Stories by Phil Pennington

Basic questions like how the foundations of the Carillon bell tower in Wellington will perform in a major earthquake are not known despite years spent trying to fix it, a review shows.

A Mid-Canterbury family is demanding to know why there was no health and safety investigation into the truck crash that killed their daughter.

The prisons department has spent at least $800,000 on biometric identification systems since 2016, but admits it does not keep close track of spending.

The Transport Agency has launched an external review into contamination with heavy metals and hydrocarbons beside the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Hundreds of Wairarapa property owners have been warned the final sign-off for building work they have completed is years overdue.

A man who became ill after working for the Auckland Council in a contaminated area disputes the council's claim it did all it could to address his concerns.

A long-lasting underground fire at a Waikato dump was arson, made worse by the sabotage of earthmoving equipment used to fight it, claims the dump's owner.

A Christchurch school that won a rebuild is confident it is on the right track after years of struggling with the Ministry of Education.

The workplace safety watchdog chose not to investigate the fatal Ruapehu bus crash under health and safety laws even though there was no one else who could do the job.

Christchurch Girls' High School will get a new main block after five years of trying to strengthen the existing one.

A "high" to "extreme threat" of landslides has been identified at the $900m upgrade of State Highway 1 north of Auckland, and blamed on Covid-19.

The owner of a Waikato rubbish dump that has been on fire for months has been ordered to put a dirt cap on it.

A proposal to close a Lower Hutt rest home is not linked to an investigation into alleged abuse and neglect at the facility, says Masonic Villages Trust chief executive Warick Dunn.

A police stocktake triggered by a controversial trial of facial recognition technology has revealed what law enforcement is adding to its digital armoury.

A long-burning, foul-smelling underground fire at a Waikato rubbish dump has forced the creation of a rare multi-agency group.

A well used for drinking water, near Woodbourne defence base in Marlborough, has tested above safe levels for firefighting foam contamination.

A top Auckland doctor was warning the government in January that people were at "serious risk" because the city's public health service was at risk of failing, even as Covid-19 was knocking at the…

Tunnellers under Auckland believed a briefing about a cancer-causing mineral was "potentially inflammatory", newly released documents show.

The country's biggest bulk wine supplier is turning gigantic flexibags into plastic fenceposts but the manufacturer says lack of government funding is barring the way from doing more.

An Auckland reserve at the centre of heavy metal residue concerns has been given the okay by Auckland Council in a just-released health assessment.

The location of some highway crashes near New Plymouth have been incorrectly entered into records by NZTA to locations hundreds of metres away from where police say they happened.

A leaking and mouldy Porirua school will have its air quality tested after the principal rounded on the Education Ministry.

The Education Ministry went against expert advice at a quake-damaged Christchurch school, hit spiralling problems and costs, and was obstructive and misleading, documents show.

The key government department had not prioritised critical services or tested how staff would work from home as Covid-19 caused havoc earlier this year, briefings say.

A Lower Hutt resthome is being investigated over complaints of physical and verbal abuse, neglect and intimidation of residents and staff.