Phil Pennington
Defence officials promoting benefits of joining second tier of AUKUS, documents say
Documents show Defence officials have for months been promoting the benefits of joining the AUKUS military alliance.
Defence Minister Judith Collins meets her counterpart in Melbourne on Thursday… Audio
Fire safety checklists exposed as forgeries in Christchurch
Fire safety checklists at several buildings, including schools, in Christchurch have been exposed as forgeries.
The case shows up the risks the system of building warrants of fitness can be gamed… Audio
Government IT project halted due to being off track
A stop has been called to a $150 million government IT project because it has gone so badly off track.
The Department of Internal Affairs admitted to RNZ on Wednesday it has called a stop to the huge… Audio
US asks NZ for more money to fund military satellites
The weapons race in space is heating up and the bills are going up, including for us.
New Zealand is in a group the US has asked to stump up more money for military satellites.
Phil Pennington spoke… Audio
Police dole out fines to cellphone using drivers
Drivers are more likely to be fined for speeding, talking on their cellphones, or not wearing a seatbelt than ever before.
In last four years the number of infringement notices doled out by police… Audio
Private health pushing Auckland labs to the brink
Private healthcare is pushing medical lab services to the brink in Auckland.
The escalating pressure is complicating what was already a very difficult rescue job at one of the country's busiest labs… Audio
Government considers private companies to fund hospitals
The government's looking at using private companies fund, build and own our hospitals. Phil Pennington has been looking into it, including talking to the biggest player - a sharemarket listed company Audio
Wellington Hospital scores low for MRI, CT, ultrasound training
Wellington hospital's scorecard on the way it trains junior doctors to analyse MRI, CT and ultrasound scans has plummeted from 'A' to a basement level 'D'. Sounds bad? It is. Phil Pennington is… Audio
Waikato Expressway repairs mired in delays
Almost $50 million of repairs to a rutted expressway between Auckland and Hamilton are mired in delays and question marks.
The latest low point in the decade long saga of State Highway One outside… Audio
Project to cut logjams in courts easing pressure
The country's courts are jam packed with cases, and the country's prisons are jam packed with people being held on remand in custody.
Now a new project to cut those logjams has worked, but only in… Audio
Waka Kotahi exaggerating how green some highways are
Is it a case of the green washing of highways, or just bureaucratic slackness? Transport agency Waka Kotahi has been making exaggerated claims about how 'green' its road building is.
It has said four… Audio
Government keen to stop extra pay for being skilled in te reo
The new government wants to stop any more public servants getting extra pay for being skilled in te reo Māori.
More than a dozen ministries and departments pay bonuses of up to $3,500 a year… Audio
USAR vehicles in "crisis" says senior officer
Urban Search and Rescue have trucks so old they keep breaking down and are not safe.
This, from OIA papers that include an email from the day Cyclone Gabrielle hit in which a senior Urban Search and… Audio
Concern over fleet of search and rescue vehicles
The country's fleet of specialist search and rescue vehicles is so bad that the rescuers have begun rebelling.
New papers show Search and Rescue teams have warned Fire and Emergency for four years… Audio
Private contractor hired to fix run down courts
A Justice Ministry team in charge of fixing the country's run down courts has hired a private contractor on $2,000 a day.
An OIA shows the property team has been flooded with contractors and… Audio
Transmission Gully's impacts on streams and fish investigated
A landmark motorway once lauded for its green credentials is now racking up environmental black marks.
Transmission Gully is being operated near Wellington by a consortium of financiers and… Audio
US contractor late on half a billion dollar NZ transport project
A US contractor has signalled it is running behind time on its half-a-billion-dollar New Zealand transport project.
Cubic Transportation Systems has suffered recent setbacks, losing out on huge… Audio
Coroner issues findings eight years after toddler's death
Eight years after a toddler died at the hands of his mother's boyfriend in Southland, a coroner has finally issued the official findings in the case.
There are no surprises - four state agencies have… Audio
New facial recognition technology rolled out by government despite racial bias concerns
The government begins the roll out of new facial recognition technology next week despite an "untested risk" around racial bias.
No tests have been done for bias on New Zealand's unique population… Audio
Confusion and duplication hinders public health system - report
The country's nationwide public health system set up last year to address weaknesses brutally exposed by Covid, is really struggling.
The confusion and duplication is such that in one case 10… Audio
