Stories by Phil Pennington

The NZ Security Intelligence Service took two years to implement a major shift in how it targeted threats, but once it did, the rewards were almost immediate.

Environmental experts checking on contamination at Tiwai Point aluminium smelter are looking at 400 samples from 200 sites.

The Transport Agency is continuing to work on what to do about truck handbrake failures that have caused deaths and injuries.

A US watchdog of state surveillance says the advisers that New Zealand police are bringing in have a lot to watch out for.

An ex-truckie from Mosgiel whose friend parked a truck that rolled away, killing a pedestrian, says a handbrake hazard should have been acted on before the incident happened.

Tests on truck handbrakes have found high rates of failure, and concluded the way the brakes are routinely checked is ineffective.

A half-a-billion-dollar pothole in road funding has been patched over but key projects remain in jeopardy.

Private contractors and consultants are doing well out of government spending propelled by the pandemic and big IT projects.

The earthquake-prone Carillon bell tower in Wellington may take more time to fix than deadlines allow.

A complaint about the safety of a common earthquake bracing system has been rejected by officials, but has exposed weaknesses in the engineering system.

The SIS has adopted new terminology to describe threats and says the concern should be with violent extremists of varying ideologies, not be conflated with communities.

The Ministry of Health wants to change the way people's medical records are shared nationwide, with IT health experts growing frustrated in the meantime.

Investigators are looking into claims highly toxic waste has been buried in unmapped sites at Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.

Authorities are struggling with what to do about a second lot of truck brakes involved in serious accidents causing death.

An Auckland mechanic who witnessed a trucker threaten a heavy vehicle engineer with violence warns the transport safety system is "at the point of madness".

A dodgy truck handbrake involved in at least two deaths and multiple serious crashes has only just been banned, though authorities have known for years it was dangerous.

The foundations of the tallest residential skyscraper being built in central Auckland have finally been approved after years of Investigations and repairs.

Police trialled drones before looking into security concerns swirling in the US about data from the flying machines being hijacked or hacked.

The Islamic Federation is questioning what it calls "inconsistencies" in a review of the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) such as why it did not do more before March 2019 to detect lone wolf…

A newly released report on the Security Intelligence Service shows faster and wider harvesting of data about people was identified as a priority for bolstering counter-terrorism efforts.

A revolt is escalating against the Transport Agency in its role as the watchdog keeping trucks safe on the road.

"Catastrophic" consequences of environmental damage and even loss of life is being forecast from sea level rise breaching a giant landfill including toxic waste at Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in…

The Education Ministry's sale of Taihape Area School's educational farm asset to put into the Treaty settlements landbank has divided a community and raised issues over the legality of the move.

Government officials are being accused of stealing a farm bought by a central North Island town for their schoolchildren to learn agriculture.

The government has suspended talks over the Bluff aluminium smelter until it gets environmental commitments over cleaning up its landfill and spent cell-liner waste.