Stories by Phil Pennington

Letters to cancer patients in the far south warning of delays in being seen have been sent out by Health NZ, shortly before it claimed it was seeing most of them on time.

New Zealand is giving $38 million to China over a Canadian-Chinese businessman who laundered millions here for years, then last month tried to become mayor of Toronto.

Dunedin Hospital has been losing ground in key ways on cancer services as it approaches a deadline to prove it is doing better, but health authorities say the services are well supported. Audio

An external review of Fire and Emergency's training of volunteer firefighters has found the process has many gaps and weaknesses.

Big moves are underway to fix the fragmented and insecure system for sharing people's health information with doctors and hospitals.

Health officials in charge of getting massive hospital projects built have been making basic, costly mistakes for years around budgets, schedules and design, according to a newly released report.

A council has won its case to take steps to make motels used for emergency housing safer from fire and other threats.

The cost of Tauranga's Baypark to Bayfair highway link has risen by another $30 million, reaching nearly $300m.

An Australian cloud computing trailblazer says New Zealand is in real danger of giving away its capabilities to big foreign firms.

The Department of Conservation has botched its management of a $25 million IT finance project.

US tech giant Microsoft pushed the Education Ministry to adopt an AI programme for continuous live reporting on children and teachers in the classroom.

The latest cost blowouts for hospital projects include two Bay of Plenty mental health units poised to triple in price to $150 million. Audio

Critical equipment for fixing telecommunications was unloaded from aircraft and replaced with other gear, on flights into regions cut off by Cyclone Gabrielle.

The country is scrambling to deal with flood rescues in the face of growing threats fuelled by climate change.

Surf Lifeguards say they have been told they should not have responded to calls for help during Cyclone Gabrielle if they did not have the right gear.

Firefighters have warned Auckland Council the city's rapid growth means they sometimes run low on water to put out fires.

A doctors' union says the programme for junior doctors could be set up within weeks - but the health agency is still looking for someone to lead it.

Vital changes for disaster-proofing critical infrastructure like phones, power and roads have serious flaws, warn government officials.

Community Law Aotearoa said the government was being far too slow to address the right of emergency housing residents to be safe. Audio

Fire inspectors attending emergency housing providers have been coming across tampered alarms, missing smoke stop doors and aggressive dogs. Audio

The Transport Agency has given out a quarter of a million dollars in bonuses, with much more of it going to its better-paid staff than to lower earners.

Councils claim they are doing better at checking fire safety systems in buildings, and especially boarding house-type accommodation like Loafers Lodge.

Bay of Plenty firefighters have not inspected any emergency housing for almost a year, after they asked for stab-proof vests and did not get them.

An asbestos scare around air tanks for emergency crews has spread to encompass five agencies including police and defence.

Fire and Emergency is blaming urban sprawl and traffic jams for the slower response rate to attend blazes. So it moved the goalposts and gave them more time to respond.