Stories by Phil Pennington

Commercial building owners in the Queenstown district are facing many more checks and sanctions.

Locals are demanding answers from the Defence Force about the threat firefighting foam chemicals pose to human health after its report went public, but it is refusing to investigate further.

The extent of the threat to road safety from risky car repairs is unclear but the industry consensus is the regulations are years out of date and poorly policed. Audio

New Zealanders in Australian immigration detention are vowing to keep up a hunger strike after negotiations yesterday failed.

An Auckland rugby club has apologised for awarding a cup named after a Catholic clergyman convicted of sexually abusing boys.

Investigations prompted by the fatal Grenfell Tower fire in London last year have culminated in new guidance about what cladding to use on New Zealand buildings.

A leading Catholic secondary school is refusing to release details of its investigation into a sex abuse complaint.

The engineering firm that oversaw the demolition of Statistics House raised serious concerns about the findings of the inquiry into its partial collapse.

The policing of building safety systems is being cut back nationwide despite the government knowing councils have been doing a poor job of auditing building warrants of fitness. Audio

The investigation into private security firms doing public sector work shows the firms have had largely unfettered access to the motor vehicle register for years. Video, Audio

The Transport Agency has known for at least two years its heavy vehicle inspection system was being undermined but has not fixed the weaknesses.

An Indian businessman has got his New Zealand immigration adviser's licence back two years after his agency appeared on a list of fraudsters.

Landowners in Manawatū on sites contaminated by firefighting foam are dismayed at the big bill for a water scheme.

The Royal Commission into historical abuse of children in state care has apologised to both men caught in the middle of an email breach.

The Royal Commission into historical abuse of children in state care has admitted sending a survivor's private information to the wrong person.

An influential Aboriginal elder says a young man of her tribe will be cut off from his land and spirits if he's deported to New Zealand.

A New Zealand citizen locked in detention has gone to Australia's highest court to break new legal ground that would protect Aboriginal people from deportation.

Analysis - How much can the public find out about the quality of the steel going into the country's high-rise buildings? Phil Pennington investigates.

Some truck and bus inspectors are now accused of bending or breaking the rules. Audio

The dodgy warrants of fitness saga continues with some truck and bus inspectors now accused of bending or breaking the rules.

Wellington City Council went against engineering advice when it approved a major waterfront building that ended up irreparably damaged in the Kaikōura earthquake.

About two thirds of the cars rechecked so far amid the dodgy inspection saga have failed their new Warrants of Fitness.

The list of dodgy Warrant of Fitness issuers is growing by the week.

The government says it cannot say where the sites with very high levels of firefighting foam contamination are.

Clear threats to this country's ecosystem have been identified from the chemicals in firefighting foam.