Stories by Phil Pennington
News
Police to roll out new longer range tasers - with no body cameras
Police are rolling out $30 million of new much-longer-range tasers - without first answering legal questions about the use of body-worn cameras to go with them.
New police visual search tech not assessed for privacy impacts
Police have not assessed the privacy impacts of their powerful new visual intelligence app.
MBIE expands intelligence spy unit MI beyond immigration
The government's super-ministry has quietly embedded itself in the country's spy agency network, more than tripling the size and spending of its own intelligence-gathering arm.
Police spending millions to fix glaring tech deficiencies
The New Zealand Police has been spending millions on its main technology system in the face of glaring deficiencies, while at the same time adding in high-tech data-mining tools.
New police AI tool searches fast and far on firearms threats
Police are using powerful new AI to help them assess the risk posed by offenders when officers are called out to emergencies, sparked by the shooting murder of an unarmed constable.
Work restarts on Wellington's costly cycleway after death of four blue penguins
One bird was run over outside the Te Ara Tupua construction site in June while three more were found inside the site last month.
Major parties coy on private health contracts, but data hints at future
The two largest political parties will not say if they support private hospitals picking up even more publicly funded surgery.
Ethics questioned of US taser company working with NZ police
A US lawyer is cautioning New Zealand police to think twice about becoming more reliant on American taser and drone supplier Axon.
Poor state of NZ's courtrooms impacting victims - advocate
Black mould. Lights loose and dangling from the ceiling. An entire courtroom flooded. Another "an absolute disgrace, quite frankly".
Court buildings crumbling, repair costs rising, documents show
Half the country's court buildings are crumbling, some are not safe or have mould and the cost of fixing them has blown out past a billion dollars, forcing a flagship project to be crimped to fit.
Stomach bug outbreak exposes flaws in Queenstown's water safety plans
The contamination risks for Queenstown's water are not as "extreme" as a plan it gave to the water regulator described them to be.
Policy puts spotlight on slave labour in the solar panel supply chain
The state home provider said it "undertake due diligence to confirm that the polysilicon used in the manufacture of these panels is not sourced from suppliers in the Xinjiang province".
'I cannot supply you a team at this time' - Flood rescue teams pulled back over pay dispute
RNZ can reveal Auckland, Northland, Nelson and Whakatāne were without the extra water rescue help during widespread floods in May.
WorkSafe chief executive Phil Parkes resigns amid restructure
Phil Parkes has been under growing pressure - and his resignation comes as the Crown safety watchdog confirms scores of job cuts.
'Absolutely ridiculous': Iwi health provider pays for staff health insurance
It was an "absolutely ridiculous" situation, the boss of Whakatāne's Ngāti Awa Social and Health Services admitted.
Millions in new costs add to Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway overrun
Waka Kotahi has paid road builders millions more on top of the billion-dollar cost of the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway.
Amazon celebrated 'ambitious partnership' in letter to PM
A newly released letter from Amazon to then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shows the US tech firm celebrating an "ambitious partnership" with the New Zealand government.
Police to buy new tasers but monitoring and cost still unclear
Police are replacing their tasers but will not say exactly what the new weapons are or how they will be monitored for public safety.
Tech project between US giant and govt agency founders
A confidential government project with a big US tech firm was aimed at sparking "government system-wide change" - but went nowhere.
Critical risks highlighted in report on Hawke's Bay hospital
Doctors are grappling with mistrust around information entered into the IT systems at Hawke's Bay hospital, including what it tells them about patients and critical scan results.
Lower Hutt infrastructure project rejects claim of billion dollar price-tag
Lower Hutt's biggest transport project in decades denies it has been newly costed at over a billion dollars.
Why Te Whatu Ora looked overseas for its 'transformational' plans
Health New Zealand says it chose big US tech firms to deliver a landmark data project because they have better size, security and robustness than local bidders.
New Zealand faces dilemma over AUKUS 'replicator' drone swarm plans
New Zealand is hedging over a new US strategy to unleash thousands of battlefield drones to counter China, dubbed 'hellscape' and 'replicator'.