Stories by Phil Pennington

A large-scale contamination investigation in New Zealand is relying on a test that fails to detect a whole host of firefighting foam chemicals.

The former Health Minister says documents show he was not warned about rotting buildings at Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland.

An Australian company is hitting back over the major safety questions raised in New Zealand about aluminium panels used to clad the outside of high-rises.

Nine months on from the Grenfell Tower inferno, the system used in New Zealand to approve aluminium composite panels for high-rises has failed a critical safety audit. Audio

Circuit breakers that need upgrading and a generator at the KidzFirst children's hospital that didn't kick in when it should have have contributed to Middlemore Hospital's power supply problems.

It's been revealed that Middlemore Hospital was forced to use emergency generators for weeks at its busy Manukau Superclinic after a major power failure.

Counties Manukau District Health Board has linked raw sewage leaking out of pipes to a bad bacteria outbreak at Middlemore Hospital in 2014.

Authorities were kept fully informed of the issues and risks with Middlemore Hospital's buildings, the former DHB boss who led the hospital until last year says.

Counties-Manukau District Health Board has been unable to take legal action to get money back in the case of three out of four of its rotting buildings.

Analysis - New Zealand firefighters are using foams most of Australia ditched years ago over environmental and health fears, while outdated testing here also fails to pick up nasty chemicals, Phil…

In an unpleasant surprise for firefighting foam investigators, the toxic chemicals have now been found in the drinking water of a Rangitikei town.

A South Auckland Labour MP is demanding answers over rot at Middlemore Hospital, and immediate monitoring to ensure dangerous fungal spores are not escaping.

The town water supply at Sanson in Manawatu has tested completely clear of firefighting foam chemicals.

The Anglican and Catholic churches are making their most concentrated push yet to get the Royal Commission into abuse expanded to fully include them, with both writing to the Prime Minister.

Analysis - Scrutiny of institutional sexual abuse is becoming the new norm, so why is the New Zealand Catholic Church still keeping its issues in-house, asks Phil Pennington.

A Defence Force investigation into toxic firefighting foam asked a council three times for water systems information as early as 18 months before toxic contamination at its nearby base was revealed.

The Health Minister is demanding answers from South Auckland health bosses after they failed to tell him the full extent of the leaky building crisis at Middlemore Hospital. Audio

Four big Middlemore Hospital buildings, including the children's hospital, that serve thousands of South Auckland people are full of rot and dangerous mould that could make staff and patients sick.

Pacific Steel in Auckland has lost its bid to have China and Malaysia penalised over steel coming into this country at low prices.

Authorities face a logjam of months if not years in the scramble to get urgent safety checks done on hundreds of truck-trailers.

A ministry that's under fire for spending a lot on contractors has just re-hired its chief executive from last year, as a contractor.

China's top quality control department wants to check out any fake test certificates on imports discovered in New Zealand.

Just one percent of 1500 heavy truck-trailers that need safety inspections have been checked in the month since an urgent safety alert went out.

The Auckland Council has begun identifying people around Whenuapai airbase who have bores for water that may be impacted by firefighting foam runoff.

Defence officials will brief Auckland Council today about toxic firefighting foam contamination at Whenuapai and Devonport, as the number of potentially contaminated sites grows.