Phil Pennington
Officials warned of truck trailer faults for years
Morning Report has new information which shows the Transport agency knew about safety issues with truck semi trailers for years before it took any action. Newly released documents show at least ten… Audio
Middlemore's multi-million dollar building not approved
An investigation is under way into a multi-million dollar building at Middlemore Hospital that did not get the right financial sign-off. There may be another Middlemore Hospital building that also… Audio
Councils failing fire, quake safety checks
RNZ News has learned many councils are failing to carry out essential fire and earthquake safety checks of buildings. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment audits how well councils are… Audio
DHB knew about Middlemore leaks in 2010 - survey
The Counties-Manukau DHB knew about damaging leaks at its main Middlemore Hospital wards building two years before it says it did. Acting chief executive Gloria Johnson told RNZ News in an Official… Audio
Middlemore knew of leaks two years earlier than claimed
Middlemore Hospital knew about extensive leaks, rot and mould two years before it says it did. The Counties Manukau DHB has said it was first alerted to leaking buildings in 2012 but in fact it was… Audio
Dodgy steel stayed on sale despite official concerns
The Commerce Commission allowed hundreds of sheets of substandard steel mesh to be sold to people for months, knowing the mesh supplier had forged a test certificate. Possibly a hundred homes used the… Audio
Mt Eden church hall remains quake prone
A derelict church hall in Mt Eden has had no strengthening done on it five weeks after engineers said it needed immediate work. The heritage-listed St James hall is in the middle of a bitter tug of… Audio
'Jumping through hoops' pushing up building costs
A group of fire engineers say illegal demands from councils are pushing their design fees up by thousands of dollars without improving safety. They have now obtained a legal opinion that says councils… Audio
Towbar recall could be devastating for trucking industry
A blanket ban on more than 800 heavy vehicle towbars is being described as potentially devastating for truckies. The towbars' certification has been revoked after investigators found serious safety… Audio
802 towbars approved by one engineer banned
New Zealad Transport Agency has revoked the certifications of 802 towbars, all approved for use by a single Nelson engineer, Peter Wastney. Audio
Toxic foam: Airports face major disposal costs
Airports face big bills to get rid of banned firefighting foam but officials are promising tight monitoring to make sure none gets dumped. However, monitoring to date has been so loose that airports… Audio
'The Church is not honest' about priest celibacy - former monk
An expert on celibacy is predicting a long battle in New Zealand for the Catholic church to face up to the issue of priests secretly fathering children. Several New Zealanders have for the first time… Audio
Government not using a test it admits is "essential".
The Government now admits it's "essential" to use a new, wide-ranging test to assess the long term health impacts of firefighting foam contamination. Despite this, it isn't using this test at all. Audio
Middlemore not only hospital with problems - Health Minister
Health Minister David Clark is warning that it's not just Middlemore Hospital with big building troubles. Middlemore has at least 11 buildings zoned red or orange with leaking, seismic and asbestos… Audio
Toxic foam: Test fails to detect chemicals
The largest contamination investigation ever in New Zealand is relying on a test that fails to detect a whole host of firefighting foam chemicals. That's even though there is a newer test that does… Audio
Australian company hits back over safety of aluminium panels
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. Certmark of Queensland says it's proved its… Audio
Aluminium panel approval system failed safety audit - leaked report
Nine months on from the Grenfell Tower inferno, the system used in New Zealand to approve aluminium panels for highrises has failed a critical safety audit. But the government officials, who… Audio
Power failure latest in Middlemore's problems
Middlemore Hospital's woes continue with revelations that its Manukau Superclinic suffered a major power failure. The DHB was forced to use emergency generators for weeks after one of two high-voltage… Audio
Middlemore maintainance a 'bloody nightmare' - ex-manager
A former manager at Middlemore Hospital has spoken out about what he calls the 'bloody nightmare' of trying to maintain failing buildings and critical services like electricity, gas and sewerage. Greg… Audio
NZ using firefighting foam banned in Australia
New Zealand firefighters are using foams that most of Australia ditched years ago over environmental and health fears. This country is also using an old way of testing the foams that misses some nasty… Audio
