Alex Perrottet
Palliative care can’t survive on ‘cakes and op-shops’
Palliative and aged care doctors say the expanding sector is vastly underfunded and can no longer survive on "cakes and op-shops". Specialists say the government must totally re-think end of life and… Audio
Demand for joy flights to Antarctica take off
The popularity of "flights to nowhere" is skyrocketing as keen travellers seek new ways to head overseas, even if it means they don't leave the plane. With domestic and international travel scaled… Audio
Aucklanders banned from Rotorua Marathon
Olympic marathon runner and chief executive of Athletics New Zealand Pete Pfitzinger, says he's gutted to have to exclude Aucklanders from running in the Rotorua Marathon. The race is scheduled to go… Audio
Melbourne grapples with sudden lockdown as Covid-19 spreads
The Covid-19 situation across the Tasman worsens and those in the state of Victoria are adjusting to a new life under lockdown for the next six weeks at least.
An 8pm till 5am curfew came into place… Video, Audio
Australia tense as Victoria sees 484 new Covid-19 cases
The eastern states of Australia are on tenterhooks as Victoria recorded it's highest daily number of infections since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.
There were 484 new cases overnight, and two… Video, Audio
The Best of First Up for Monday 20 July
On the podcast today: Heavy rain leaves Northland in clean up mode - Whangarei's Mayor Sheryl Mai joins us as does animal charity founder Carolyn Press-McKenzie, who booked a flight as soon as she… Audio
Where are the jobs? Our reporter goes job-hunting
Work and Income's Job Search site has around 750 current jobs listed, with more every day. And TradeMe says it saw an annual increase in job vacancies in June, with listings up 9 per cent. We sent… Audio
NSW signals lockdown if people don't comply with border rules
The New South Wales premier has signalled she may lockdown towns on the Victorian border if people don't follow the strict border closure rules that came in last night. And at midnight tonight - the… Audio
Covid-19: Ethnic Communities Minister eats by example to support Asian restaurants
Ethnic Communities Minister Jenny Salesa has dined out for lunch on Auckland's Dominion Road today in a bid to drive up falling trade in the Asian restaurant sector.
Some restaurants are reporting as… Video, Audio
Covid-19: Govt urged to help as restauranters report losses
The Restaurants Association says the government needs to "step up" with tax cuts, as many of its members report losses from the Covid-19 travel ban.
It says $50 million a week is being lost across… Video, Audio
Samoan PM angry at locals slow to vaccinate
Let's go now to Samoa where the country will be in lockdown for another day today as medical teams race to vaccinate as many people as they can in their homes. Yesterday the death toll from the… Audio
Mass shutdown in Samoa underway for measles vaccination
A national shutdown has been under way in Samoa so as to achieve the best possible reach with the government's mass immunisation programme. Audio
Samoa prepares for two day shutdown to vaccinate nation
Let's go now to Samoa where a nationwide shutdown is about to be enforced by the Government as medical teams go door to door in an attempt to ensure every citizen is vaccinated against measles. The… Audio
Samoan government issues new emergency orders
In Samoa, the government has issued a new raft of emergency orders in a desperate bid to get the deadly measles epidemic under control.
The disease has killed 55 people, mainly children, and the toll… Audio
Samoan health workers working round the clock to save locals
But first let's begin in Samoa, where 174 people are being watched closely in the country's hospitals, 18 of them critically ill with measles. Some doctors say they are under pressure and they are… Audio
Samoan measles death toll now 53, immunisation compulsory
Our reporter in Samoa updates the latest figures on the measles crisis and the government shutdown to vaccinate the nation. Audio
Latest death toll from measles in Samoa rises to 48
Back to Samoa now where the country has been in the grips of a measles epidemic and the death toll has continued to rise. 48 people - mainly children - have now died. Joining me now from Samoa is… Audio
Death toll set to rise in Samoan measles outbreak
We cross to Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint reporter Alex Perrottet in Poutasi for the latest on the measles outbreak in Samoa, which has now seen more than 3,000 cases reported and at least 44 deaths… Audio
Samoa measles patients 'deteriorating before our eyes' - doctor
In Samoa the death toll from the measles epidemic has risen by three overnight to 42.
Questions are now being raised about the role of the New Zealand government and whether help should have been… Video, Audio
Death toll in Samoa continues to rise
The death toll from measles continues to rise in Samoa and now stands at 39 with almost 3000 people infected with the highly contagious disease throughout the country.
All but four of the deaths are… Audio