Stories by Phil Pennington
News
Spy data centre: Govt wanted a bargain and control of sensitive info
The government wanted sovereign control of sensitive data, but also a bargain when planning for a high-security data centre in Auckland, documents show.
Overhaul of health systems to better catch Covid-19 and measles months behind
An urgent overhaul of health systems to better catch and control communicable diseases, from Covid-19 to measles, is months behind schedule - but authorities are promising to "avoid gaps".
Police hope to use new fingerprint tech on roadsides
Portable biometric recording devices or scanners have been used by UK and US police forces for more than a decade.
WorkSafe not prosecuting FENZ over Muriwai landslide deaths
WorkSafe has found shortcomings at Fire and Emergency over how two firefighters died in a landslide in Cyclone Gabrielle, but will not prosecute.
Waka Kotahi pays PWC to merge systems, then again to pull them apart
The Transport Agency wanted to see if it could combine two vehicle-spotting technologies. It couldn't.
Police look to expand fingerprinting system
After being forced to destroy thousands of fingerprint records, police are looking for a way to capture 600,000 crime-scene print images and 50,000 from arrests. Audio
AUKUS could 'crush' Australia's defence industry - report
An Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says Pillar Two could raise the industry to state of the art capability - or "crush" it "under the weight of the globe's biggest player".
EV demand on power grids must be regulated, Vector says
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions.
What's being done to prevent more power shortages?
Officials are looking at better ways of choosing who gets the power during shortages amid relentlessly growing demands.
Archives NZ says it has enough space - for now
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin.
Cabinet mulls creation of mega spy agency
The agency, first floated after the Christchurch mosque attacks, is under "active consideration".
Bill for junior doctors covering shortages doubles in a year
Big roster gaps have forced Health NZ to virtually double the rate it paid per shift.
Government quiet on costs, building plan for Waikato prison expansion
The extra beds would take longer than the four-years covered in this week's budget announcement to deliver, the Corrections Minister told RNZ.
Tech to medically check pilots had a dozen major disadvantages - CAA papers
Aviation officials have found big problems with software they tried to impose on doctors doing medical check-ups on pilots and air traffic controllers.
Auckland Transport in talks with NZTA to share costs of congestion charge
AT could introduce charges for using strategic roads from early 2026.
GCSB foreign spying capability under scrutiny
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised.
'We weren't informed': Apprentice working on school unaware of asbestos
The Education Ministry is promising to do more about asbestos problems in schools, with tighter controls over detection and removal.
Police intelligence roles have increased by 23% since 2017
Police say the numbers of staff working directly in intelligence roles has grown by almost a quarter in the last seven years, and that their core tech is old but still functioning.
Will we learn more about NZ and AUKUS tonight?
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS.
School's struggle with asbestos removal: 'It's destroyed me'
An Auckland school's efforts to get rid of asbestos has been so tough its principal thought of quitting the job.
Internal Affairs tests itself on escalating costs of cloud computing
Internal Affairs is running tests to figure out how to track the escalating costs to taxpayers of cloud computing - but is tightlipped about what it has found so far.
'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for surgery
"I was stunned at the state of things," a Canterbury man who has been bumped down the list says.
Hot meals back for families on children's cancer ward after mix-up
Christchurch Hospital has apologised after families said it was removing meals for parents and caregivers on its children's cancer ward.
Police overhaul delayed amid government cost cutting
The systems essential to frontline crime fighting are in bad shape and need a bigger overhaul than expected, papers show.