Stories by Phil Pennington

A coroner has castigated Otago health bosses for failing to bring in round-the-clock scanning that could have saved a Wanaka man's life.

Another major steel maker is being prosecuted, accused of selling customers substandard seismic reinforcing mesh for years.

A United States expert is warning that New Zealand's acceptable levels for drinking water contamination from toxic firefighting foam chemicals are way too high.

Officials under attack for spending multi-million dollars on outside contractors are promising they will cut back.

A trip to Asia to get a cheap operation that cost a man his life is being held up as a warning to New Zealanders looking for cut-price surgery.

The Hutt Valley's main hospital is urgently replacing heavy old ceiling tiles that pose a risk of serious injury in a major earthquake.

The Bay of Plenty township of Edgecumbe has fallen well short of getting all its flood-hit families back in their homes by Christmas.

Holiday pay mistakes affecting more than 9000 government workers are expected to cost at least $10 million to set right.

The government is being urged to dump a law blamed as a stumbling block to any prosecutions over the deaths of 115 people in the CTV building collapse. Audio

The country's main building regulator is struggling to recruit and retain staff at a time when complaints against builders have increased.

A night out in Brisbane celebrating his 21st birthday has turned into exile in New Zealand for a young Australian man.

A criminal prosecution against the designers of the CTV building was abandoned even though engineers said it was clear substandard design led to the collapse.

Australian women who discovered their husbands' stash of child sex abuse images speak out. Audio

A man's death in detention has lifted the veil on mass drug use in a privately-run immigration centre in Australia.

Steel & Tube has pleaded guilty to criminal charges laid against it almost a year ago for misrepresenting its seismic steel mesh.

New Zealander Robert Peihopa died of a heart attack in detention in Australia after "physical and emotional distress" from a fight, a coroner has ruled.

A raft of Civil Defence emergency centres and fire stations in high-risk zones are substandard.

Just like parking wardens and speed-radar police, building inspectors make easy targets for anyone wanting to have a go, writes Phil Pennington.

Horowhenua Māori have agreed under a confidential deal to drop court action aimed at stopping the spraying of Foxton's wastewater onto an island in the Manawatu River.

A Christchurch woman is warning about the risks of being exposed to Legionnaires' disease through hotwater systems.

A leading fire engineer is accusing public officials of using the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy to scare New Zealanders.

The fast-tracking of new fire safety rules is expected to add costs and delays to major building projects. Audio

The amount of moderate and serious crime being committed by deportees to New Zealand is much less than police warnings suggested, according to official information.

Nerves remain on edge in central Wellington a year on from the Kaikōura earthquake, a survey shows.