It's our final Checkpoint programme of the year, we've done 226 shows in 2024, that's close to 500 hours of radio and we've covered a lot of really remarkable stories from Aotearoa and around the world. Back in February, the show was expanded from 90 minutes to two hours and our time slot was changed to 4 - 6. There has been more than enough bad news out there this year, but we've also had plenty of fun. So to wrap things up, our producer Johnny Sutherland pulled together some of the lighter moments we've had here on Checkpoint in 2024.

Asia correspondent Erin Hale spoke to Lisa Owen about a woman who's just returned home to the Philippines after spending 14 years on death row in Indonesia, China looking to make travel more accesible for would-be tourists and Fukushima set to name and shame anyone who doesn't follow the city's strict rubbish policy.

You wouldn't buy your child a sibling as a present, so don't buy a companion animal without thinking very hard. That's the message from Mini Vadke from Mama Mini's rescue in Palmerston North, who knows too well how often animals are neglected or abandoned if they're given to friends or family as Christmas presents. Shih tzu-loving reporter Jimmy Ellingham paid Mama Mini's a visit. 

News from the business sector, including a market report

Game one of the Rose Bowl series against Australia was abandoned and both teams will be hoping for a better weather forecast at the Basin Reserve for game two. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

In a surprise move, the sale of polytechnics will be on the table when the national institute of technology Te Pūkenga is disestablished. Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds today announced the government is going ahead with its plan to re-establish stand-alone polytechnics. She said the legislation to do that will include the possibility of sale, but it is not not an option the government is likely to use. Education correspondent John Gerritsen.

Lavinia Mahit in Port Vila, the acting country director for Save The Children in Vanuatu spoke to Lisa Owen about the 3.7 magnitude earthquake in Vanuatu.

Search and rescue including a specialist New Zealand team continue to scour rubble in Port Vila, with locals saying there were more than a dozen people were in the Billabong store that pancaked in quake. Communication remains patchy and electricity is being restored neighbourhood by neighbourhood. Back here on Aotearoa, there a number of ni-vanuatu working in seasonal jobs in horticulture or viticulture. 57 work at Cromwell vineyard Grape Vision, its owner James Dicey spoke to Lisa Owen.

There's a little bit of a penguin parade going on in Oamaru. They've been wombling around the town and in out of shops in their best all year round tuxedos. A local tourism group is keeping an eye on the wayward wanderers, making sure they are in tip top health and can find their way back to the water. Colony Science and Environmental manager for Tourism Waitaki, Phillipa Agnew spoke to Lisa Owen. 

Hundreds of Manawatu residents at higher risk of developing bowel cancer have been told they won't get their regular check-up colonoscopies for at least six months. Te Whatu Ora MidCentral said it's prioritising patients with symptoms and those in the National Bowel Screening programme - but doctors and advocates warn there's a risk some people will fall between the gaps. Ruth Hill reports.

Being able to swim is often considered a life skill in a country like New Zealand - but tough economic times are forcing many families to pull their children out of swim lessons. A swim school in Wellington said they've had a large drop in the number of families paying for swimming lessons over the last six months. But water experts say Wellington waterfront is a hotspot for drownings, and if parents can't afford lessons, then something needs to be done. Bella Craig reports.