Stories by Phil Pennington
News
Owner is continuing legal action against council over Christchurch office block
A company that owns a defective building in central Christchurch is continuing legal action against the city council and engineers.
'Absolutely vital' radio faces losing most of its funding
A radio network that has been a lifeline during Cyclone Gabrielle faces losing most of the government funding that keeps it running.
Some heroes do wear capes - 'Superman' flies over cyclone damage
Out in Pakowhai, one local 'superhero' is doing his best to brighten spirits in a flooded and muddy community.
Cyclone aftermath: 'I lost all my pets, I lost all my belongings, but I don't want to lose that as well'
A Pakowhai truck driver struggling to save three family homes says he has already lost all his belongings and pets to the Cyclone Gabrielle floods and does not want to lose the houses as well.
Cyclone Gabrielle: Shearing contractor forced to reassess whole business
A shearing contractor says he is having to reassess his whole business after Cyclone Gabrielle swept through.
Generating the recovery after Gabrielle: 'Everything's down here'
Devices which convert motive power into electric power are noisy, spit fumes and are experiencing a huge surge in demand thanks to Cyclone Gabrielle.
'We're actually very lucky to make it out of State Highway 2'
Liam Harvey was in a truck laden with traffic cones heading through hills outside Napier to close off roads in the dark when trees started to fall, blocking his path.
Cut-off Hawke's Bay community relies on boat to ferry in essential supplies
A 30-metre boat ride across a once flooded river inland of Napier is all that is keeping hundreds of Rissington farming families in food and vital fuel.
'Heaps of digging bro' to save 12,000 wine bottles from silt
Tales of resilience and recovery, spirit and sweat continue to emerge from the slip-scarred valleys of Hawke's Bay.
Transport network post-cyclone repairs not a clean-cut task
The big job of repairing the roads and bridges comes with big decisions for central and local authorities - which ones get fixed first?
'They never came' - Mother left stranded on roof with four children
Jo Cox believed her daughter and grandchildren were dead when they lost contact after the Tūtaekurī River enveloped their home, with the family huddled on the roof. Audio
Small Wairarapa community pulling together after floods swept through
Families cut off for days in the hardest hit part of Wairarapa after Cyclone Gabrielle have been flown out by chopper.
Fuel companies facing power outages plead for coordination
Some stations are seeing progress in reopening, and one company says the government only has to ask and it can dispense fuel straight off the tanker.
Nearly half of children in state care not enrolled with a GP or medical centre
Almost 3000 of the most vulnerable children are not enrolled with a doctor, and GPs say Oranga Tamariki has never asked them for help fixing that. Audio
Cameras detect more commercial drivers falling asleep at the wheel
A trial on some Auckland buses has found drivers falling asleep at the wheel and an "undeniable" risk of fatigue.
Government hopes for aerospace boom but CAA says inspectors 'overworked'
Inspectors charged with making sure the aerospace industry is safe are so overworked it has been causing them health and safety problems.
Horowhenua council facing three costly options over waste
Fresh from an official reprimand for loose spending over the town dump, Horowhenua faces a tight call on what to do next with its waste.
Ministry's 'competing demands' delay red tape-cutting project for two years
Frustration is building over government promises to make it easier to do business abroad without hitting privacy tripwires.
Fire trucks damaged by water sucked into engines during floods - 'Warning signs there for a while'
The damage happened after Fire and Emergency was warned two years ago the air intakes were set too low and should be shifted higher.
Single consultant on failed Horowhenua landfill paid nearly $1 million
What was meant to be $7500 of consultancy work ended up costing Horowhenua ratepayers $895,000.
Ban on blood donation because of mad cow disease likely to be lifted
The ban cut out about 10 percent of possible blood donors.
Oranga Tamariki considering reopening controversial children's home as more beds needed
Oranga Tamariki shut down the 10-bed Te Oranga care and protection house two years ago after video leaked of a boy being held in a headlock.
Archives New Zealand in danger of running out of space
The national archive will not have enough space to store vital records even after its new $290 million building is ready in Wellington.
Carillon bell tower: Quake strengthening work options weighed up
Expensive and intrusive earthquake strengthening work on the landmark Carillon bell tower is being weighed against cheap and easy, but less durable, options.
What Amazon wanted from New Zealand's prime minister
Mega-company Amazon asked Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for help over billion-dollar data centres it is building here, and to have input on policy.