RNZ: Checkpoint

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.

An advisory group set up to tackle retail crime is in the spotlight again over its spending, It was revealed earlier that the Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime, or MAG, has spent $100,000 a year for office space in the Auckland CBD, and paid chairman Sunny Kaushal $230,000 for his first year of work. Now documents show MAG has spent over $24,000 on catering and venue hire to run stakeholder engagement meetings around the country. Correspondent Jimmy Ellingham spoke to Lisa Owen.

The man found guilty of five counts of murder over the Loafers Lodge blaze will spend a minimum of 22 years behind bars. Esarona David Lologa was found guilty in September of setting the Wellington boarding house alight in May 2023, which killed five residents. Nick James reports.

Researchers at the University of Auckland have been given an $850,000 grant to investigate the power of music for people with dementia. The collaboration with Yale University in the US aims to find out why patients still respond to music even as their memory fades. Felix Walton has more.

Vital lab tests for Gisborne patients are facing unnecessary delays as samples are flown or driven hundreds of kilometres across the country for analysis, according to one union. Apex represents MedLab workers who are currently locked in a pay dispute. It says delays to key diagnostic tests for life threatening conditions like meningitis, leukaemia and antibiotic resistance are because the medical lab at Gisborne is 50 percent owned by a private company that is profit driven. National Secretary for Apex, Deborah Powell spoke to Lisa Owen.

As Kiwi's flock to the beaches in the summer heat, the need for surf lifeguards couldn't be greater. But Surf Life Saving New Zealand says that with the growing population, they'll need 1000 volunteers over the next three years, especially at Auckland's wild west coast beaches. One of those popular black-sand beaches, Bethell's, has been identified by Water Safety New Zealand as one of the country's drowning blackspots. But with its club house still yellow-stickered after Cyclone Gabrielle, they're struggling to retain some volunteers they need to keep people safe in the water. Bella Craig reports.

A retired Waikato couple who worked for Hamilton's hospital for over six decades between them are facing a lengthy wait for tens of thousands of dollars of holiday pay. Errors in calculating holiday pay date back over 15 years and will cost Health NZ about $1.8 billion in payouts. Most current employees have been repaid, but Health NZ has only recently started paying former staff, and many won't see a cent for another year. It says the process is a complex, requiring constant checks and accessing different payroll systems. Jimmy Ellingham reports.

The Black Ferns have a new coach, with Whitney Hansen set to take charge of the side on a two-year deal after the six-time world champions came up short at this year's global showpiece. Sports Reporter Bridget Tunnicliffe spoke to Lisa Owen.

'Tis the season for corporate gifts. But have you had one from your KiwiSaver provider? It turns out, some people have been treated to a few early Christmas presents - an umbrella in one case and a bottle of wine for another lucky saver. Money correspondent Susan Edmunds has been looking at what's on offer and spoke to Lisa Owen.

Asia correspondent Adam Hancock spoke to Lisa Owen about the death of a prominent activist has sparked protests in the capital of Bangladesh, as well as a group of scientists in India who have modelled how bird flu could spread to humans.

While a bunch of us are winding down for the festive season, others are gearing up for one of their busiest times of the year. Animal shelters are among them. The charity Helping You Help Animals or HUHA is spending its first official Christmas in its new home built on about 150 acres on Haywards Hill near Wellington. It's a full house with 600 animals to look after over the summer break. HUHA founder and chief executive Carolyn Press McKenzie spoke to Lisa Owen.

Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about Australians continuing to grapple with the consequences of this week's Bondi terror attack, with the government there today revealing a series of measures targetting hate speech and antisemitism.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

New Zealand Netball's nightmare year continues. After the highly publicised standing down and reinstatement of Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua, CEO Jennie Wyllie has now resigned. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

The school in the secretive west coast christian community, Gloriavale, is effectively being closed down.The Secretary for Education anounced she is cancelling Gloriavale Christian School's registration effective from the 23 of January. Lawyer Brian Henry, who has represented Gloriavale leavers and called for the school to be shut down, spoke to Lisa Owen.

Nearly two months on from a sewage spill that completely destroyed their crops, Mahurangi oyster farmers are still waiting to see a full compensation package. 1200 cubic metres of sewage overflowed from a Watercare pump station in late October, contaminating thousands of oysters in the Mahurangi river and preventing the farmers from harvesting for nearly a month. Watercare agreed to give a million dollars in compensation to 10 affected farmers, who split it between them, and the organisation promised to provide a second payment before the end of the year. But as Evie Richardson reports, the farmers are still waiting and getting increasingly desperate.

The boss of Corrections has repeatedly broken the law by denying prisoners their basic right to an hour of exercise outside their cells every day, according to High Court ruling. It ordered chief executive, Jeremy Lightfoot to comply or risk being in contempt of court which could result in a fine or jail. Auckland prison inmates complained they've frequently been denied their daily hour of exercise, while Corrections argued staff shortages, safety constraints and a lack of facilities prevented exercise unlocks. Correction's Commissioner of Custodial Services, Leigh Marsh spoke to Lisa Owen.

An open letter to political leaders is calling for them to end visas tied to a single employer, saying they set the stage for potential exploitation and abuse and make it harder for victims to escape. The letter's signed by the Human Rights Commission and 26 others including migrant support groups, the Salvation Army, Community law, the Council of Trade unions and modern slavery experts. Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Professor Gail Pacheco spoke to Lisa Owen.

The family of an elderly woman with severe dementia was so concerned about the standard of her hospital care that they rostered themselves on shifts to look after her. And for another severely ill elderly man, a short hospital stay for a routine operation ended with him catching norovirus and losing over 10kgs of weight. His wife says the worst part of it all was that he was left to suffer alone in soiled bedding. These two cases have put the spotlight on the care of elderly patients. Jimmy Ellingham reports.

A High Court judge has ordered the Department of Corrections boss to obey the law or face contempt of court proceedings if he fails to make sure prisoners aren't let out of their cells for an hour everyday to exercise. Justice Jason McHerron found some inmates in Auckland Prison weren't allowed the minimum time required under law, and is holding the Corrections chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot personally accountable. Finn Blackwell has more.  

Despite a rain delay, the Black Caps and West Indies are well into their third test at Mt Maunganui's Bay Oval. Meanwhile, Australia are looking to continue their run of dominance over England in the Ashes. Sports reporter Jamie Wall spoke to Lisa Owen.

United States correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen about Robert Reiner's son making his first appearance in court following the alleged murder of the famed Hollywood director, as well as the FBI's deputy director stepping down.

Homeware retail giant IKEA appears to be a victim of its own success. It's shutting down its customer support centre from tomorrow for the rest of the week so that its team can focus entirely on rebooking customer orders and resolving outstanding cases. But now some customers are dealing with repeated delivery delays and wrangling over payments & tech issues. Long-time IKEA customer Pete Targett is in queue for a delivery and spoke to Lisa Owen.

UK correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about the BBC vowing to defend itself in defamation lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump, as well as a warning being issued for some Dubai-style chocolate lover.

News from the business sector, including a market report.

The Black Caps missed out on the major money at last night's annual IPL auction. A total of eight kiwis were picked up by franchises, joining the other four already contracted to teams. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

Cuts to a government transport subsidy scheme for disabled people will cost people who can least afford it and shrink their lives, according to a disability support service. The Transport and Disability Issues Ministers revealed the proposal yesterday to reduce the current subsidy from 75 percent to 65 percent. Discounts on public transport fares, which can vary between regions, will be cut by 10 percent. Chief executive of disability advocacy group Aspire Canterbury, Chris Davis spoke to Lisa Owen.

Isolated, lonely and far from support network, that's what people who are homeless say it's like living in Auckland's suburbs. An Auckland Council audit found over 400 people were living without shelter in September last year. In May this year, that number was over 800. And a Salvation Army Report released yesterday found homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled in the year to September. But these figures don't capture all the people sleeping rough in suburban areas - living in their cars, abandoned buildings or couch surfing. Experts are calling for more funding to find out the true extent of the problem as the government ponders introducing move-on orders to get rough sleepers out of the CBD. Bella Craig reports.

A store selling well known brands through infomercials has been found guilty of falsifying customer product reviews; getting staff who had ever used the goods to pen positive write ups. The TV shop has been convicted of 13 charges of breaching the fair trading act over nearly four years. The court found the parent company misled customers about the popularity and quality of its good, effectively using staff posing as real customers. It also erased genuine negative reviews. The Commerce Commission's Deputy Chair Anne Callinan spoke to Lisa Owen.

Māori landowners at the top of the South Island will have more than 3-thousand hectares returned to them in a landmark agreement signed with the Crown. The customary landowners were promised one tenth of the 61,000 hectares sold in a deal with the New Zealand Company in the 1830s, but instead got less than 1200. In 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that the government must honour the deal, but subsequent efforts to resolve the case outside court were unsuccessful. Samantha Gee has more.

The Bondi massacre didn't happen in a vacuum; social media is radicalising, incubating and amplifying intolerance and hate and needs to be regulated like drugs and alcohol, according to an expert in collective behaviour from Auckland University's School of Psychology. Fifteen people were killed in the mass shooting at a Jewish Hannukah celebration at the Sydney Beach at the weekend. In the aftermath fake social media posts and misinformation around the Bondi shooting have been all over the internet. Honorary senior lecturer at Auckland University's School of Psychology, Robert Bartholomew spoke to Lisa Owen.

A woman fears her son could be severely traumatised if he finds out the Ministry of Social Development published information about his abuse in state care compensation application online. He's one of five people whose names were visible in an MSD Official Information Act document that was left online for three months. None of the five abuse survivors have been told about the breach, and there's disagreement between MSD and the survivors' lawyers about how they should be informed. Jimmy Ellingham reports.

It promised to revolutionise track and field athletics, but instead, Olympic sprinting great Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track has collapsed after just one season. The league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US last week. Court documents released today reveal it owes tens of millions of dollars to creditors - including some of the sport's biggest names. Sports correspondent Dana Johannsen spoke to Lisa Owen

It's not going to get any cheaper to put on a Christmas feast with all the trimmings. Infometrics has been tracking the cost of a classic Christmas meal for a few years now and the figures are stark. Chief executive and principal economist Brad Olsen spoke to Lisa Owen.

Asia correspondent Adam Hancock spoke to Lisa Owen about revelations that the father and son at the centre of the Bondi terror attack recently visited the Philippines to apparently receive "military-style training".

Some parents are turning to the gift of a so-called dumb phone this Christmas to limit their children's access to social media. That's a phone that you make calls and send texts on, but they can't hook up to the internet. Emma Planicka teaches digital safety to schools and parents and spoke to Lisa Owen.

As mourning for the victims of Sunday's Bondi shooting attack continues for a second day - Australia appears set to implement tougher gun controls as investigations reveal more details about the actions of the two gunmen. Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen.

News from the business sector, including a market report.