Phil Pennington

Tests on truck handbrakes have found high rates of failure, and concluded that routine vehicle inspections are ineffective. The tests were triggered by three people being killed in the last four years… Audio

Councils are expressing intense frustration as they fear key roadbuilding projects won't make the cut. The Transport Agency has warned there is 'very limited funding' for the next three years.

… Audio

More than $1 billion was spent last year by the largest 17 Government departments and agencies on private contractors and consultants.

The Covid-19 response has forced spending up, and there's more… Audio

The country's spies are copying some of their methods from Canada - but Canada has its own problems with a fixation on Islamic terrorism.

The Security Intelligence Service's recent annual review says… Audio

The Health Ministry is making a run at overcoming years of blockages in the way people's medical records are shared nationwide.

It has put a business case to Cabinet for millions of dollars to set up… Audio

Investigators are looking into claims highly toxic waste has been buried in unmapped sites at Tiwai Point's aluminium smelter.

This includes spent cell liner waste that contains cyanide and toxic… Audio

Authorities are struggling with what to do about a second lot of truck brakes involved in serious accidents causing death.

In recent days transport agency Waka Kotahi has effectively issued a ban -… Audio

An Auckland mechanic has written to the Transport Minister warning that truckers are in revolt against an unsafe and unfair Warrant of Fitness system.

This follows engineers who certify trucks as… Audio

A mechanic has spoken out about growing frustration with safety inspection requirements for trucks.

He warns that long delays in getting safety certificates are costing truck owners thousands of… Audio

A truck handbrake that caused at least two deaths and multiple serious crashes has only just been banned, though authorities have known for years it was dangerous.

The ban comes two years after the… Audio

Police started trialling Chinese-made drones before first looking into how secure they were.

A six-month trial of DJI drones began in June 2019 but the Police Minister, Poto Williams has told… Audio

Police didn't identify potential security issues with drones it was trialling until a month into the trial when they found out the drones they were using had been banned in the US years before.

A… Audio

A newly released top secret report shows a top priority for boosting counter-terrorism is faster and wider harvesting of data about people.

The 135-page report for the Security Intelligence Service… Audio

The government has been warned the Bluff aluminium smelter is at extreme risk of sea level rise, with "catastrophic" consequences including possible fatalities.

A risk assessment to Treasury says it… Audio

Government officials stand accused of stealing a farm bought by a central North Island town for their schoolchildren to learn agriculture Taihape people established the teaching farm on 12 hectares 30… Audio

Confusion remains over how police are using photos they take of teenagers, mostly Maori, without getting proper informed consent.

That's despite the Police Commissioner speaking up yesterday and… Audio

The government has suspended talks on the Bluff aluminium smelter's closure due to a lack of commitment to cleaning up the site.

It has been negotiating since September over how New Zealand Aluminium… Audio

A massive double-trailer truck lost half its load on a highway outside Kaikōura because most of the welds holding the refrigerator container on the chassis had snapped.

The accident went publicly… Audio

The Bluff aluminium smelter has revealed it has another 75,000 tonnes of highly toxic hazardous waste stored in buildings at Tiwai Point - and does not yet know what to do with.

Government officials… Audio

At Te Araroa on the coast nearest the quake epicentre, the whole settlement has evacuated to Whetu matarau known locally as Hospital Hill.

Aomihi Cook is there with her brother and she spoke to Phil… Audio