Travel
Calls for medical staff to be prioritised for residency: 'We need to look at it like an emergency'
The government is being told to act swiftly on immigration because delays are leading to the loss of urgently needed medical staff during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Calling Home: Stephen Court in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Stephen Court is well-versed on life in exotic locations, having previously been domiciled in Nauru, Papua New Guinea and Lesotho, to name a few places. But Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa, where he… Audio, Gallery
Covid-19 lockdown continues - latest details on Friday
Lockdown is working, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says, but as Covid-19 community case numbers are still high, the country is staying in lockdown level 4 until 11:59pm Tuesday 31 August.
After that… Audio
Air NZ's best July ever for domestic flights in 2021 - Foran
Air New Zealand has hit some turbulence with a $289 million loss for the year ended June.
It has used $350 million of the government's $1.5 billion loan facility. The airline also recently had a crew… Video, Audio
Covid-19 lockdown day 7: How it unfolded
Another 41 cases were announced today while it was revealed there are six sub clusters - the largest connected to a church. Here's what happened on the seventh day of...
East Coast hapū call for "regional emergency" declaration
East Coast hapū are calling for authorities to declare a state of "regional emergency" to protect vulnerable Tairāwhiti communities from the highly infectious Delta variant.
Largest of six sub-clusters grows to 58 cases across two cities
There are six sub-clusters associated with the latest outbreak, the largest of which has reached 58 cases, divided between Auckland and Wellington.
Calling Home: Leone Patterson in Alameda, California
Former Tall Ferns captain Leone Patterson's love affair with California began in the early 1980s. These days, she is based in Alemada, in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has lived for almost 20… Audio, Gallery
Covid-19: What alert-level 4 lockdown means
Explainer - A new Covid-19 case in the community has prompted a nationwide lockdown. RNZ explains what is involved in the different alert levels.
Covid-19 outbreak: More Wellington sites, Spark Arena added to locations of interest
More locations of interest in Wellington have been revealed, as well as a Mitre 10 awards dinner at Spark Arena in Auckland.
Link to border eases concerns about other chains of transmission
New modelling shows the number of people infected in the community might reach 120 - as large as initially feared, Covid-19 modeller Professor Shaun Hendy says.
Lockdown travel window held open for Queenstown
Meanwhile travellers stranded in Queenstown have been given a temporary reprieve before the travel window is poised to slam shut.
Hundreds of people are in town trying to get back, but there have… Audio
Cook Islands close travel bubble, Kiwis hunker down
The quarantine free bubble with the Cook Islands has now closed because of the new cases of covid-19 in the community in New Zealand, and the Cook Islands PM has announced that they will be at alert… Audio
Air NZ races to get 50k people home under lockdown rules
Air New Zealand is racing to get 50,000 people home from around the country inside the 48-hour government deadline.
Chief executive Greg Foran told Checkpoint it is a tough ask to meet the deadline.
…Covid-19 grip on NSW stronger with 633 new cases
Covid-19's grip on New South Wales is getting stronger, with a record 633 daily cases and three deaths.
There's growing frustration over the increasing cases and why tougher restrictions aren't being… Video, Audio
The Big Bike Trip: from Bali to Buckingham Palace
What's the biggest bike trip you've done? Whether it's a few hours or a few days, it likely doesn't compare to the epic bike ride of Freddie Gillies. Alongside his brother and two friends, they cycled… Audio, Gallery
Calling Home: Sean Barry in Baku, Azerbaijan
Wellingtonian Sean Barry lives in Yasamal, which is a 10 minutes' walk from the centre of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. A teacher by trade, Sean lives in an apartment with his wife Jamila and… Audio, Gallery
Many desperate to return to NZ ignored in govt border news
Some people trying desperately to return to New Zealand feel like they've been missed out the government's latest border announcements.
The government plans to ease open the borders from early next… Audio
Questions raised over border reopening plans
By the middle of next year, the government says there'll no longer be such strict measures protecting the border, with vaccinated travellers allowed to skip managed isolation and quarantine in certain… Audio
Can enough NZers be vaccinated by 2022 to reopen the border?
The map to reopen New Zealand to the world is ready - but can we vaccinate enough people by the start of 2022 to make it possible? Many remain anxious about the prospect of preparing the return to… Audio
