Phil Pennington

Analysis - The minister of defence, space and spies has at least $9b of new money to spend, and a defence force demonstrably not ready to spend it. Audio

Analysis: What official documents should be shown to the public? It might depend on which part of government you ask.

Simeon Brown was told of serious risks in outsourcing surgeries to private hospitals, but his office withheld most of the information. Audio

The US Space Force is moving to deploy more satellites including those that would support America's nuclear command-control-and-communications system. Audio

The US Space Force is in talks with New Zealand and other countries about launching more satellites from them.

Critics say the NZ Defence Force is top heavy and combat light.

The government has invested 20 times less per head than the US, and only about half the UK's per capita spend.

Defence is one of the few sectors getting new money in the upcoming Budget.

The ministry has indicated the overhaul will improve how long it takes for a child to be allocated a social worker.

"Discord" among doctors and the community about the Dunedin Hospital cut-backs are regarded as an "extreme" risk by health authorities.

An AI expert at a Waikato symposium recently pointed to a carafe of water, and told the audience using generative AI to produce a page of answers would use that much.

Asbestos-laden fibre cement board have been littering the sand around Tāmaki Estuary on various beaches.

A Fijian man sexually abused as a boy by a Catholic brother says he has a right to lobby the conclave in Rome over who it chooses as the next pope.

The reach of 'smart' road cameras is growing in scale and power.

Police are trialling a new high-tech tool designed to extract data from people's wearable devices, such as smartwatches.

One truck broke down in Auckland last week, stranding firefighters above scorching flames. Audio

There could be "severe detrimental impacts" if someone was accidentally given access to the data. Audio

The leading risk of damage is from accidents or natural disasters, but nothing in official online guidance allows for deliberate sabotage.

Its new Defence Capability Plan envisages spending between $100 million and $300 million on cyber upgrades in the next four years.

Two widespread communications failures in the Northland storm and Otago within two days last week have again exposed the vulnerability of the country's critical infrastructure. Audio

The result is the third straight year with no dividend payment to shareholders.

A Health NZ report says it "cannot effectively plan for asset renewals, replacements or optimise maintenance strategies". Audio

New Zealand is becoming increasingly involved, even as the defence force denies its tentative steps into space have anything to do with military operations. Audio

Experts are warning against buying anything that has not been tested in Ukraine.

Any launchpad would be for small test rockets initially, and take several years to scale up to the real thing. Audio