Stories by Phil Pennington

The country's largest maternity ward at Middlemore Hospital might have to close or face major disruption because it's a seismic risk.

Six hundred more trucks have been forced off the road in the safety alert over cracked and inadequate towing connections.

Middlemore Hospital has had ongoing problems with power supply at its Manukau site, newly released DHB documents show.

The government is promising to overhaul controversial liability rules that often leave councils carrying the can for faulty building work.

Middlemore Hospital knew about extensive leaks, rot and mould at its main building two years before it says it did.

A skyscraper planned for Auckland that will be New Zealand's highest residential building is caught up in a long delay over its fire design.

The Commerce Commission let an Auckland company carry on selling steel mesh even after it knew the firm had forged a test certificate.

Engineers called in by the Auckland Council have recommended the "immediate" strengthening of a dangerous church hall in Mt Eden.

Fire engineers are blowing the whistle on a "ticking timebomb" threatening the construction industry, says the Property Council.

The architects behind three of the badly leaking buildings at Middlemore Hospital are defending their work.

A judge says two companies created a fake certificate to provide false assurance to customers about the seismic steel mesh they were selling.

Fire engineers are accusing councils of making illegal demands on them that are inflating building costs by thousands of dollars.

A second round of tests for firefighting foam contamination in Marlborough has found only one sample that exceeds the guidelines for drinking water.

A blanket ban on more than 800 heavy vehicle towbars could be "devastating" for owner-drivers of trucks with them, says the Road Transport Association.

Vehicle owners have been told not to use the towbars of more than 800 heavy vehicles because of serious safety concerns

Airports face big bills to get rid of banned firefighting foam but officials are promising tight monitoring to make sure no one dumps any to avoid the costs.

The government now admits it's "essential" to use a new, wide-ranging test to assess the health impacts of firefighting foam contamination, but the test is not being used.

A contract to fix the rotting Scott building at Middlemore Hospital, signed with the original builder, intends to use a recladding method the DHB called "both testing and risky".

A Manawatū farmer says his community wants easier access to a blood test for toxic chemicals from firefighting foam, but the Health Ministry is telling them not to bother.

The Building Minister has defended her ministry's lack of action over aluminium composite panel cladding on high rise buildings.

A central North Island regional council is asking questions about the type of testing being done to detect firefighting foam contamination. Audio

The Health Minister is questioning the position of the chair of the troubled Counties Manukau District Health Board, who has only been in the job for three months.

Blood testing for people in firefighting foam contamination zones is going ahead, despite the Ministry of Health downplaying that it's necessary.

Middlemore Hospital is blighted by rot and mould, earthquake weaknesses and asbestos that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to fix.