Checkpoint Top Stories for Wednesday 28 January 2015

Wind gusts have been reigniting hotspots in Arthur's Pass, slowing down ground crews moving in where aircraft have been battling the high country blaze. A New Zealand Book Award judge has joined a chorus of people including the Prime Minister dismayed at Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton's criticism. Alex Swney sprinted from the Auckland District Court this morning after changing his plea to guilty on tax evasion spanning twelve years. As many as eight-thousand state houses could be sold off in the next two years as part of government plans to shift more responsibility for social housing to community groups.