of Plenty, and is expected to deteriorate in Taranaki and Northland later tonight.

Some Bay of Plenty residents are being told to boil water because of… Video, Audio

In an election year bombshell, Labour minister Meka Whaitiri has jumped ship, her shock defection blindsiding her own caucus - including the Prime Minister.

She remains in Parliament as an… Audio

'Get a better budget, bro'. Protesters gathered outside where Auckland councillors were meeting about the city's budget decisions this morning.

The governing body needs to find a way to plug its $295… Audio

A man who pretended to be a doctor at Middlemore Hospital has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail.

30-year-old Yuvaraj Krishnan pleaded guilty to a series of fraud charges. He faked a… Video, Audio

Kmart staff in Palmerston North have been threatened with an imitation handgun and knives and fear more violence according to First Union.

It's been pushing for the store to fit staff with body cams… Video, Audio

And returning to our story about the PM's pre-Budget speech. Chris Hipkins is again hosing down expectations, saying it will be "no frills" and definitely no new taxes or a cyclone levy.

But… Video, Audio

The Prime Minister has hosed down the idea of a capital gains tax.. a day after his government released a report highlighting the unfairness in the tax system.

Speaking to a business crowd in… Audio

New Zealand Rugby is putting on a brave face despite posting a nearly $50 million loss in the past financial year.

In its annual report, NZR revealed a financial year loss of $47 million, a reversal… Video, Audio

Aviva Client Services Manager for Sexual Violence Services, Jo Bader, has assisted survivors in the case of two men convicted for drugging and raping women at a Christchurch bar.

She talks to Lisa… Video, Audio

A depraved web of rape, sexual violations, drink spiking - a five year investigation - and never ending trauma for the many victims.

Two men have been convicted of 68 charges in one of the biggest… Audio

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found an officer was not justified in shooting a man dead in Auckland in February 2021.

Tangaru-Noere Turia, a 34-year-old 501-deportee from Australia… Audio

There are renewed concerns for the safety of New Zealand hostage Phillip Mehrtens in West Papua as fighting between Indonesian security forces and his captors the West Papua Liberation Army intensify.

Police are expecting people to maximise Anzac day and take a long weekend - meaning the roads could be chocka, with people returning from school holidays too.

Last year 12 people died on the roads… Video, Audio

Otago University is facing the prospect of hundreds of staff redundancies in the face of a $60 million budget shortfall.

Overall student numbers are down on what the university forecast but… Video, Audio