News
Auckland Harbour Bridge trembles when crowds walk on it, documents show
The Auckland Harbour Bridge wobbles when enough people walk on it, to the extent it could result in "serious crushing injuries".
Te Whatu Ora postpones decisions on fate of hundreds of jobs
Te Whatu Ora is delaying its decisions on a mass restructure involving about 1600 hundred jobs, the national health agency says.
Building and Construction Minister Megan Woods unaware council had not audited Loafers Lodge since 2018
Meanwhile, Wellington City Council will carry out more building audits in response to a critical finding by MBIE, the mayor says. Audio
Wellington City Council told in September building audits were not up to scratch
Eight months before the Loafers Lodge fire, the building regulator told Wellington City Council it was doing six-to-10 times too few safety checks on buildings, and to do more. Audio
Raft of issues found during Archives NZ overhaul, review shows
A host of shortcomings has been pinpointed in an IT overhaul at Archives NZ that hugely disrupted public access to more than six million public records.
AI attack ads - to disclose, or not disclose?
PR firms think political parties should have to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in campaign advertising, but advertisers are not so sure. Audio
Ongoing questions on telecommunications resilience unanswered
Analysis - Hawke's Bay dodged a much worse cellphone and internet blackout in Cyclone Gabrielle when fuel supplies ran critically low, papers show. Audio
Fire and Emergency accused of using 'spin through' local planning
Lower Hutt mayor Campbell Barry says FENZ is trying to "spin their way through" concerns about resource shortages in the Wellington region.
Cameras embedded in train station billboards won't be activated
MetLink says it was not aware of the cameras when it purchased the large digital billboards for Wellington train stations.
Government rejected Spark's offer to invest millions in disaster-proofing networks
Spark's offer to swap $24 million it planned to spend on a 5G rollout came after towns were completely cut off following Cyclone Gabrielle. Audio
Playing catch-up in the face of fire
Analysis - When a dairy caught fire at the end at the end of my street in April, a fire engine came from a station across the Hutt River in Seaview, rather than just down the road.
With MBIE's help, school wins battle to not put sprinklers in dorm
Rathkeale College argued the sprinklers would cost so much it would jeopardise its whole project to upgrade the alarms and other fire protections.
Country's largest medical lab group backtracks on plans to slash jobs
Awanui says the "pragmatic and sensible outcome" is to not proceed with its proposal at this time.
Fire regulation proposal withdrawn just days before fatal Loafers Lodge fire
Key parts of a government proposal to bring in stronger fire protection for infill housing were withdrawn just days before the fatal Loafers Lodge fire.
Emergency call-takers were 'talking to people who were trapped, injured, and crying out for help'
A 111 team leader and firefighters' union Wellington president say call-takers were short staffed the night of the fatal Loafers Lodge fire - and they're struggling with feeling they should have done…
Larger fire truck absence limits how blaze can be tackled, firefighter says
If two of the country's largest fire trucks had got to the Loafers Lodge blaze, and sooner, they could have got more water on, a senior firefighter says .
Firefighters keep diary to record Newtown 225's mechanical woes
They have been recording all the problems with a fire truck with a long ladder that has spent just 45 days in operation in almost three years.
Are you unwittingly helping to train your AI replacement?
Analysis - AI is developing at breakneck pace - but how much does it know about you personally? And has your labour and data helped train it? Video
Councils falling short in three areas over issuing building WOFs, MBIE report shows
A lack of onsite audits, enforcement and legality are areas councils are failing in when it comes to issuing thousands of building warrants of fitness.
Firefighters 'pretty cut up' rescues possibly hindered by lack of second ladder truck
A 32-metre ladder truck has hardly been on a job in more than two years, and not since it froze up at a Kilbirnie house fire in February 2022. Audio
Loafers Lodge had a building WOF, but what exactly does that mean?
Investigations are underway into what went wrong in evacuating Wellington's Loafers Lodge last night.
Water woes: A small town faces the ultimate test in its supply choices
Analysis - Wairoa is years behind on some high-priority water supply projects, but the jobs it did put first paid off when Cyclone Gabrielle hit.
Firefighters' air tank filling equipment contaminated with asbestos
The discovery has shut down air filling at Auckland City fire station, and it has withdrawn all its breathing apparatus tanks.
Lab tests group plans to cut Nelson services, courier samples to Christchurch
The country's most powerful medical laboratory group, half owned by the government, is proposing to slash the medical lab workforce in the upper South Island.
Authorities knew dangers of truck handbrake but did nothing for a decade
Authorities knew for years that some trucks had a handbrake so sensitive it could be dislodged simply by shutting the cab door - in fact, since just after a man was crushed to death in 2010.